PART A
1. W: How's the class going, Ted? Are you learning to swim well?
M: Slowly but surely.
Q : What does Ted mean?
2. M: How much weight are you trying to lose?
W: About 10 kilos. I used to weigh 53 kilos before, but now if I can just get down to 58 kilos, I'll be happy.
Q: How many kilos does the woman weigh now?
3. W: How do you like the book Professor Brown recommended to us?
M: It's not easy but it's well worth reading.
Q : What does the man say about the book?
4. W: Fasten your seat belt please, sir.
M: Of course. Are we going to land soon?
Q: Where does this conversation take place?
5. M: It really doesn't make sense to spend much money on clothes, don't you think?
W: Right, especially when the styles change so often.
Q : On what do the two speakers agree?
6. M: What are you reading, Betty?
W: Oh, I'm trying to work out what caused the earthquake in Mexico in 1985.
Q : What sort of book is Betty most likely reading?
7. W: Hello, Tim. Do you go to work by bike every day?
M: Yes. I've tried fruit diet to reduce my weight, but the doctor says exercise is more effective at my age.
Q : How's Tim trying to lose weight?
8. M: Could you give me a ride to the Museum of Modern Art on your way to office?
W: I'm sorry, but I'm not going to office today. You might ask Linda. She's leaving around half past eight.
Q : What does the woman mean?
9. M: Have you called John to come and fix the TV set?
W: I tried reaching him again and again, but it seemed his phone was out of order.
Q: Why couldn’t the woman get John to come?
10. W: Do you mind closing the door? Our next door neighbors are making so much noise.
M: Do I mind? I’d be happy to.
Q: What does the man mean?
PART C
Passage 1
Forty-five people were made homeless in the fire that destroyed a row of shops on Branch Road yesterday. The damage was estimated at 150,000 dollars. Police said nobody was injured during the fire which lasted about one and half hours. The fire started at about 11:50 a.m. at the back of a bakery shop. Within 15 minutes the shops on either side of the bakery were on fire. Three fire engines rushed to the fire.
A victim of the fire, Mr Green, said: 'I left home at 10 a.m. and when I re- turned I was shocked to see my house on fire.' Another victim of the fire, Miss Wright, said: 'I was out for a cup of tea and returned to see my house on fire. The fire was so strong that we could not save anything. All we could do was stand and watch.'
Passage 2
This is an SOS Children's Village. The letters SOS stand for 'Save Our Souls', which means 'Please help us.' An SOS Children's Village gives help to children who have lost their parents.
In Europe many people died during the Second World War. As a result, at the end of the war there were many homeless children there. A man called Hermann Gmeiner wanted to help these children. His idea was simple. He wanted the orphans to have a home. And he wanted them to have the care and kindness of parents. Gmeiner asked people to give him some money. With money he built the first SOS Children's Village at last in Austria. It opened in 1949. This is how the first SOS Children's Village started.
Hermann Gmeiner's idea for helping orphans soon spread all over the world. By 1983 there were 170 SOS Children's Villages in the world. People in many countries give money to help the villages. Today the children from the first villages have grown up, and some of them are working in other SOS Children's Villages.
In SOS Children's Villages orphans live in family groups. There are several houses in each village. The biggest villages have 40 or 50 houses. Seven to ten children live in a house. A woman lives with each group of children and looks after them. She gives the children a lot of love and kindness. She cooks for them and makes a comfortable, happy home for them.
Passage 3
Agnes Miller was one of the earliest leaders of the women's liberation movement in the United States. She was born on a farm in Missouri in 1892 and had a very happy life as a child. She was the only daughter and the youngest child of five. Her parents and her brothers always treated her as their favorite.
In 1896 the family moved to Chicago. Three years later they moved back to St Louis, where Agnes spent the rest of her childhood. She enjoyed her years in school and was an outstanding student of mathematics. She also was quite skillful as a painter.
It was when Agnes went off to college that she first became aware that women were not treated as equals. She didn't like being treated unequally but she tried not to notice it. After graduating from college she tried to get a job in her major field -- physics. She soon found it was almost impossible for a woman.
Agnes spent a full year looking for a job. Finally she gave up in anger. She began writing letters of protest to various newspapers. An editor in New York liked her ideas very much, and was especially impressed with her style of writing. He asked her to do a series of stories on the difficulties women had in finding a job.
Agnes travelled to several large cities to write stories about them. Her articles began to appear in more and more newspapers. She decided to write a book in sup- port of women's liberation. The book became a bestseller. Although she never saw full equal rights for women she never gave up her fight. And she showed many other women the way to continue the fight. |