最新2008年英语专业八级考试听力真题MP3附试题及答案

2008年英语专业八级考试听力真题MP3附试题及答案12SECTION A MINI-LECTURE3In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You willhear the lecture 4ONCE ONLY. While listening, takenotes on the important points. Your notes 5will not be marked, but you will need them tocomplete a gap-filling task 6after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the 78gap-filling task onANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note-taking. 9The Popularity of EnglishI. Present status of English1011A. English as a native/first language12B. English as a lingua franca: a language for communication among13people14whose (1)______ are different15C. Number of people speaking English as a first or a second language:— 320-380 million native speakers1617— 250- (2) _____ million speakers of English as a second language 18II. Reasons for the popular use of English19A. (3) ____ reasons20— the Pilgrim Fathers brought the language to America;21— British settlers brought the language to Australia;22— English was used as a means of control in (4)_____23B. Economic reasons24—spread of (5) _____—language of communication iii the international business2526community27C. (6)______ in international travel28— use of English in travel and tourism29— signs in airports30— language of announcement— language of (7) ______3132D. Information exchange33— use of English in the academic world— language of (8) _____ or journal articles3435E. Popular culture36— pop music on (9)______37— films from the USA38III. Questions to think about39A. status of English in the futureB. (10) ______ of distinct varieties of English4041SECTION A MINI-LECTURE42In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You willhear the lecture 43ONCE ONLY while listening,takenotes on the important points. Your notes 44will not be marked, but you will need them tocomplete a gap-filling task 45after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given 46two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the 47gap-filling task onANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note-taking.48Now listen to the mini-lectureThe Popularity of English4950Good morning, every one. Today’s lecture is about the popularity of 51English. As we all know,English is widely used in the world. Although English is not the language with the largestnumber of native or first5253language speakers, it has really become a lingua franca. Then what is 54alingua franca? The term refers to a language which is widely adopted for 55communication between two speakers whose native languages are different 56from each other’s, and where oneor both speakers are using it as a second 57language. For example, when an Indian talks to aSingaporean using English, then English is the lingua franca. Then actually how many peoplespeak5859English as either a first or a second language? Some researchers suggested60a few yearsago that between 320－380 million people spoke English as a61first language, and anywaybetween 250－350 million as a second language.62And of course, if we include people who arelearning English as a foreign 63language all over the world, that number may increase dramatically.Then we may ask a question: how did English get there? That is, how did English6465gain thepresent status of popularity? There are in fact a number of 66interlocking reasons for the popularity of English as a lingua franca. Many 67of the reasons are historical, but they alsoinclude economic and cultural 68factors that have influenced and sustained the spread of thelanguage.69Let’s go through the reasons one by one.First is the historical reason. This is related to the colonial7071history. As we know, when thePilgrim Fathers landed on the Massachusetts 72coast in 1620 after their journey from England,they brought with them not 73just a set of religious beliefs, a pioneering spirit or a desire 74for colonization, but also their language. Although many years later, the 75Americans broke awayfrom their colonial master, the language of English 76remained and still does. It was the same inAustralia, too. When Commander 77Phillip planted the British flag in Sydney cove on the 26thJanuary, 1788, 78it was not just a bunch of British convicts on their guardians, but also 79alanguage. In other parts of the former British Empire, English rapidly 80became a unifying ordominating means of control. For example, it became81a lingua franca in India or a variety of indigenous languages made the useof any one of them as a whole country system problematic. So the imposition8283of English as the one language of administration helpsmaintain the84colonizers’ control and power, thus English traveled around many parts85of theworld in those days. And long after that colonial power has faded86away, it is still widely used asa main or at least an institutional87language in countries as far apart as Jamaica and Pakistan,Uganda and NewZealand. That is the first factor.8889Now the second major factor in the spread of English has been the90spread of commerce throughout the world. The spread of international91commerce has taken English along with it.This is the 20th century92phenomenon of globalization. Therefore, one of the first sights93manytravelers see when arriving in countries as diverse as Brazil, China,for example, is the yellowtwin arch sign of MacDonald’s fast food9495restaurant or some other famous brands outlets Andwithout doubt, English96is used as the language of communication in the international97business community. in the international business community.98And the third factor related to the popular use of English is the99booming international travel.And you will find that much travel andtourism is carried on around the world in English. Ofcourse this is not 100101always the case, as the multi-lingualism of many tourism workers inmanydifferent countries demonstrate. But a visit to most airports on the 102103globe will show signs notonly in the language of that country but also104with English, just as many airline announcementsbroadcast in English too,105whatever the language of the country the airport is situated in.106So far, English is also the preferred language of air traffic control107in many countries and is usedwidely in sea travel communication. Another108factor has something to do with information exchange around the world. As109we all know, a great deal of academic discourse110around the world takes place in English. It is often a lingua franca111of conferences,for example,and many journal articles in fields as diverse112as astronomy, trio psychology and geology haveEnglish as a kind of default113language.The last factor I cite here concerns popular culture. In the western 114115world, at least English is adominating language in popular culture. Pop 116music in English can be heard on many radios,thus many people who are not 117English speakers can sing words from their favorite English medium songs. 