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1997年英語專業八級考試聽力MP3
聽力原文??
PART Ⅰ LISTENING COMPREHENSION?
SECTION A TALK?
Good morning, everyone. Today we’re going to talk about acid rain. You may wonder what is acid rain. Well, it is almost impossible to describe the mathematical relationship between what goes up as pollutant emissions and what comes down as acid rain. But we do know the primary source of acid rain is the power station smoke stack. The pollutants combine with moisture in the atmosphere and they fall as an acid mixture raising the rain. Do you know what the Germans call this acid rain??
The royal water, I mean the acid rain, falls in rain or snow on the romantic Black Forest ,and attacks the soil. Micro-organisms within the soil collapse and metals harmful to trees like aluminum are leaked out. At the same time, the acid rain attacks the leaves and dissolve their waxy coating. The leaves then shrivel and die. About one in every ten trees in the Black Forest is a fir. 76 percent of all firs are dying. The first symptoms of death by pollution in a fir is the yellowing of the needles. At the back of the fir needle, you can see the pores through which the plant breathes. The acid rain destroys those pores, and prevent them from closing. So on a warm day, the plant loses all of its moisture through those open pores. The needles, as a result, turn yellow and die.?
The statistics that are available now are horrifying. Of these trees in the Black Forest, 41% of all spruce are diseased, 43% of all pine are diseased, 26% of beech trees, 76% of all fir trees and 16% of all others are dying. Environmental groups like Green Peace campaign around Europe are trying to stop the acid rain.?
Germany is now leading the way in attacking part of the problem. Motor vehicles are thought to contribute significantly to the pollution of the atmosphere. The by-products of motor vehicle emissions are considered dangerous to plants, and humans as well.?
In order to clean up motor vehicle emissions, all new cars in Germany must meet emission standards and be fitted with a device called “catalytic converter”.?
Use of the converters requires people to switch to lead-free petrol. This might explain why the Europeans are reluctant to follow Germany’s lead in cleaning up its motor vehicle emission. It’s unlikely that Germany will force her European neighbours to change to lead-free petrol. The reason is that though her neighbours may be slow in cleaning up their smoke stacks, they will have to comply with the new motor vehicle requirements if they want the wealthy German tourists driving across their borders.?
Certainly, the menace of acid rain knows no borders because it gathers in the rain clouds and goes with the prevailing winds. So Canada’s lakes die from America’s pollution. Germany’s trees die from her next-door neighbors. Sweden’s lakes fall victim to Britain’s industry. And there are many similar examples. And I won’t go into them because of time constraint. ?
Like Germany, the United States also introduced strict clean air-controls on motor vehicle emissions in the mid-70s as part of their efforts to reduce acid rain. But throughout the northern hemisphere it’s agreed that such measures, though important, will be of minimal effect. If we are to save what’s left of forests and lakes in the world, a strict international emission standard must be uniformly imposed on industry. However, its unlikely that will be agreed upon before many more acres of precious forests are destroyed.??
SECTION B INTERVIEW ?
Interviewer: Good morning Mr. Pitt. Do sit down.?
Pitt: Thank you.?
Interviewer: First of all, Mr. Pitt. I’d like you to tell me a bit about what you’ve been doing.?
Pitt: Well, I left school after I’d done my A levels.?
Interviewer: Ah, yes, A levels. What subjects did you take??
Pitt: I took four subjects, French, German, chemistry and art. Chemistry wasn’t my cup of tea, but art has always been.?
Interviewer: Art??
Pitt: Well, I really wanted to study art. It didn’t turn out like that, because a friend of my fathers offered me a job. It’s an accountant in London. A quite big firm, you know.?
Interviewer: I see. A firm of accountants. Interesting. In your application, you say that you only spent nine months with this firm of accountants. Why was that??
Pitt: It was nearly a year actually. Well, to be quite honest, I didn’t like it.
I just couldn’t seem to get interested in the job although there were fairly good prospects. So I got a place at the art college to do a three-year diploma course.?
Interviewer: I see. Now Mr. Pitt, what about hobbies and interests? Er, what do you do in your spare time??
Pitt: I like jazz, traditional and folk music. I don’t play of course, but I go to quite a lot of concerts and I go to the theater occasionally and act a bit myself. I’m in the local Germanic society. I read quite a lot and I’ve done a bit of photography. Also, I’ve traveled a lot. Hitchhike a dolly for Europe. Last year that was.?
Interviewer: Very interesting. Mr. Pitt. I think, that’s all I wanted to ask about your background. Now let’s talk about the management trainee scheme. What exactly do you think a manager does?
Pitt: I don’t know a great deal about the work.?
Interviewer: But you have got any ideas about it. You must have thought about it.?
Pitt: Well, I... Suppose he has a lot of... a... what is called policy making to do. And... he has to know how to work with people, and all about the company. ?
Interviewer: Mm. ?
Pitt: Yes, I... should think a manager must know something about all aspects of the work.?Interviewer: Yes, that’s right. We like our executive staff to undergo a thorough training. Young men on our trainee scheme have to work through every branch in the company.?
Pitt: Oh.?
Interviewer: And one of them is accountancy. Presumably you wouldn’t like that.?
Pitt: Well, if I had to do it, I suppose... But I was thinking that my French and German would mean that I could specialize in overseas work. I’d like to be some sort of an export salesman and travel abroad.?
Interviewer: You know, the glamour of traveling abroad disappears when you’ve got a hard job of work to do. It’s not all fun and game.?
Pitt: Oh yes, I realize that. It’s just that my knowledge of languages would be useful.?
