外语系英语专业英语语言技能测试题(复述部分)

外语系英语专业英语语言技能测试题（复述部分）1．Directions:You are required to read the following passages and then retell the main idea of the passaages, using correct words, phrases and expressions, paying attention to use correct pronunciation and intonation, express your idea fluently and freely, make sure the sententences you use understandable. 教师检测的重点是：1）语音、语调：正确使用、区分各种语音语调（0-20分）2）流利程度：语速恰当，语言流畅，伴有少量错误和停顿（0-20分）3）准确性：正确选用单词、词组和表达语，切题，能说出正确复杂的句子（0-20分）4）表达能力：自由流利地表达自己的观点，表达比较流畅和灵活。

（0-20分）5）总体可理解性：所表达思想的可理解程度（0-20分）1．Once there was an old woman who liked to bake cookies. She didn't have anyone to share them with, so she just gave them away to the children in the neighborhood. This went on for several years and the cookies became quite famous, especially at Christmas time. The parents began to like the cookies as much as the children did, and the old woman's kitchen became very busy, so the children came to help.Then one Christmas the old woman became ill. There were no cookies, and there was no money to pay the doctor. The children were very sad. Later they had a bright idea, that is, to bake cookies from the old woman's recipe. So the children started a cookie store. Soon they had a very good cookie business, with money to pay the doctor as well as to put in the bank.After the woman got well, she was asked to become the manager of the store, selling special cookies for all the holidays of the year. After the old woman died, the children, now grown up, kept the cookie business alive in her name. Maybe life is like a Christmas cookie. The more you share it with your friends, the more you're likely to enjoy it.2．Sonora got the idea for Father's Day more than eighty years ago. She was listening to a speech about Mother's Day and decided that fathers should be recognized, too. She especially wanted to honor her own father, who had raised six children alone. Sonora asked the clergy in Spokane to prepare speeches to honor fathers on the first Sunday in June, her own father's birthday. But they did not give the speeches until two weeks later.Fifteen years later, President Calvin Coolidge said Americans should honor their fathers on the third Sunday in June. In 1972, Father's Day became a national holiday in the United States. American families celebrateFather's Day by gathering for dinner or a picnic. They may do special things for Father on his special day: prepare his favorite foods or join him ina favorite activity. And everyone gives him cards and gifts.Each year, a private group called the National Father's Day Committee chooses an American man to receive its Father of the Year Award. The first award was given fifty years ago to General Douglas M., World War II Commander.General Norman S., former commander of Allied Forces in the Persian Gulf, was among the winners. He said that being a father puts things in balance. After giving orders all day to thousands of people and having them obey, he said, there is something very healthy about coming home at night and not being able to get your children to clean their teeth!3．On the fourth Thursday in November, in houses around the United States, families get together for a feast, or a large meal. Almost all families eat turkey and cranberry sauce for this meal, and have pumpkin pie for dessert. This feast is part of a very special day, the holiday of Thanksgiving.In 1620 the Pilgrims made a difficult trip across the ocean from England. They landed in what is now Massachusetts. In England the Pilgrims had not been allowed to freely practice their religion. So they went to the New Worldin search of religious freedom.The Pilgrims' first winter was very hard. Almost half the group died of cold, hunger and disease. But the Indians of Massachusetts taught the Pilgrims to plant corn, to hunt and to fish. When the next fall came, the Pilgrims had plenty of food. They were thankful to "God" and the Indians and had a feast to give thanks. They invited the Indians to join them. This was the first Thanksgiving.Thanksgiving became a national holiday many years later because of the effort of a woman named Sarah Hale. For forty years Sarah Hale wrote to each president and asked for a holiday of Thanksgiving. At last she was successful. In 1863 President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a holiday.4．Bob went over to his friend Joe's house and was amazed at how well Joe treated his wife. He often told her how attractive she was, spoke highly of her cooking and showered her with hugs and kisses."Gee." Bob remarked later, "You really love your wife a lot. It seems as though you two were still on your honeymoon.""I started to take every chance to express how much I love her about six months ago," Joe said. "It has brought us closer to each other, and we couldn't be happier."Inspired by what Joe had said, Bob hurried home, hugged his wife and told her how much he loved her, and said he wanted to hear all about her day. But she burst into tears."Honey," Bob said, "what's the matter?""This has been the worst day," she replied. "This morning Billy fell off his bike and hurt his ankle, then the washing machine broke, and on top of all this, you come home drunk!"5．