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Section B Passages
Passage 1
In America, white tailed deer are more numerous than ever before, so abundant in fact that they've become a suburban nuisance and a health hazard.
Why can't the herd be thinned the old-fashioned way? The small community of North Haven on Long Island is home to some six hundred to seven hundred deer. The department of Environmental Conservation estimates the optimum population at 60. The town has been browsed bare of vegetation except where gardens and shrubs are protected by high fences.
Drivers routinely collide with deer and there are so many dead bodies left by the side of the road that the town has made it a deal with a local pet cemetery to collect and dispose of the bodies. Some people in the town have become ill from deer transmitted diseases. On the occasions when hunting has been tried, local animal rights people have worked to secure court orders against the hunts. And when that is failed, they stop the hunters, banging on pots and pans to alert the deer. Town meetings called to discuss the problem inevitably dissolved into confrontations.
The activists believe simply that the deer are not the problem. Some communities have even discussed the possibility of bringing wolves back into the ecological mix. That means wolves in the suburbs of New York. It is almost too wonderful not to try it. The wolves would kill deer of course. They would also terrorize and kill dogs and cats which is not what the suburban dwellers have in mind.
Q16. What do we learn about white-tailed deer in North Haven?
Q17. Why do local animal rights people bang on pots and pans?
Q18. What would happen if wolves were brought back into the ecological mix?
答案：
16. A. They have become a headache to the community.
17. C. To alert the deer.
18. B. They would endanger domestic animals.
點評：
這是一篇關于生態的文章。講述了白尾鹿數量過多給長島帶來的負面影響，以及政府因此采取的措施。首句便點明了文章主旨，16題的答案即可呼之欲出。17題為事實細節題，pots and pans壓了頭韻，在文中的特征還是頗為明顯的，不難定位。18題看似推理判斷，但并不難從原文中得出正確答案，cats and dogs都是domestic animals家禽，所以也可看作是事實細節題。總的來說，今年聽力短文的難度有所下降。大家要有信心，一定能通過考試的！
難詞：nuisance n. 麻煩事 hazard n. 危險 alert v. 向……報警
Passage 2
And now, if you'll walk this way, ladies and gentlemen, the next room we're going to see is the room in which the family used to hold their formal dinner parties and even occasionally entertain heads of state and royalty. However, they managed to keep this room friendly and intimate. And I think you'll agree. It has a very informal atmosphere, quite unlike some grand houses you visit. The curtains were never drawn, even at night, so guests got a view of the lake and fountains outside which were lit up at night - a very attractive sight. As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, the guests were seated very informally around this oval table, which would add to the relaxed atmosphere. The table dates from the 18th century and is made from Spanish oak. It's rather remarkable for the fact that although it's extremely big, it's supported by just six rather slim legs. However, it seems to have survived like that for 200 years. So it's probably going to last a bit longer. The chairs which go with the table are not a complete set. There were originally six of them. They are interesting for the fact that they are very plain and undecorated for the time, with only one plain central panel at the back and no armrests. I myself find them rather uncomfortable to sit in for very long, but people were used to more discomfort in the past. And now, ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to follow me into the great hall…
Q19. What do we learn about the speaker?
Q20. What does the speaker say about the room they are visiting?
Q21. What is said about the oval table in the room?
Q22. What does the speaker say about the chairs?
