英语分站

Passage1

As the new sales director for a national computer firm, Alex Gordon was looking forward to his first meeting with the company's district managers. Every one arrived on time and Alex's presentation went extremely well. He decided to end the meeting with a conversation about the importance of the district managers to the company's plans. “I believe we're going to continue to increase our share of the market”, he began, “Because of the quality of the people in this room. The district manager is the key to the success of the sales representatives in his district. He sets the tone for everyone else. If he has ambitious goals and is willing to put in long hours, everyone in his unit will follow his example.” When Alex was finished, he received polite applause but hardly the warm response he had hoped for. Later, he spoke with one of the senior managers. “Things were going so well until the end”, Alex said disappointedly, “Obviously I said the wrong thing.” “Yes”, the district manager replied, “ Half of our managers are women. Most have worked the way up from sales representatives and they are very proud of the role they've played in the company's growth. They don't care at all about the political correctness but they are definitely surprised and distressed to be referred to as ”he“ in your speech.”

Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.

26. Who did Alex Gordon speak to at the first meeting?

27. What did Alex want to emphasize at the end of his presentation?

28. What do we learn about the audience at the meeting?

29. Why did Alex fail to receive the warm response he had hoped for?

Passage2

The way to complain is to act business-like and important. If your complaint is immediate, suppose you got the wrong order at a restaurant, make a polite but firm request to see the manager. When the manager comes, ask his or her name and then state your problem, and what you expect to have done about it. Be polite. Shouting or acting rude will get you nowhere. But also be firm in making your complaint. Besides, act important. This doesn't mean to put on airs and say, “Do you know who I am?” What it means is that people are often treated the way they expect to be treated. If you act like someone who expects a fair request be granted, chances are it will be granted. The worst way to complain is over the telephone. You are speaking to a voice coming from someone you can not see, so you can't tell how the person on the line is reacting. It is easy for that person to give you a run-around. Complaining in person or by letter is generally more effective. If your complaint does not require an immediate response, it often helps to complain by letter. If you have an appliance that doesn't work, send a letter to the store that sold it. Be business-like and stick to the point. Don't spend a paragraph on how your Uncle Joe tried to fix the problem and couldn't.

Question 30: What does the speaker suggest you do when you are not served properly at a restaurant?

Question 31: Why does the speaker say the worst way to complain is over the telephone?

Question 32: What should you do if you make a complaint by letter?

Passage3

Barbara Santos is a wife and the mother of 2 children, ages 2 and 4. Her husband, Tom, is an engineer and makes an excellent salary. Before Barbara had children, she worked as an architect for the government, designing government housing. She quit her job when she became pregnant, but is now interested in returning to work. She's been offered an excellent job with the government. Her husband feels it's unnecessary for her to work since the family does not need the added income. He also thinks that a woman should stay home with her children. If Barbara feels the need to do socially important work, he thinks that she should do volunteer work one or two days a week. Barbara, on the other hand, has missed the excitement of her profession, and does not feel she would be satisfied doing volunteer work. She would also like to have her own income, so she does not have to ask her husband for money whenever she wants to buy something. She does not think it's necessary to stay home every day with the children, and she knows a very reliable babysitter who's willing to come to her house. Tom does not think a babysitter can replace a mother, and thinks it's a bad idea for the children to spend so much time with someone who's not part of the family.

Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

33. What was Barbara's profession before she had children?

34. What does Barbara's husband suggest she do if she wants to work?

35. What does Tom think about hiring a babysitter?

以下是2010年6月19日四级答案复合式听写 “原文”

Almost every child, on the first day he sets foot in the school building, is smarter, more curious, less afraid of what he does not know, better in finding and figuring things out, more confident, resourceful, persistent, and independent than he will ever be again in his schooling or unless he is very unusual and very lucky for the rest of his life. Already, by paying close attention to and interacting with the world and people around him, and without any school type formal instruction, he has done a task far more difficult, complicated, and abstract than anything he will be asked to do in school or than any of his teachers have done for years. He has solved the mystery of language. He has discovered it. Babies do not even know that language exists and he has found out how it works and learned to use it appropriately. He has done it by exploring, by experimenting, by developing his own model of the grammar of language, by trying it out and seeing whether it works by gradually changing it and refining it until it does work. And while he has been doing this, he has been learning other things as well, including many of the concepts that the schools think only they can teach him and many that are more complicated than the ones they do try to teach him.