Interviewer: Now, Mr. Pitt, is there anything you want to ask me??
Pitt: Well, there is one or two things. I’d like to know if I have to sign a contract and what the salary and prospects are.?
Interviewer: With our scheme, Mr. Pitt, there is no contract involved. Your progress is kept under constant review. If we at any time decide we don’t like you, then that’s that. We reserve the right to dismiss you.?
Pitt: I see.?
Interviewer: Of course. You have the same choice about us.?
Pitt: Fair enough. And what about the salary??
Interviewer: As for salary, you’ll be on our fixed scales, starting at 870 pounds. For the successful trainee, the prospects are very good.?
Pitt: I see. Thank you very much.?
Interviewer: That’s all, Mr. Pitt. You should hear from us in a couple of weeks. One way or the other, or we may ask you to come back for another chat. Thank you.?
Pitt: Goodbye, Mrs. Williams.?
?
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST?
News Item 1(For Question 11)?
Russian authorities are questioning five men suspected of taking about a dozen school children hostage and commandeering a helicopter for a ten million dollar ransom. The alleged gunmen were captured early Monday in southern Russia ending a four-day drama. The kidnappers initially demanded to be flown to Iran. A police now believes their only aim was ten million dollars paid by the government most of which has now been recovered.??
News Item 2 ( For Question 12 )?
The United States has announced that it’s to send one thousand more troops to Panama to increase security at Cuban refugee camps where riots broke out last week. Officials in Washington said that the troops will be added to the two thousand who are already in Panama. More than 200 American soldiers were injured when the Cubans, angry at delays in moving them out of Panama, attacked their guards and broke out of the camps. The refugees have been in Panama since September.?
News Item 3 ( For Question 13 )?
U.S. lawmakers have criticized- the recent US-North Korean deal calling for freeing Pyongyang’s nuclear program in return for US diplomatic and economic concessions. They express concern that the North may take the concessions and break the accord. Other lawmakers noted that inspection of Pyongyang’s nuclear site is not required for at least five years. The U. S. chief negotiator defended the accord, saying he had made no compromises that would damage U. S. national security. ?
News Item 4 ( For Questions 14-15 )?
Italy, a major producer of landmines, has joined the campaign to ban the weapons which kill and maim many thousands of people every year. The Chamber of Deputies, the Lower House of Parliament voted 402 to 2 with four abstentions to ratify a 1980 convention that will commit Italy to drastically limit the use of landmines and help to clear mined areas. Parliament also pledged Italy’s support for efforts led by the Secretary General of the United Nations, the International Red Cross and the Swedish Government to promote a total international ban on the production and export of the mines. The Italian Parliament acted at the request of Defense Minister.??
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING?
Good morning everyone. First about your second assignment. I’d like to remind you that your second assignment should be handed in by next Friday, You can either put it in my pigeon hole or leave it with the department secretary. Now, let’s get down to the lecture.?
Today the lecture is on credit or, to be more specific, on credit cards. I’m sure you must have heard of some credit cards like the Visa card, which is an internationally used card or the Great Wall card issued by the Bank of China.
In order to give a better understanding we’ll discuss it in sonic detail. Many businesses, such as department stores, restaurants, hotels and airline companies use a credit system for selling their products and services. In a credit system the seller agrees to sell something to the buyer without immediately receiving cash. He receives the goods or services immediately and promises to pay for them later. This buy-now-pay-later credit system is quite old. There are two types of credit cards. One type is issued directly by a store to a customer. Many large department stores issue credit cards to their customers. The store credit card can be used to make purchases only at a particular store. For example, if you have a credit card from Store A, then you can only buy things in that store. Other stores would not accept it.?
The other kind of credit cards is issued by a credit company. Credit cards from credit companies can be used to buy things almost anywhere. If you have a major credit card, you can buy air plane tickets, stay in hotels and eat in restaurants with it. Most large credit companies are connected to large banks. So if you want a credit card from a credit company, you generally have to make an application at a bank. After an applicant receives a credit card, he or she can make purchases using the card. The credit company sends the customer a statement of purchases at the end of each month. Generally the Customer has to pay 25 to 50 percent of their (his) credit bill every month. The customer pays directly to the credit company and the credit company pays to the store or hotel or restaurant.
There are some advantages and some disadvantages to using credit cards. The biggest advantage for the consumer is expressed by the phrase “Buy now, pay later”. This means that the consumer can purchase what he wants when he wants it. There is no need to save up money in advance. Another advantage of having a credit card is that it protects the owner, if a credit card is lost or stolen, the owner only has to call the credit company, and the credit company will stop the credit
card number, No one else can use it. So the owner doesn’t have to worry about losing the card.?
Another advantage of the credit card system is that the consumer receives a record of his or her purchases. Every month the credit customer receives a bill. The bill has a list of all purchases from that month. This makes it easier to remember when and where purchases are made. And another advantage is that credit cards can be used when something unexpected happens. Many kinds of professional people - plumbers, taxi drivers, doctors and dentists will accept credit cards in an emergency. This is very important if you don’t have any cash with you.?
However, having said all that, using credit cards has one major advantage, that is consumers tend to overspend their money. They spend more than they make. If a consumer buys a lot of things on credit, he or she has to make large payments each month. Sometimes it becomes impossible to keep up with the payments. As a result, the consumer’s life becomes more and more difficult. If the consumer cannot make the payments, his card will be taken away. It will be very difficult for him to get another credit card in the future.?
To sum up briefly, we can see a credit buying system has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand it gives people convenience in life and on the other hand it tends to encourage overspending.??
