Part III Listening Comprehension

Section B

Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

I first met Joe Gumps when we were both 9 years old, which is probably the only reason he is one of my best friends. If I had first met Joe as a freshman in high school, we wouldn't even have had the chance to get to know each other. Joe is a day student, but I am a boarding student. We haven't been in the same classes, sports or extra curriculum activities. Nonetheless, I spend nearly every weekend at his house, and we talk on the phone every night. This is not to say that we would not have been compatible if we had first met in our freshman year. Rather, we would not have been likely to spend enough time getting to know each other, due to the lack of immediately visible mutual interests.

In fact, to be honest, I struggle even now to think of things we have in common, but maybe that's what makes us enjoy each other's company so much. When I look at my friendship with Joe, I wonder how many people I've known whom I never disliked but simply didn't take the time to get to know. Thanks to Joe, I have realized how little basis there is, for the social divisions that exist in every community. Since this realization, I have begun to make an even more determined effort to find friends in unexpected people and places.

Questions:

26. Why does the speaker say Joe Gumps become one of his best friends?

27. Where does the speaker spend most of his weekends?

28. What has the speaker learned from his friendship with Joe?

Passage 2

It was a bad night for Louis. His research in the neighboring town had taken longer than he expected. It was late and he was very tired when he drove home. He turned into his building's parking lot, but all the spaces were full. He drove back out onto the street looking for a parking space. The first block was full. The next block was almost empty. Louis didn't see a no—parking sign, but he suspected that if parking were allowed there, most of the spaces would be filled. Then he saw a small parking lot with two free spaces. He was so glad to see them that he didn't even think to read the sign by the entrance. He drove in, parked, and hurried home to go to bed. The next morning he went back to the lot to get his car. It was gone. He ran home and telephoned the city police to say that his car had been stolen. It took the police only a minute to tell him what had happened. His car had been on a private lot. It had been taken away by the police. Louis had to take a taxi to the city garage far from the center of town. He had to pay a fee of $40 to get his car back. In addition, he got a parking ticket—his first one ever in Greenville.

29. Where did Louis intend to park his car when he came back from work one night?

30. What did Louis think had happened to his car the next morning?

31. Where did Louis finally get his car back?

Passage 3

Well, to pick up where we left off last time, I believe we agreed the creativity is a mysterious idea. It's one of those things we all recognized when we see it. But we don't really understand what it is. We seem to feel that some people are naturally creative, but we don't know how they got that way. Is creativity a natural gift like good looks? Or is it something that can be acquired like knowledge? Perhaps if we analyze the creative process carefully, we might get some insight into what it is and how it might work in our lives. The creative process has always been accepted as a source of all important work in the arts. But we should not think the creativity play the role only in the arts. Every major scientific discovery began with someone imagining the world to look differently from the way others saw it. And this is what the creativity is all about. Imagining the world in a new way, and despite what you may believe about the limits of your own creative imaginations, we all have the potential to imagine the world in an absolute new way.

In fact, you were born with it. It is your birth right as a human being. And what's more, you use it every day almost every moment of your life. Your creative imagination is what you use to make sense of your experiences. It's your creative mind to get the meaning from the chaos of your experiences and brings order to your world.

32: What did the speaker most probably discuss last time?

33: What is a widely accepted idea about the creative process?

34: What leads to major scientific discoveries according to the speaker?

35: What does the speaker imply about the creative process?

本文是一篇有關創造性的文章。文章是一篇lecture(講座)的形式。先從一般人對創造性的理解引入，再對創造性實際上在日常生活中處處都起著重要作用。最后總結了創造性就是以不同的思維方式看世界。作者最后進一步指出，創造性思維人人皆有，因為人人皆在用自己的方式看世界。