Born in 1961, Princess Diana was Princess of Wales from 1981 when she married Prince Charles, heir to the British throne and Prince of Wales, until they were divorced in 1996 and she lost this title of Princess of Wales.The 1981 wedding was a great event to people all over the world. She came from a wealthy noble family. The press showed her as a blonde, pretty woman of average intelligence. She provided two sons to continue the royal line. She was very famous and very popular in Britain. Her clothes, her jewelry and activities were reported every day in the papers and television. In some ways she was more like a film or pop star than a traditional royal figure.Her marriage with Prince Charles lasted l5 years. After divorcing Charles, she became deeply involved in charity work. The British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that she touched the lives of so many others with joy and with comfort in Britain and throughout the world. She revealed to all of us the depth of her love to the sick, the dying, children and the needy. In August, l997, she died in a car accident in Paris when she was only 36. The whole country felt sorry for her death. Princess Diana would never have become Queen, but she became the Queen in people's hearts. After her death, a fund named after her was established to continue her charity work.6．Antonio, 24, from Sicily, is probably the world's unluckiest lover as well as one of the most persistent. Antonio's troubles began last September when Julia, 19, moved into the house opposite to his family and Antonio fell in love with her at first sight.At first Antonio tried traditional methods. When he spoke to Julia in the street and she ignored him, he sent her flowers. He called at her house but her parents did not let him in. After that, he wrote several letters and poems and dropped them in her letter box, but she tore them up withoutopening them. When poems couldn't work, Antonio bought a guitar and practiced for two or three weeks before playing outside her bedroom window one night. Julia's mother threw a bucket of water on him, and her father threatened to call the police. Antonio did not give up easily. He was sure that Julia would change her mind eventually, so he bought a ring and waited outside her house one morning until she came out to go to work. Then he went down on his knees in front of her and said he would not get up until she agreed to marry him. Julia went off to work, saying, "Don't be silly!"Then Antonio finally lost hope, and decided to kill himself. He tried different ways, but he failed again and again. When he finally promised that he would not attempt to kill himself again, unfortunately, he fell down and broke his leg.7．One day, an old mule fell into a farmer's well. Fortunately, the water wasn't very deep, so the mule stood on the bottom of the well.The farmer didn't think it was worth the trouble to save the mule. So he called his neighbors together and asked them to help him haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.When the dirt started falling, the old mule got frightened. But as the farmer and his neighbors kept shoveling, and the dirt kept falling, the mule got a strange idea: Why not just shake off the dirt every time a shovel load hit him and step up?So that's what he did, as blow after blow of dirt hit him on the back. "Shake it off and step up. Shake it off and step up." The mule kept telling and encouraging himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how bad the situation seemed, the old mule fought off the panic and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up. And it wasn't long before the exhausted old mule stepped up over the wall of the well to freedom.The dirt which was going to bury him had actually helped him. This happened because of the way he "chose" to handle the dirt, the adversity, that others kept shoveling into his life.8．Harry hears his alarm and turns on the radio. He hears the announcer say, "Good morning, everyone. And I hope it's a good day for you, not an unlucky one. It's Friday, the 13th. It's cold and rainy outside. It's a good day to stay home, if you can."What's unlucky about Friday the 13th? Harry dresses and goes into the kitchen. He opens the refrigerator. Where's the orange juice? Harry looks in the back of the refrigerator. He knocks a carton of milk off the shelf. The milk spills on his pants and shoes and covers the floor. He cleans up the mess and runs to change his clothes. By now, he's late for work. Where are his car keys? He looks everywhere, then finally opens the refrigerator again. There they are, on the top shelf. He can't find his umbrella, so he runs through the rain to his car. The seat is all wet because he didn't close the window last night. Harry puts the key in the ignition and turns it. The engine starts, then dies. He tries again, but the same thing happens. Harry looks at the gas gauge. It's on empty.Harry leaves his car and goes back in the house. He takes off his clothes and gets back into bed. It's Friday the 13th, a good day to stay home.9．