答案：
19. A She is a tourist guide.
20. C It was used by the family to hold dinner parties.
21. B It is very big, with only six slim legs.
22. D They are uncomfortable to sit in for long.
點評：
這是一篇導游詞，介紹名人故居的一個房間。對房間的作用，風格，陳設等做了詳細的講解。沒有太難的生詞，只要抓住以上幾個角度，題目就不難做出了。除了第一題，其他三題都是事實細節題， 21、22題可能乍一看，很難推測出考點，這時可以注意文中詳細講解的部分，導游對oval table, chairs做了非常詳細的介紹，即為考點。
Passage 3
Janet James was 22 years old when she was diagnosed with MS-a disease that attacks the body's nerves. She has just graduated from college and got a job at an advertising agency when she began to sense that something strange was going on inside her body. When James realized how severe her illness was, she knew she had better hurry up and live life. MS is the biggest crippler of young adults. And although she didn't have many symptoms, she knew it was just a matter of time. First on her agenda was to pursue her dream of hosting a pop music program. She worked at a radio station for a year, always aware that her body was degenerating. Then her best friend moved away. And one night James began screaming, "I got to go! I got to go!" Two weeks later, she arrived at Alaska, thousands of miles from her friends, her family and her past. "Everything fell into a place", she recalls. A 23-year-old girl with an incurable disease can fly to Alaska and everything can work out. The MS attacks came and went. And most of the time they hardly slowed her down. James hiked, fished, learnt to sail and experimented with hot air ballooning. "I lived for adventure", she says. "Nobody ever had a better time or did more exotic strange things than I did in an 80-year period." Inevitably however, the day came when she was so weakened that she had to return to Pittsburgh, her home town. There she began relieving her adventures by writing a book about them. Her book was published in 1993.
Q23.What does the speaker say about MS?
Q24.What did Janet James decide to do after her disease was diagnosed?
Q25.What's sort of person can we infer Janet James is?the ecological mix?
答案：
23. D It is the biggest crippler of young adults.
24. A Hurry up and live life.
25. B Adventurous.
點評：
本篇短文聽力介紹了一位MS患者的勵志故事。主人公Janet James在22歲時被檢測出患有MS（多發性硬化癥）--這是導致年輕人殘廢（crippler）的最大原因。當得知自己患有重病，James決定抓緊時間，享受生活。接下來短文講述了James在病發前逐一完成自己的夢想，并嘗試了許多冒險行為，例如遠足、釣魚、學習駕駛帆船、體驗熱氣球等。最后當James的病情達到嚴重地步時，她回到家鄉，并把自己的冒險故事寫成了一本書籍。
這篇短文中有一些關于疾病的單詞，例如diagnosed、MS、crippler、symptom、degenerating，給聽力增加了難度。
Section C compound dictation
It's difficult to estimate the number of youngsters involved in home schooling where children are not sent to school and receive their formal education from one or both parents. Legislation and court decisions have made it legally possible in most states for parents to educate their children at home and each year more people take advantage of that opportunity.
Some states require parents or a home tutor to meet teacher certification standards, and many require parents to complete legal forms to verify that their children are receiving instruction in state approved curriculum.
Supporters of home education claim that it is less expensive and far more efficient than mass public education. Moreover they site several advantages: alleviation of school overcrowding, strengthen family relationships, lower dropout rates, the facts that students are allowed to learn at their own rate, increased motivation, higher standardized test scores, and reduced discipline problems.
Critics of the home schooling movement content that it creates as many problems as it solves. They acknowledge that, in a few cases, home schooling offers educational opportunities superior to those found in most public schools, but few parents can provide such educational advantages. Some parents who withdraw their children from the schools in favor of home schooling have an inadequate educational background and insufficient formal training to provide a satisfactory education for their children. Typically, parents have fewer technological resources at their disposal than do schools. However, the relatively inexpensive computer technology that is readily available today is causing some to challenge the notion that home schooling is in any way inferior to more highly structured classroom education.
點評：
本篇聽力填空主要討論在家接受教育的問題。文章結構非常清晰，為傳統的三段式。第一段介紹在大部分地區，法律（legislation）允許家長在家教育子女，有些地區還會要求家長或家庭教師需滿足教師資格，甚至有些地方要求家長填寫表格，證實他們的子女正在接受獲批的課程。對于這種教育方式，有利也有弊。文章第二段表述了在家接受教育的支持觀點，例如便宜、有效、增進家庭關系、降低輟學（dropout）率，學生可以自主學習，提升動力（motivation），減少紀律（discipline）問題等。第三段介紹了這種教育方式的反對意見，一些批評家們爭論（contend）這種方式既解決了一些矛盾也帶來了一些新的問題，例如有些家長可能不具備施教能力，并且他們不像學校那樣具備充足的科技資源。本篇聽力的三個詞組聽寫出現在最后一段的最后三空，這種現象十分罕見，學生做題時需提高警惕。
