Listening test 1 script

res://XDict.exe/word.html - ##Listening Comprehension

Section 1
Listen to the following report and fill in the blanks as you listen. You will listen to the talk ONCE
only.

You now have 60 SECONDS to read questions 1 to 10.

[pause 60 seconds]
[tone]

Higher education in the United States is an optional final stage of formal learning following
secondary education, often at one of the 4,495 colleges or universities and junior colleges in the
country.

Students traditionally apply for admission into colleges. Schools differ in their competitiveness and
reputation; generally, the most prestigious schools are private, rather than public. Admissions criteria
involve the rigor（standards and expectations set by the university） and grades earned in high school
courses taken, the students' GPA, class ranking, and standardized test scores. Most colleges also
consider more subjective factors such as a commitment to extracurricular activities, a personal essay,
and an interview. While colleges will rarely list that they require a certain standardized test score,
class ranking, or GPA for admission, each college usually has a rough threshold below which
admission is unlikely.

Once admitted, students engage in undergraduate study, which consists of satisfying university and
class requirements to achieve a bachelor's degree in a field of concentration known as a major. Some
students enroll in double majors or minor in another field of study.

Professional degrees such as medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and law are offered as graduate study
after earning at least three years of undergraduate schooling or after earning a bachelor's degree
depending on the program. These professional fields do not require a specific undergraduate major,
though medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry have set prerequisite courses that must be taken before
enrollment.

Some students choose to attend a community college for two years prior to further study at another
college or university. Some community colleges have automatic enrollment agreements with a local
four-year college, where the community college provides the first two years of study and the
university provides the remaining years of study.

You now have TWO minutes to check and transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
[pause 2 minutes]
That is the end of Section 1.

1
Listening test 1 script
Section 2
Part A
You are going to hear a telephone conversation between an agent at Easthill Information Center and
a man. As you listen, complete the following form by writing NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
for each answer. You will listen to this part ONCE only.

You now have 30 SECONDS to read questions 11 to 15.

[pause 30 seconds]
[tone]

Female: Hello, Easthill Information Center. How may I help you?

Male: Yes, hello. I don’t live in Easthill, but I’ve just been offered a job there, for a few months. It
means I need to arrange to move to Easthill for the summer.
F: Where would you like to start?
M: Perhaps with accommodation?
F: What I’d recommend is a shared flat. The rent would be much lower than for a one-bedroom place,
particularly in the centre.
M: Uh-huh. If I really wanted to maintain my privacy, and get at least, say, a studio flat...
F: Well, that might be a compromise. I don’t have any specific details. If you were already here, you
could visit some of the local estate agents to get details of studio flats.
M: As for the payment, I guess I’ll need to pay by money order through my bank?
F: That’s the normal way, yes. With the rent, do get clear what is and isn’t part of the standard price.
Bills such as electricity are always included, but I think the phone will always be an extra.
M: Right. Now, what about transport?
F: Easthill has really good bus services. They’re frequent and they go everywhere. But they are quite
expensive if you buy tickets for each trip, so it’s better to get a pass.
M: OK.
F: They’re available as 7-day, that’s the shortest, 30-day, and 90-day, which would perhaps suit you
the most. Is there anything else I can help you with?
M: Yes. I like to keep fit, so I’d like to know something about health clubs in Easthill.
F: Ok, well, there are two, Blooms Leisure Centre and the Good Life Centre.
M: What is the difference between the two clubs?
F: The Good Life has quite a lot of different machines, and they’re carefully sequenced.
M: What about Blooms?
F: Blooms has a full-size swimming pool, and it’s outdoor.
M: You’ve been very helpful, thank you.

You now have ONE minute to check and transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
[pause 1 minute]

That is the end of Part A.

Part B
2
Listening test 1 script
Now listen to the news from BBC. As you listen, write T for the correct statement and F for the
incorrect statement. You will listen to the news ONCE only.

You now have 30 SECONDS to read questions 16 to 20.

[pause 30 seconds]
[tone]

Female: Health officials warn that oral health problems have a major negative effect on a person’s
quality of life. A new report says nearly four-billion people, that is more than half the world’s
population, have major tooth decay, or cavities. The issue is both social and psychological.