A little girl walked daily to and from school. Though the weather one morning was not good and clouds were forming, she walked to the elementary school as usual.As the day progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl was very worried. She thought her daughter would be frightened on the way home, and feared that the storm might harm her child. Following the roar of the thunder, lightning would cut through the sky like a flaming sword.Being concerned, the mother got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. Soon she saw her daughter walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look and smile. One followed another, each with the little girl stopping, looking at the light and smiling.Finally, the mother called her over to the car and asked, "What are you doing?" The child answered, "God keeps taking pictures of me!"10．Many years ago, there lived a rich man who wished to do something for the people of his village. First, however, he wanted to find out whether they deserved his help.In the center of the main road into the village he placed a very large stone. Then he hid nearby and waited to see what would happen. Soon an old farmer passed with his cow."What fool put this big stone right in the center of the road? " said the farmer, but he made no effort to remove the stone. Instead, with some difficulty he passed around the stone and continued on his way. Another man came along, and the same thing happened; then another came, and another, etc. All of them complained about the stone in the center of the road, but not one of them took the time and trouble to remove it.Then came a young man, who was kind-hearted and hard-working. He saw the stone and said to himself, "It will be dark soon. Strangers or neighbors will come along in the dark, stumble on the stone, and perhaps hurt themselves."The young man then began to remove the stone. He had to push and pull with all his strength to move it to one side. But imagine his surprise when under the stone, he found a bag full of money and this message: "This money is for the thoughtful person who removes this stone from the road. That person deserves help."11．On April 14, 1868, two ships were scheduled to leave the busy port of New York for Europe. The night before, their captains met and had dinner together. The dinner was very ordinary and certainly neither man knew he would soon have a role in one of the world's greatest mysteries.The two ships left the next morning. Their names: the Dei G. and the Marie Celeste. After several days at sea, Morehouse, the captain of the Dei G., sighted the Marie Celeste, and he immediately recognized that something was wrong. It was not moving and there was no sign of life on deck. Morehouse and a few of his men took a small boat to the Marie Celeste to investigate. They searched every part of the ship and found nothing—not a man, dead or alive, no signs of illness or combat, no disruption. In fact, everything was in good order, as if the crew had left ten minutes before. There was a ten-pound note on a table, with an unfinished letter home near it, a freshly washed stack of clothes in the laundry, and plenty of food and water. These signs of normal, everyday life on an empty ship were the strangest feature of the mystery. What had happened to the captain and crew? If they had been attacked, why was everything still in its place and why were there no signs of a struggle? If they had died suddenly from a disease, where were their bodies?12．A lion wakes up one morning feeling really wild and unwell. He goes out and meets a small monkey and roars: "Who is the mightiest of all the jungle animals?" The trembling monkey says, "You are, all mighty lion!" Later, the lion sees an ox and asks the same question. The frightened ox answers: "Oh great lion, you're the mightiest animal in the jungle!"Feeling good now, the lion confidently walks up to an elephant and roars the same question. Fast as lightning, the elephant takes hold of the lion and knocks it against the tree six times and then raises his giant foot and stamps on the lion till it looks like a pancake. The lion wanders away, lets out a cry, and shouts to the elephant: "Just because you don't know the answer doesn't mean you have to get so unhappy about it!"13．Once there was a farmer in Laos. Every morning and every evening he and his buffalo plowed his field.One day a tiger saw the farmer and his buffalo working. The tiger was surprised to see a big animal listening to a small animal. He wanted to know more about the buffalo and the man.After the man went home, the tiger spoke to the buffalo. "You are so big and strong. Why do you do everything that the man tells you to?" The buffalo answered, "Oh, the man is very intelligent." The tiger asked, "Can you tell me how intelligent he is?" "No, I can't tell you," said the buffalo, "but you can ask him."So the next day, the tiger said to the man, "Can I see your intelligence?" But the man answered, "It's at home." "Can you go and get it?" asked the tiger. "Yes," said the man, "but I am afraid that you would kill my buffalo when I am gone. Can I tie you to a tree?"After the man tied the tiger up, he didn't go home to get his intelligence. He took his plow and hit the tiger. Then he said, "Now you know about my intelligence, even if you haven't seen it."14．