Passage One
　　
Children in the United States are exposed to many influences other than that of their families. Television is the most significant of these influences, because the habit of watching television usually begins before children start attending school. And, by the time that the average child finishes high school, he or she will have spent 18,000 hours in front of a television set as opposed to 12,000 hours in a classroom.
　　
Parents are concerned about these figures. They are also concerned about the lack of quality in television progmp3s for children. The degree of violence in many of these shows also worries them.
　　
Even if it is unreal — a cartoon cat beating up a cartoon mouse with a baseball bat — this violence may have a negative effect on the young minds exposed to it. Studies indicate that, when children are exposed to violence, they may become aggressive or insecure.
　　
Parents are also concerned about the commercials that their children see on television. Many parents would like to see fewer commercials during progmp3s for children. And some parents feel that these shows should not have commercials at all because young minds are not mature enough to deal with the claims made by advertisers.
　　
Educational television has no commercials and has progmp3s for children that many parents approve of. The most famous of these is “Sesame Street”, which tries to give preschool children a head start in learning the alphabet and numbers. It also tries to teach children useful things about the world in which they live.
　　
Even though most parents and educators give “Sesame Street” and shows like it high marks for quality, some critics argue that all television, whether educational or not, is hamp3ful to children. These critics feel that the habit of watching hours of television a day turns children into bored and passive consumers of their world rather than encouraging them to become active explorers of it.
　　
Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
　　
26. What is the main idea of the passage?

【解析】選[C]。在聽錄音之前，預覽四個選項可知本文與電視帶來的負面影響有關。至于是對哪一方面的負面影響，既要根據主題句區分，還需要根據文章內容進行辨別。
　　
27. According to the passage, what do you think “Sesame Street” is?
　　
【解析】選[B]。預讀選項可知此題詢問的是電視節目的類型。The most famous of these is “Sesame Street”...為答案的依據，其中的these指的就是educational progmp3s.
　　
28. What will be the consequence if a child fomp3s a habit of watching hours of television every day?
　　
【解析】選[A]。預讀選項可知此題詢問的是They將會發生什么行為或變成怎樣的狀態，需要留意對動作和狀態的描述。答案依據為：These critics feel that the habit of watching hours of television day turns children into bored and passive consumers of their world rather than encouraging them to become active explorers of it. 選項[A]中bored ≈ 原文中的dull，passive ≈ inactive。
　　
Passage Two
　　
Crime has its own cycles, a magazine reported some years ago. Police records show a surprising relation between changes in the season and crime patterns.
　　
The pattern of crime has changed very little over a long period of years. Murder reaches its high during July and August, as do other violent attacks. Murder, in addition, is more than seasonal; it is a weekend crime. It is also a nighttime crime: 62 percent of murders are committed between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. One is most likely to be robbed between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. on a Saturday night in December, January, or February. Except for one strange statistic, May is the least criminal month of all.
　　
Apparently our intellectual season cycles are completely different from our criminal patterns. Professor Huntington made a lot of studies to discover the seasons when people read serious books, attend scientific meetings, and make the highest scores on examinations. In all examples, he found a spring peak and an autumn peak separated by a summer low. On the other hand, Professor Huntington’s studies showed that June is the peak month for suicides and for admitting patients to mental hospital. June is also a peak month for marriages!
　　
Possibly, high temperature and humidity bring on our strange and surprising summer actions, but police officers are not so sure. “There are, of course, no proof of a relation between humidity and murder”, they say. “Why murder’s high time should come in the summer time we really don’t know”.
　　
Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
　　
29. What is the passage mainly about?
　　
【解析】選[D]。根據選項的概括性強、信息密集可知，本題考查短文主旨。文章開頭的Police records show a surprising relation between changes in the season and crime patterns為短文主題句，故[D]為答案。
　　
30. Which is the safest season?
　　
【解析】選[B]。文章明確提到May is the least criminal month of all，表明五月是犯罪率最低的月份，也就是說五月最安全，故選項[B]正確。
　　
31. What did Professor Huntington’s research show?
　　
【解析】選[C]。推斷題。文章講到，Professor Huntington調查人們讀嚴肅小說、出席科技會議和考試得高分的季節，所有數據表明在春季和秋季是高峰，而夏季卻是低峰，排除[B]、[D];另外短文中聽到June出現最多的地方提到了兩個peak, 他們分別是自殺和醫院接收精神病患者數目最高峰以及結婚的高峰，由此可以排除[A]項，得出答案[C]。
　　
Passage Three
　　
Despite the presence of workaholics, there is a growing realization in the United States that too much work demand can be physically and mentally hamp3ful. Many people have been rebelling against the work ethic, saying that no job is so important as to damage personal relationships and rob people of relaxation. There has been a shift in values, with more emphasis being given to personal relationships and relaxation. Leisure time provides opportunities to find personal satisfaction and freedom from the routine of work.
　　
Increased leisure time in the United States has not altered the idea that work and play are distinct activities. This distinction is clear-cut; there are “work-hours” and “afterwork-hours”. There is a belief that it is desirable “to work hard and play hard” and undesirable to combine the two. In many offices, stores, and factories socializing among employees is discouraged. An employee under pressure at work often cannot afford to respond to social calls and visits. However, the amount of personal contact on the job depends on the nature of the work. There may be more social interaction between teachers in a school than between scientists doing independent research. Nevertheless, work and play are usually perceived and maintained as separate activities.
　　
Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
　　
32. What is the result of too much work demand?
　　
【解析】選[C]。本文開頭就說too much work demand can be physically and mentally hamp3ful(工作量過大在體力上和腦力上都是有害的)，即[C]。
　　
33. In order to rebel against the work ethic, what do many people believe now?
　　
【解析】選[B]。文中claiming(宣稱)即表明人們是這樣認為(believe)的，no job is so important as to...表明工作并不是最重要的，人們應該多注意與人的交往和放松自己，即[B]。
　　
34. What do people expect an employee under pressure at work to do?
　　
【解析】選[B]。這個例子出現在to work hard and play hard這個概念被引出之后，文中原話說：處于工作重壓下的職員是不能進行社交拜訪活動(意即休閑)的，與[B]表達的意思是一樣的。
　　
35. What does the speaker imply by saying “the distinction is clear-cut”?
　　
【解析】選[A]。文中clear-cut一詞出現前有work and play are distinct (不同的) activities，之后又出現了work-hours and afterwork-hours和 to work ?hard and play hard等詞句，均說明美國人認為工作和休閑是截然分開的。