M: [5]Look at all the equipment here. They must be used for some kind of sport. W: You are right. [5]They are for climbing mountains. Have you ever tried that before? M: No, never, have you? W: [5]/[6]Almost for five years. M: Five years? Wow! Isn’t it a bit dangerous? I heard that a 21-year-old college student lost his life when climbing the cliff the other day. W: Yes, it does happen from time to time, [7]most often by people who just try when they are not yet ready for any risk. M: Are there any climbing clubs for freshmen to join? W: Yes, for sure. But you need time to pick out the best one. Nowadays, too many of these climbing clubs are too eager to initiate trips without checking properly the skill levels of the climbers. M: Well, [5]as a veteran, what experience do you think you can share with others? W: Well, climbing success is considered by most to be almost 100 percent dependent on fitness and natural ability. [8]But in reality, climbing is a much more subtle and complicated skill that needs not just fitness, but strategy and psychology. M: That’s interesting to hear. W: Over the years, I’ve picked up numerous tricks and techniques that have allowed me to occasionally beat a stronger competitor. At the grass-roots level, it is possible to just outride your opponents, but as you get into the higher categories and the gap in ability narrows, [8]strategy becomes increasingly important. M: Well, Katrina, thanks for your kind suggestion. W: My pleasure. Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 5. What can be inferred about the woman? 6. How long has the woman engaged in mountain climbing? 7. According to the woman, why do most climbing accidents occur? 8. What are more important to climbing success in the long run? She is familiar with all kinds of sport equipment. She is an experienced mountain climber. She is a confident mountain-climbing coach. She is running a mountain-climbing club.

I am fired up for the year that stretches out before us. That’s because of what we’ve accomplished together over the past seven. Seven years ago, our businesses were losing 800,000 jobs a month. They’ve now created jobs for 69 straight months, driving the unemployment rate from a high of 10% down to 5%. Seven years ago, there were only two states in America with marriage equality. And now there are 50. All of this progress is because of you. And we’ve got so much more to do. [16]So my New Year’s resolution is to move forward on our unfinished business as much as I can. And I’ll be more frequently asking for your help. That’s especially true for one piece of unfinished business. That’s our epidemic of gun violence. [17]This Friday, I’ll be thinking about my friend Gabby Giffords, five years into her recovery from the shooting in Tucson. And all across America, survivors of gun violence and those who lost a child, a parent, a spouse to gun violence are forced to mark such awful anniversaries every single day. We know that we can’t stop every act of violence. But what if we tried to stop even one? What if Congress did something—anything—to protect our kids from gun violence? [18]A few months ago, I directed my team at the White House to look into any new actions I can take to help reduce gun violence. And on Monday, I’ll meet with our Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options. Because I get too many letters from parents, and teachers, and kids, to sit around and do nothing. I get letters from responsible gun owners who grieve with us every time these tragedies happen. So I know there are a bunch of us who care about this. Change, as always, is going to take all of us. The gun lobby is loud and well organized in its defense of effortlessly available guns for anyone. The rest of us are going to have to be just as passionate and well organized in our defense of our kids. That’s the work of citizenship—to stand up and fight for the change that we seek. I hope you’ll join me in making America safer for all of our children. Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard. 16. What is the speaker’s New Year’s resolution? 17. What can be learned about the speaker’s friend Gabby? 18. What would the speaker like to take actions to do? Try to increase the employment rate. Try to move forward on marriage equality. Try to carry on with the unfinished business. Try to improve the finished business.

M: Sally, I heard from the radio that over half the world’s seven thousand languages are in danger of disappearing. Every two weeks one language disappears. W: So fast? M: Yes, so Mr. Harrison and Mr. Anderson are heading [1]Living Tongues, an organization to study and protect endangered languages. W: Why do these languages disappear? M: Sometimes a language disappears immediately when the last person speaking it dies. Or, a local language might disappear more slowly. [2]This happens when an official language is used more often and children stop learning the local language of their parents. This is not a new process. Official languages often represent a form of control over a group of people. W: Can you explain it a bit further? M: Throughout history, the language spoken by a powerful group spreads across a civilization. [2]The more powerful culture rarely respects the language and culture of smaller ethnic groups. So, smaller cultures lose their local language as the language of the culture in power becomes the stronger influence. W: I can see your point now. M: The Internet could be thought of as a new method of language control. The United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, says that [3]ninety percent of the world’s languages are not represented on the Internet. W: I guess we do need to protect these languages. M: [4]Experts say protecting languages is very important for many reasons. Languages contain the histories, ideas and knowledge of a culture. Languages also contain valuable information about local medicines, plants and animals. [4]Bringing back threatened languages is not easy, but it is very important work. W: No doubt. Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. What is the organization Living Tongues aimed at? 2. Why do some cultures lose their local languages? 3. What is the Internet blamed for? 4. What does the speakers stress in the end? Studying and protecting endangered languages. Obtaining information contained within a language. Tracking the last speakers of each dying language. Seeking international help for smaller ethnic groups.