It was very cold out. Two rabbits were playing in a field. Far away they saw two small red things. The rabbits went closer to look.The two red things were pieces of an old red blanket. The pieces were thick and warm, but they were very small. They were too small to use.Soon a fox came by. "Good day, my friends," he said. "You look worried. Do you have a problem?" The rabbits answered, "Yes! We need a needle andthread to sew the pieces of blanket together." "You can use my needle and thread if I can use the blanket too," said the fox.The rabbits used the fox's needle and thread. When the rabbits finished their sewing, the fox looked at their work. "You did a good job," he said. "I'll see you tonight."Night came and the wind was very cold. The fox came back to the rabbits. "Good evening, my friends. It's a cold, cold night. But we will be warm! We have the nice, warm blanket you sewed with my needle and thread. You sewed down the middle of the blanket. The right thing is for me to sleep in the middle." "Yes, that's right, Mr. Fox," said the rabbits.So the fox lay down on the ground. The rabbits put the middle of the blanket over him. The blanket covered him, but it did not cover the rabbits. They were cold all night!15．When students from other countries come to the United States, they are sometimes shocked at the informality in American college and university classes. For example, American professors do not dress up and they generally call students by their first names. Students can speak out in class, without raising their hands. Students can drink coffee, tea, juice, or soft drinks during class.Foreign students can usually get used to these differences easily. However, two examples of American informality are very difficult for some to understand. First, American students call their teachers by their first names. Instead of calling a teacher Mr. Smith or Professor Johnson, they call them Tom or Barbara. In some countries, students are not allowed to do that. Second, American students sometimes criticize the ideas of their teacher. They might also give their teachers suggestions about changing something in the class. In many countries, students cannot openly criticize their teachers or classes.Thus, some foreign students feel shocked, embarrassed and uncomfortable in American classrooms. They have two choices. One, they can imitate the behavior of the American students. But this will make them feel uncomfortable and disrespectful. Two, they can continue to follow their own customs. But in this case, the American teachers and students might think that the foreign students are too formal or too quiet.What is the solution to this problem? There is no easy answer. However, time will help to solve the problem, because foreign students will become accustomed to the new behavior.16.There was once a man who was miserable over the loss of his left eye. But one day he got the idea that he might, by making an artificial eye, be able to regain his good looks. This hope was so strong that he started to work on it right away. After weeks of diligent experimentation, he produced an eye using a special kind of wood. He believed nobody would be able to tell that it was false. However he would not be satisfied until his wooden eye had been tested and shown to be attractive. So he went to a dance that weekend. There were many beautiful girls at this dance, but he had decided before he came that it would be much safer to ask, at least at first, a less attractive one. Therefore, seeing a girl in the corner with a particularly big nose, he came close to her. Proud and confident of his appearance, he asked the girl, in a polite and gentle voice, "Would you like to dance?" Excited about the unexpected honor, she jumped up and said twice, rapidly, "Would I? Would I?" Hearing this, the man's face grew red with anger and hurt. As he left her, he shouted back at her, "Big nose! Big nose!"17.As a famous writer, Mark Twain was also famous in his day as a lecturer and teller of funny stories. He often went from town to town giving lectures that included many funny stories.One day, he was walking down the street of a small town where he was going to give a lecture that evening. A young man came up to him and said, "Mr. Twain, I'd like to talk to you for a minute, please. I have an uncle that I love very much. The problem is he never laughs or smiles. Is there anything you can suggest?""Don't worry. Bring your uncle to my lecture this evening, young man. I promise that he'll laugh and smile."That evening the young man and his uncle sat in the first row, allowing Mark Twain to speak directly to them. He told some rather funny stories, but the old man never even smiled. Then he told the funniest stories he knew, but the old man's face still remained blank. Mark Twain finished the lecture almost exhausted.Later Mark Twain was telling a friend about the experience."Oh!" said the friend. "You could have saved yourself the trouble. I know that old man. He has been deaf for years."18.One day, Carol Evans was walking along the street when she bumped into another woman. She looked at the woman very carefully. Then she said, "Kate Foster! Well, well, well, I haven't seen you for ten years."She looked the woman up and down. "But you've changed, Kate," she went on. "You used to be fat, but now you're slim." She smiled at her, "But you look well and it's good to see you again." She took the woman's hand and shook it. "But, oh, you have changed," she said. "I've never known anyone to change so much. You used to have thick hair but now it's very thin. You didn't used to wear glasses but now you're wearing really thick ones." She smiled at the woman again. "But you're still the same Kate Foster I used to have coffee with every