118And many people who are regular cinema-goers or TV viewers can 119frequentlyhear English in subtitle films coming out of the USA.Now, to sum up in today’s lecture, we have reviewed some of the 120121reasons or factors that liebehind the popular use of English as the No. 1221 world language. Before we finish, I'd like toleave a few questions for 123you to think about. Is the status of English as the No. 1 worldlanguage 124a sure in the future? Will it split into varieties that become less 125mutually intelligible?Or will some other language or languages take the place of English as world language in future?These questions are not easy 126127to answer, I know. But they are definitely worth pondering overafter the 128lecture. Ok, this brings to the end of today’s lecture. Thank you for your attention.Now you have two minutes to check your notes. And then 129130please finish the gap-filling task onAnswer Sheet 1 in 10 minutes.131SECTION B CONVERSATION132In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully 133and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct answer to each 134question on your coloured answer sheet.135Questions 1 to 5 are based on a conversation. At the end of the 136conversation you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following 137five questions.Now listen to the conversation.1381391. Mary doesn't seem to favour the idea of a new airport because________.140141A. the existing airports are to be wasted142B. more people will be encouraged to travel143C. more oil will be consumed144D. more airplanes will be purchased1452. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Mary as a potential 146disadvantage?147A. More people in the area.148B. Noise and motorways.149C. Waste of land.150D. Unnecessary travel.3. Freddy has cited the following advantages for a new airport EXCEPT 151152A. more job opportunities153B. vitality to the local economy154C. road construction,155D. presence of aircrew in the area1564. Mary thinks that people don't need to do much travel nowadays asa result of ________.157158A. less emphasis on personal contact159B. advances in modern telecommunicationsC. recent changes in people's concepts160161D. more potential damage to the area1625. We learn from the conversation that Freddy is Mary's ideas,A. strongly in favour of163164B. mildly in favour ofC. strongly against165166D. mildly against167SECTION B CONVERSATIONIn this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY.Listen carefully 168169and answer the questions that follow.Mark the correct answer to each170question on your coloured answer sheet. Questions 1 to 5 arebased on a171conversation. At the end of the conversation you will be given 10 seconds172toanswer each of the following five questions.173Now listen to the conversation.174W: Hello, Freddie.175M: H ello, Mary. How nice to see you again. How’s everything going? 176W: Fine. Busy these days?177M: Yeah. With lots of things to do. Would you like to join me for a178drink?179W: Ok, thanks.180M: Any news recently?181W: Oh, well, I read in the local paper the other day that the government182is planning to build anairport here, you know that?M: I’m afraid not.183184W: Well, my real objection to this idea of a new airport is, is thewhole thing is so wasteful, Imean, we know we are currently in fuel crises, 185186we know that we’ve got to conserve oil and fueland all the rest of it,187and get here the government seems quite deliberately to be188encouragingpeople to, ... to travel, to use and these jets use a hack of189a lot of oil, I mean it takes a ton ofoil,190a ton of petrol before one of these big jets even takes off.191M: Mm...192W: It seems so completely short-sighted to me. Quite apart from all 193the ways to the land andso on, I can’t see, I can’t see the rationale 194behind really wanting an, an airport at all.M: Well, surely you must have to admit that the existing airport nearby 195196are becoming swarmed.I mean, why should people, uhh...197W: Well, they aren’t being swarmed.M: Be treated like cattle when there is a chance of... a new airport 198199here.200W: But, but really people shouldn’t be traveling that much, that’s, 201that’s why most of thejourneys, I mean, they swamped because there is 202far too much unnecessary tourism and soon. It isn’t necessary for people 203to travel so far or even so often.204M: Well, you take the climate here in this country. Now just before 205Christmas, there was thisdreadful cold spell, there was a tremendous 206increase in number of people who wanted to leaveand spent Christmas and 207the New Year in a reasonable climate of sun and, and a certain mild climate. 208And, and in summer, the same situation occurs. It is unbearably hot here 209and peoplewant to go somewhere cool.210W: Well, yes, I can sympathize with that. But it is still not really 211necessary to do, well, as itisn’t necessary to, to conserve fuel and it 212is necessary to, well, not to waste land. I mean landfor a new airport 213could be used for far more important things which would benefit the peoplehere far more. I mean it could be used for farming for instance. 