Male: Retail sales in Japan grew at the fastest pace in 17 years in March as consumers rushed to
make purchases ahead of the sales tax hike in April. Japan raised its sales tax, also known as
consumption tax, to 8% from 5% from 1 April, the first hike in 17 years. The hike comes as Japan
has been looking to rein in public debt, while facing rising social welfare costs linked to an ageing
population.

Female: A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake violently shook the central part of the Philippines
Tuesday morning. Dozens of people were killed when buildings fell and dozens of others were
missing. A worker with the charity said people were staying in the streets in hours after the quake
because some of the buildings that were still standing were very unsafe to be around.

Male: Delegates from nearly 200 countries have spent the past two weeks in Warsaw, Poland. More
than 9,000 representatives gathered for a United Nations conference on climate change. Organizers
called the meeting to work toward a treaty to fight rising temperatures on our planet. The treaty
would be signed in 2015 and take effect after 2020.

Female: NASA has confirmed that the Voyager-1 spacecraft has become the first man-made object to
leave the solar system. The probe was launched 36 years ago, but scientists believe it left our solar
system last August; it's now nearly 19 billion kilometers from Earth in what's known as interstellar
space, a cold, dark part of the Milky Way.

You now have ONE minute to check and transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
[pause 1 minute]

That is the end of Section 2

Section 3
You are going to hear an interview with Professor Burke on his job. As you listen, answer the
following questions by writing NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. You will listen
to this part TWICE.

You now have 60 SECONDS to read questions 21 to 30.

[pause 60 seconds]
3
Listening test 1 script
[tone]

Interviewer: Professor Burke, what are your duties as a mechanical engineer?

Interviewee: In my position I have now, about half of my time is devoted to counseling and
registration and other issues like that. About forty percent of my time is involved with teaching and
helping out in the labs. About five to ten percent of my time is spent being involved in academic
committees and working with administrative items.
Interviewer: Do you do any research now?
Interviewee: Definitely. Most of my research is education-related. I have a grant from the National
Science Foundation to put some CNC machines in the student labs to teach students.
Interviewer: What types of research did you do before when you were an associate professor?
Interviewee: I used to work primarily with noise control. I worked with the aircraft fuselage and all
of the vibrations and noises created in there and limiting their effects on the cockpit. Of course,
automobile engines are also very noisy being so close to the driver.
Interviewer: Did you ever work out in industry before you became a professor?
Interviewee: I worked at NASA-Langley for a year after I graduated with my masters. It’s a very
research-oriented environment. I also received an educational grant about a year ago to work the
summer at Boeing.
Interviewer: What skills are necessary for a mechanical engineer to possess?
Interviewee: I believe number 1 is the technical skills. You’re got to have those. Next are
communication and teamwork skills. There is a need for intangibles to be successful. One of the big
things at Boeing was timing. What Boeing was doing was just a large-scale integration project. It
requires a phenomenal amount of communication and scheduling.
Interviewer: What are the worst skills, or characteristics, for an engineer to have?
Interviewee: In some jobs, being highly individualistic can be a killer. In a research environment,
where an engineer can go off and do his own thing, that can be okay. But in the vast majority of
engineering jobs, bad communication can have a very negative impact on your career. In fact, in a
survey in the ASME（American Society of Mechanical Engineers 美国机械工程师协会） magazine,
the top two skills employers wanted were communication skills and teamwork skills.
Interviewer: What is the difference between the academic world and industry?
Interviewee: In the academic world, people tend to be more reflective. That’s not always the case, but
it tends to be that way. It’s partially because people who are attracted to this environment tend to be
that way. In industry, however, the people tend to be more hands-on.
Interviewer: When designing a new product, what issues are typically given the first and most
consideration?
Interviewee: Again, it varies depending on the product. First, you have to understand the customer.
Then you need to find a way to give them what they want. You have to get a sense of where the
market is going. Being able to see needs is very important and having the creativity to know how to
meet them is the hard part.
Interviewer: How are design procedures developed and followed in corporations?
Interviewee: Wow, those procedures vary greatly and to tell you the truth, I don’t think they’re
followed very tightly. Part of the problem is that I don’t think they are stated clearly. You don’t want
to be rigid, but you need to be efficient. It’s a real art at this stage. There are multiple approaches to
this, but it really needs to be designed explicitly and improved from there.
4
Listening test 1 script
Interviewer: What does a graduating mechanical engineer need to know?
Interviewee: I think one important thing to recognize for some students is that your whole life is not
your job. It can be very easy to ignore other things, but I think the real key is balance. The ME
program is very rigorous and everyone is working very hard, and as a result sometimes they don’t
recognize the need for balance.
Interviewer: Thanks for your time.
Interviewee: You’re welcome.