week. We had some good times, didn't we, Kate?" "Excuse me, ma'am," the woman said, "but my name isn't Kate Foster." Carol thought for a minute, and then she said, "So you've changed your name as well, haven't you?"19.One cold evening during the holiday season, a little boy about six or seven was standing out in front of a store window. The little child had no shoes and his clothes were old and torn. A young woman passing by saw the little boy and could read the longing in his pale blue eyes. She took the child by the hand and led him into the store. There she bought him some new shoes and warm clothes. They came back outside into the street and the woman said to the child, "Now you can go home and have a very happy holiday." The little boy looked up at her and asked, "Are you God, ma'am?" She smiled down at him and replied, "No, son, I'm just one of his children." The little boy then said, "I knew you had to be a relative of God."20.A math professor was very absent-minded. When he moved from Cambridge to Newton, his wife, knowing that he would forget that they had moved and where they had moved to, wrote down the new address on a piece of paper and gave it to him.During the day, the professor had an idea in solving a math problem. He reached in his pocket, found the piece of paper and started to write on it. Then he thought it over and realized that there was a mistake in his idea. So he threw the piece of paper away.At the end of the day he went home (to the old address in Cambridge, of course). When he got there, he realized that they had moved. However, he had no idea where they had moved to, and the piece of paper with the address was long gone.Fortunately, there was a young girl on the street. He went to her and asked, "Excuse me, perhaps you know me. I lived in this house until this morning, and we've just moved. Would you know where we've moved to?"The young girl replied, "Yes, Daddy, Mommy thought you would forget, so I came to meet you."21.Tom is visiting me for a few days. I haven’t seen him since 1992, but he’s just like what he always was. He talks too much and stays up too late at night. I listen to him for hours every night. He has his job for nearly three months, but he doesn’t like it. He wants to find a better one. He has had five different jobs since 1992, and he doesn't like any of them. He says he wonders why he can’t find a job. I think I know what the problem is. I think he’s liked the job, but his bosses haven’t liked him. I imagine that every boss he’s had since 1992 has thought, “Would you be good enough to shut up for a few seconds?”22.Yesterday I went to the bank to see Alice. I thought she might have time to go to lunch with me. When I got to the bank at 11:20, they told me she had just been out for a few minutes. I asked them if she would be back by 11:30 or 11:45, and they said yes. So I decided to wait for her. I waitedand waited, but she didn't come back. It was 12:20. Finally, I decided not to wait any longer. As I started to walk toward the door, somebody called my name. I turned around and was surprised to find out that it was Alice. She told me she hadn’t left her office all morning.23.We are trying to decide where to go on our vacation this summer. Some of our friends recommended that we go to Hawaii. That would be wonderful! I’m sure we’d enjoy a trip like that, but of course it’s out of the question. In the first place, it would be terribly expensive, and in the second place, there wouldn’t be enough time. If we were to make a trip like that, I would want to be able to stay three or four weeks. If we are lucky enough to save some money between now and next summer, and if I’m fortunate enough to get four weeks of vacation instead of two weeks, maybe we can go to Hawaii next year.24.Some people remember the things they are supposed to do by writing notes to themselves. I’ve never been convinced that writing notes to myself does much good. Most of the time I lose them or forget to look at them until it's too late. I prefer to use an alarm clock to remind myself of things I’m supposed to do. I have ten alarm clocks in my house which I used to remind myself about things. For example, if I have to make a telephone call at certain time, I’ll set an alarm clock to go off a few minutes earlier and put the clock by the telephone. I can remember almost anything I want toif I use my clocks.25.Dear Tom,I got your letter and was glad to hear about your job interview at thegrocery store. I know you wanted to get a job at a TV station, but you’ve been looking for several weeks now and haven’t found anything. The job at he grocery store doesn’t sound bad. If I were you, I’d take it. If you worked there a while, you could earn some money. It’s your decision, of course, but I advise you to take it. Let me know what you decide to do. By the way, I noticed that you’re living at a different place now.the name sounds interesting – the Newport Arms Apartment. As a matter of fact, it sounds expensive, is it? How much rent are you paying for your new apartment? I’d like to watch my expenses very carefully if I were you.Love,Dad26.Mr. and Mrs. Scott needed to buy furniture for the living room in their new house. They went to a big department store and found a sofa that they both liked very much. It was exactly what they wanted. The price was 785。