Passage Two

　　Mrs. Jones was very fond of singing. She had a good voice, except that some of her high notes tended to sound like a gate, which someone had forgotten to oil. Mrs. Jones was very conscious of this weakness, and took every opportunity she could find to practice these high notes. As she lived in a small house where she could not practice without disturbing the rest of the family, she usually went for long walks along the country roads whenever she had time, and practiced her high notes there. Whenever she heard a car or a person coming along the road, she stopped and waited until she could no longer be heard before she started practicing again, because she was a shy person, and because she was sensitive about those high notes.

　　One afternoon, however, a fast, open car came up behind her so silently and so fast that she did not hear it until it was only a few yards from her. She was singing some of her highest and most difficult notes at the time, and as the car passed her, she saw an anxious expression suddenly come over its driver’s face. He put his brakes on violently, and as soon as the car stopped, jumped out and began to examine all his tires carefully.

　　Mrs. Jones did not dare to tell him what the noise he had heard had really been, so he got back into his car and drove off as puzzled as he had been when he stopped.

　　Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　29. What was Mrs. Jones very fond of?

　　30. What did she do about her weakness?

　　31. Where did she practice?

　　Passage Three

　　China’s first astronaut returned safely to earth on Thursday when his craft touched down on time and as planned after 21 hours in orbit. China’s mission control declared the country’s landmark flight “a success.”

　　The craft carrying Yang Liwei touched down on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia in northern China as planned at dawn on Thursday. He emerged from the capsule and waved at rescuers. The landing came after a 21-hour mission in which Shenzhou V orbited the Earth 14 times.

　　It was reported that the astronaut’s condition was good, and he would undergo an immediate exam. The completion of the mission was the crowning achievement of an 11-year, manned space program.

　　While in orbit Yang spoke to his family, telling them it looked “splendid” in space. He also had a conversation with the country’s defense minister, unfurled the flags of China and the United Nations and took a nap.

　　Yang, an astronaut since 1998, was picked for the flight from three finalists. They have trained for years. His trip came after four test flights, beginning in 1999, of unmanned Shenzhou capsules.

　　China has had a rocketry program since the 1950s. It launched a manned space program in the 1970s during the Cultural Revolution but later abandoned it. The program was relaunched in 1992 under the code name Project 921.

　　Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　32. When did the craft carrying Yang Liwei return safely to Earth?

　　33. How many times did China’s first manned spaceship Shenzhou V orbit the Earth?

　　34. While in orbit, Yang performed some tasks. Which is not mentioned in the passage?

　　35. When did China launch a manned space program?

　　Section C

　　Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered form 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information.

　　For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.

　　There have been a lot of (36) changes in American eating (37 habits in the last ten years. One is the growing (38) awareness of the nutritional value of food. Another is an (39) increasing interest in a (40) variety of international foods. Since about 1970, Americans have been more and more (41) concerned about health. They have begun to notice the (42) ingredients in what they eat.

　　When they select food in the (43) supermarket, they turn the packages over to read the labels carefully. (44) They prefer to eat food that is produced without unnecessary chemicals and often choose fruits and vegetables grown without poisons used to kill insects. A small group of Americans, called vegetarians, have decided not to eat meat. (45) So they choose a complete diet from other kinds of food, because they think that meat products are not good for their health.

　　More and more Americans have also become interested in food from other countries. (46) They have been going out to international restaurants and eagerly trying unfamiliar dishes. Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, and Greek, as well as many other recipes, are all popular these days in the United States. People used to say that Americans ate uninteresting, and unhealthy food, but this has changed in the last ten years.