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聽力長對話原文1
Conversation One
W: Oh, hello, John. Are you usingyour dictating machine this morning? I've got a long report I must dictate. CanI borrow your machine?
M: Of course. But can you spareme a second? It's the message you sent me about the delivery delay of thecontrol desks. What's gone wrong?
W: Everything, John. We have toget the steel sheets we need for these desks from new suppliers. Well, the suppliers have got some troubleor other. They say they will be a bit late with the delivery.
M: But they can't be. Those controldesks are a special order. They are wanted for one of the big computercompanies. It's a very important contract.
W: When did we promise thedelivery?
M: On Thursday next week. Andthere's a penalty clause. We stand to lose 10 percent of our price for eachweek of overdue delivery.
W: Oh, these penalty clauses! Whydid you sales people accept them?
M: We have to accept them;otherwise, we don't get the contracts.
W: Well, let's get on to theBuying Department. I only heard about the delay yesterday because we kept theproduction line clear to handle these special sheets. It's a dreadful nuisance.
M: It will be more than anuisance if we don't meet on delivery date. It will cost us a lot of money.
W: Keep calm, John. We canperhaps claim compensation from the steel suppliers for failure to deliver ontime. Then we will offset the penalty clause.
M: Well, if you can.
Questions 19 to 22 are based onthe conversation you have just heard.
19. Why did the woman send themessage to the man?
20. What does the woman say aboutthe new suppliers?
21. How did the man get thecontracts?
22. What does the woman suggest they do?
聽力長對話原文2
Conversation Two
M: Kathy, chaos theory seems tobe a branch of physics or mathematics. You are an economist, so how does itinfluence your work?
W: Well, in several ways. I amresponsible for financial development programs in many parts of the world, soforecasting long range trends and making predictions on the basis of presentevidence is what I do. Chaos theory was developed by scientists, trying toexplain the movement of the planets and the changes in environmentalconditions. Both of these things are also about making long-term predictions onthe basis of present evidence.
M: Are many economists involvedin this field?
W: An increasing number. In the1990s, many economists began to look at chaos theory as a way of providingmodels for forecasting.
M: What kind of"models" are we talking about here?
W: Well, that's a good question,because the basic idea of chaos theory is that there aren't any"models" as such—there aren't guaranteed forms, but rather patternsof change in development.
M: Doesn't that mean thatforecasting is impossible?
W: No, but it certainly makes itmore of a challenge.]Mandelbrot, who didthe experiment with stock exchanges prices, for example, noted that althoughthe outcomes were variable, there were in fact certain constancy. What we haveto do is make sure we know what these are and take into account all thepossible variables.
M: But do economics and financework in the same way as weather conditions or the movement of planets?
W: Well, no, of course not. Thereare certain underlying similarities. Butwe have to leave them for the other time.
Questions 23 to 25 are based onthe conversation you have just heard.
23. What is the woman'sprofession?
24. What was chaos theorysupposed to do when it was first formulated?
25. What are the speakers mainlytalking about?