Now listen to the interview again.

You now have THREE MINUTES to check and transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
[pause 3 minutes]

That is the end of section 3.

Section 4

You are going to hear a report about weight loss industry. As you listen, complete the following
statements by writing NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. You will listen to this
part TWICE.

You now have 60 SECONDS to read questions 31 to 40.

[pause 60 seconds]
[tone]

Many of us gain weight because of inactivity during the winter. Some people go to extremes to lose
that extra weight before going to the beach. In the weight loss industry, there is never a lack of ideas
about how to lose weight. Each one promises to help people lose weight and get a beach beautiful
body. The weight loss industry takes in billions of dollars each year, and it is growing. One research
company estimates the weight loss business is (31) worth about $670 billion worldwide in the year
2015.

The weight loss industry is made up of three major parts. They are weight loss services; physical
fitness and surgical equipment; and (32) diets. There is a seemingly endless supply of ideas about
how to lose weight. So where does one begin? Which one is best? Experts say there is no single diet
plan that works best for everyone. Many experts agree on one thing: that to lose weight, you must
use or burn off more calories than you take in.

（33）Calories are a measure of energy in food. A pound of fat is equal to 453 grams or about 3,500
calories. To lose that fat in a week, you have to burn off at least that amount in calories or eat that
5
Listening test 1 script
much less. The best thing to do is to eat fewer calories and increase physical activity so that you burn
off more.

For years, eating a diet low in fat was said to be the best way to lose weight. Dr. Ornish developed in
1990 one of the most popular low fat diets after years of research on ways to control （34） heart
disease. The Ornish diet plan became more popular in 1993 with the release of his book "Eat More,
Weigh Less." Dr. Ornish found that carbohydrates were not to blame for making people fat. Instead,
he said, （35） fat leads to overweight. He noted that a baked potato is not high in fat, but it becomes
fatty when people add sour cream and butter to it. Like other low-fat diets, the Ornish plan suggests
that people eat diets high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes. The plan
advises people to avoid all meat, and to stay away from (36) oils, nuts and seeds.

Unlike the Ornish diet, low carbohydrate diets limit foods that are high in carbohydrates. These diets
advise people to avoid things like white flour, pasta, rice, potatoes and foods high in sugar. Instead
they suggest that people eat foods that are high in (37) proteins.

Both weight loss plans have been carefully studied over the years. But, no one plan has come out as a
clear winner. In 2008, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found low-carbo diets to be
the best at providing the most weight loss.

Some people are unable to lose weight through diet and exercise, no matter how hard they try. Others
are just not willing to put in the effort. Many of these people choose to have surgical operations to
reach their weight loss goals. One kind of weight loss surgery reduces (38) the stomach size. This is
done by separating the stomach into two parts, including a very small section at the top. People who
have had this operation are forced to eat smaller amounts of food because their top stomach fills up
much faster. Research suggests that most people lose about half of their overweight pounds in the
first year after surgery. However, a large number of people regain the weight in three to five years.

Surgical operations has been widely used since the 1970s to (39) improve the body's appearance. It
improves body shape by removing fat from some parts of the body. Recently, researchers found that
the effects of the surgery may not be long-lasting. They said people who have surgical operations
usually experience weight gain within (40) one year after the surgery. And the fat that comes back
reappears in a new area of the body, most noticeably the shoulders, arms and upper abdomen.

Now listen to the lecture again.

You now have THREE minutes to check and transfer your answers to the answer sheet.

[pause 3 minutes]

That is the end of listening comprehension.

6
Listening test 1 script