214215M: True.W: It could also be used for housing, or it could be used for parks, 216217you know. People thencould come and enjoy themselves without having to 218travel far.M: But, airports do bring some local advantages. They bring roads, 219220there is obviously extraemployment, for instance, new hotels, shops, 221restaurants will have to be built. This means morejobs for the locals and 222it is good for local economy.223W: But you ask the people, you ask those who are now living near the 224airports, for instance,whether,whether they recon that airpotrs bring 225them advantages, although, all the airportsbring in are noise and vast 226motorways, and the whole area is, is desolated, isn’t it?227M: But the airport infra, ..., infrastructure relies on housing and other facilities for the greatnumber of people who would be employed in 228229the airport, the pilots even, the stewardess, theyhave to live somewhere near the airport, right?230231W: Yeah, but it’s, it’s just so, so damaging to the whole area. I 232think, airports, from my pointof view, the whole concept is outdated, 233really. Umm, with modern technology, we can make alot of travel 234unnecessary, really. For example, it won’t be necessary for businessmen 235to fly outto a foreign county to talk to somebody. They can just leave 236it to the telephone in the office,press the button, and say to the person 237they want to do business with. You see, businessdeals can be made without 238having to travel back and forth, right?239M: Yes, you are right. But for a lot of people, personal contact is 240important. And this meanstravel, and means quick travel, air travel. And 241we just need a new airport.242243C NEWS BROADCAST244In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY.Listen carefully 245and then answer the questions thatfollow. Mark the correct answer to each 246question on your coloured answer sheet.247Question 6 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, 248you will be given 10seconds to answer the question.249Now listen to the news.2506. What is the main idea of the news item?251A. A new government was formed after Sunday's elections.252B. The new government intends to change the welfare system.253C. The Social Democratic Party founded the welfare system.254D. The Social Democratic Party was responsible for high unemployment. 255Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news. At the end of the 256news item, you will begiven 20 seconds to answer the questions.Now listen to the news.2572587. The tapes of the Apollo-11 mission were first stored in ________. 259A. a U.S. government archives warehouse260B. a NASA ground tracking station261C. the Goddard Space Flight Centre262D. none of the above places8. What does the news item say about Richard Nafzger?263264A. He is assigned the task to look for the tapes.265B. He believes that the tapes are probably lost.C. He works in a NASA ground receiving site.266267D. He had asked for the tapes in the 1970s.268Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will begiven 20 seconds to answer the questions.269270Now listen to the news.9. The example in the news item is cited mainly to show ________. 271272A. that doctors are sometimes professionally incompetent273B. that in cases like that hospitals have to pay huge compensationsC. that language barriers might lower the quality of treatment274275D. that language barriers can result in fatal consequences27610. According to Dr. Flores, hospitals and clinics ________.277A. have seen the need for hiring trained interpreters278B. have realized the problems of language barriers279C. have begun training their staff to be bilinguals280D. have taken steps to provide accurate diagnosis281In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY.Listen carefully 282and answer the questions that follow.Mark the correct answer to each 283question on yourcoloured answer sheet. Question 6 is based on thefollowing 284news . At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer 285thequestion.286Now listen to the news.287The New Moderates Party began forming the new Swedish government on 288Monday. In Sunday’selections, the New Moderates Party defeated the Social Democrats. The Social Democratic Partyhas controlled Sweden for 289290all but 9 years since 1932, building up the country’s generous welfare state. But the New Moderates wants to change it. Sweden’s welfare system 291292is famedaround the world, ]but the system encourages people to be lazy. 293And unemployment is alsohigh in Sweden. One reason is the high tax on 294companies which makes it difficult to employ new people.295Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news. At the end of the 296news item, you will begiven 20 seconds to answer the questions.297Now listen to the news.298Much of the world was watching on television when the commander of299the Apollo-11 mission,Neil Armstrong, took the first steps on the moon300in July, 1969. The pictures of that historicfootstep and everything elseabout that and subsequent Apollo moon landings were recordedon magnetic 301302tapes at three NASA ground tracking stations around the world. The tapes303werethen shipped to a NASA operations center near Washington, the Goddard304Space Flight Center.305In late 1969, the space agency began transferring them and tens of306thousands of tapes fromother space missions to a nearby U.S. governmentarchives warehouse. NASA says it askedfor them back in the 1970s, but now 307308does not know where they are. “I probably am overly sensitive to the word309‘lost’. I did not feel they are lost,” said Richard Nafzger, a Goddard310SpaceFlight Center engineer who was in charge of television processing311from all of NASA’s groundreceiving sites.312The space agency has authorized him to set aside his other duties forthe foreseeable futureand devote his time to the hunt for the tapes. 313314Nafzger says they are stored somewhere.315Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news. At the end of the316news item, you will begiven 20 seconds to answer the questions.317Now listen to the news.318More than 22 million people who live in the United States don’t speakor understand Englishvery well and that can be deadly. In a study published 319320in the New England Journal of Medicine,Dr. Glenn Flores highlights some321cases where language barriers prevented patients fromcommunicating with322health care providers — with serious consequences. Dr. Flores recalls323one incident in which English-speaking doctors thought a Spanish-speaking324man was sufferingfrom a drug overdose. “He was in the hospital basicallyfor two days being worked up for drug abuse,” Flores says. “They finally 325326did a head CT scan and realized he had had a major bleed intohis brain.327He ended up being paralyzed and he got a $71 million settlement award fromthehospital.” Dr. Flores, a professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin 328329says that despite exampleslike that, the majority of U.S. health care 330facilities still do not have trained interpreters on site.But he 331acknowledges that increasing numbers of care workers are bilingual, 332and thatmore clinics and hospitals do make sure their staff and patients 333understand each other. This isthe end of listening comprehension, please proceed to the next part.334335。