1994年专业四级真题听力原文

听力原文1994

The American Family (1994)

The American family unit is changing. There used to be mainly two types of families, the extended and the nuclear. The former included mother, father, children, and some other relatives such as grandparents, living in the same house or nearby. Then as the economy progressed from agricultural to industrial, people began moving to different parts of the country in order to search for job opportunities. These moves split up the extended family. The nuclear family consisting of only parents and children has therefore become far more wide spread. Today’s family, however, can be composed of diverse combinations. With the divorce rate nearly one in two, there's an increase in single-parent homes—a father or mother living with one or more children. Blended families occur when divorced men and women remarry and combine the children from former marriages into a new family. On the other hand, there is an increase in childless couples while one in rive Americans lives alone.

PART ⅢLISTENING COMPREHENSION

SECTION A STA TEMENT

1. Ah, are you going to be busy this evening? I was wondering if you might like to come to the cinema with me.

What does the speaker want to do?

2. We have several kinds of accounts here, Mr. Way. The best interest rate is for the customer club account, but you must maintain a monthly balance of 150 dollars.

What’s the speaker’s job?

3. I wonder if you could shut the window. It’s getting windy now.

What’s the intention of the speaker?

4. If Mark had had enough money, he would have bought the sports car.

What does the statement mean?

5. Excuse me, Miss, how many books can I take out?

Where is the speaker?

6. Tom came and destroyed Jane’s hope of being undisturbed this evening.

What does the statement mean?

7. I woke at 7:30, knowing their appointment was at 8:45, but despite all my plans I still got there at 9:05.

How late was the speaker for the appointment?

8. To make French toast for five, you need two eggs, one cup of milk, half a teaspoon of salt and about ten spoons of butter.

What is the recipe for?

9. In the wardrobe she found a dress she thought she had never worn at Larry’s house before. What does the statement mean?

10. Had I known that Jim had a past record of driving violations, I would never have lent him my car.

What does the speaker mean?

SECTION B CONVERSATION

11. W: Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to the Rainbow Restaurant from here?