大学英语四级考试巅峰听力MP3与字幕文本下载 Track 15（在线收听）

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[00:00.97]Passage One

[00:03.20]It is an old joke that Americans are soon

[00:07.13]going to lose the use of their legs.

[00:10.09]But it is true that

[00:11.62]few Americans will walk anywhere if they can help it,

[00:16.32]either for practical purposes or for pleasure.

[00:19.71]You can do your banking from your car,

[00:23.10]without leaving the driving seat.

[00:25.52]You can mail your letters in postboxes

[00:28.79]that reach the level of your car window.

[00:31.64]You can watch a film from your car in a drive-in theater.

[00:36.57]At many stores you can be served in your car.

[00:41.27]At countless restaurants waitresses

[00:44.33]will hitch trays to the car door,

[00:46.63]so that you can eat without moving.

[00:49.69]In Florida there is even a drive-in church.

[00:53.85]And in California a funeral home

[00:57.46]has drive-in service for people

[01:00.41]who wish to purchase gravestones and caskets ahead of time.

[01:06.11]Questions 1 to 3 are based on the passage you have just heard.

[01:12.89]1. What is the passage mainly about?

[01:33.68]2. How do Americans do their banking?

[01:54.25]3. What is the tone of the passage?

[02:15.49]Passage Two

[02:19.38]Social life in America

[02:21.57]varies tremendously from office to office.

[02:25.40]Big corporations may have clubs,

[02:28.35]sports teams, trips, dance classes,

[02:32.07]or other employee activities

[02:34.36]which you can join or not as you like,

[02:37.21]while small companies usually can't afford these activities.

[02:41.59]In general, people go to lunch with each other by invitation

[02:46.52]when they feel like it.

[02:48.16]Usually people of higher rank would invite those of lower rank

[02:52.97]rather than the other way around,

[02:55.16]but lines are not closely drawn.

[02:58.17]Except for special occassions,

[03:00.28]everyone pays for himself or herself

[03:03.56]regardless of whether or not an invitation is offered.

[03:07.50]It is quite acceptable for men or women colleagues,

[03:11.76]single or married, to go out together for lunch.

[03:15.05]This may be the extent to which

[03:17.47]your office friends will invite you.

[03:19.44]Although in general Americans readily take people home with them,

[03:23.70]they often do not want to mix business and social life.

[03:27.53]If this is the case in your place of work,

[03:30.27]you will have to seek your friendships through other channels.

[03:34.78]Questions 4 to 6 are based on the passage you have just heard.

[03:41.23]4.How does social life differ from office to office in America?

[04:03.34]5.Who usually pays for the food

[04:08.04]when your office friends invite you to lunch together?

[04:26.20]6.If your colleagues do not want to mix business and social life,

[04:32.76]what should you do in order to get friendships?

[04:52.29]Passage Three

[04:55.05]Every one, young or old,

[04:57.58]feels a special interest in his own name,

[05:00.75]when and how it was created

[05:04.03]and the changes it has undergone through the centuries.

[05:08.29]For a long time,

[05:10.16]people were known only by their personal or given names.

[05:14.97]The family name came into use gradually as the need arose.

[05:21.21]The most common way

[05:23.29]by which given names developed into family names

[05:26.80]was by combining the word “son”

[05:29.75]with the name of the parents,

[05:32.26]to form a compound name:

[05:34.89]such as Williamson, Robertson, Richardson.

[05:40.80]Often “son” was shortened to “s”

[05:45.51]as in Williams, Roberts, Richards.

[05:50.87]Occupational names are especially interesting

[05:55.36]for at first they were not inherited

[05:58.52]but were given to persons mentioned

[06:01.59]by reasons of their respective jobs.

[06:05.09]Most names in this class explain themselves:

[06:09.91]such as Smith, Miller, Shepherd and Bishop.

[06:17.78]Questions 7 to 9 are based on the passage you have just heard.

[06:24.57]7. What is the passage about?

[06:45.36]8. How were people first known?

[07:05.59]9. How did the name “Williamson” develop into “Williams”?