I had flown from San Francisco to Virginia to attend a conference on multiculturalism. Hundreds of educators from across the country were meeting [9]to discuss the need for greater cultural diversity in the school curriculum. I took a taxi to my hotel. On the way, my driver and I chatted about the weather and the tourists. The driver was a white man in his forties. “How long have you been in this country?” he asked. “All my life!” I replied, “I was born in the United States.” With a strong southern accent, he remarked, “I was wondering because your English is excellent.” Then I explained as I had done many times before, “My grandfather came here from China in the 1880s. My family has been here in America for over a hundred years.” He glanced at me in the mirror. [10]Somehow, I did not look “American” to him. My appearance looked foreign. Questions like the one my taxi driver asked make me feel uncomfortable. But I can understand why he could not see me as an American. He had a narrow but widely-shared sense of the past: a history that has viewed Americans as descendants of Europeans. Race has functioned as something necessary to the construction of American character and quality. In the creation of our national identity, American has been defined as “white”. [11]But America has been racially diverse since our very beginning on the Virginia shore, where the first group of Englishmen and Africans arrived in the 17th century. And this reality is increasingly becoming visible everywhere. Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard. 9. What was the theme of the conference the speaker was to attend? 10. Why did the taxi driver ask the speaker how long he has been in the US? 11. What message does the speaker wish to convey? The role of immigrants in the construction of American society. The importance of offering diverse courses in European history. The need for greater cultural diversity in the school curriculum. The historic landing of Europeans on the Virginia shore.

[12]Laws have been written to govern the use of the American National Flag, and to ensure proper respect for the flag. [15]Custom has also governed the common practice in regard to its use. All the armed services have precise regulations on how to display the national flag. This may vary somewhat from the general rules. [13]The national flag should be raised and lowered by hand. Do not raise the flag while it is folded. [13]Unfold the flag first, and then hoist it quickly to the top of the flagpole. Lower it slowly and with dignity. Place no objects on or over the flag. Do not use the flag as part of a costume or athletic uniform. Do not print it upon cushions, handkerchiefs, paper napkins or boxes. A federal law provides that the trademark cannot be registered if it comprises the flag, coat of arms, or badges of the United States. When the flag is used in unveiling a statue or monument, it shouldn’t serve as a covering of the object to be unveiled. If it is displayed on such occasions, do not allow the flag to fall to the ground, [14]but let it be carried high up in the air to form a feature of the ceremony. Take every precaution to prevent the flag from becoming soiled. It should not be allowed to touch the ground or floor, nor to brush against objects. Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard. 12. How do Americans ensure proper respect for the national flag? 13. What is the regulation regarding the raising of the American National Flag? 14. How should the American National Flag be displayed at an unveiling ceremony? 15. What do we learn about the use of the American National Flag? By making laws. By enforcing discipline. By educating the public. By holding ceremonies.

I’m a lifelong traveler. [19]So, from the time I was nine years old I was flying alone several times a year over the North Pole, just to go to school. And of course the more I flew the more I came to love to fly. And then, almost inevitably, I became a travel writer so my job and my joy could become one. As you all know, one of the first things you learn when you travel is that nowhere is magical unless you can bring the right eyes to it. You take an angry man to the Himalayas, he just starts complaining about the food. [20]And I found that the best way that I could develop more attentive and more appreciative eyes was, oddly, by going nowhere, just by sitting still. And of course sitting still is how many of us get what we most crave and need in our accelerated lives, a break. But it was also the only way that I could find to sift through the slide show of my experience and make sense of the future and the past. And by going nowhere, I mean nothing more intimidating than taking a few minutes out of every day or a few days out of every season, or even, as some people do, a few years out of a life in order to sit still long enough to find out what moves you most, to recall where your truest happiness lies and to remember that sometimes making a living and making a life point in opposite directions. And this has certainly been my experience as a traveler. Twenty-four years ago I took the most mind-bending trip across North Korea. But the trip lasted a few days. What I’ve done with it is sitting still, going back to it in my head, trying to understand it, finding a place for it in my thinking, that’s lasted 24 years already and will probably last a lifetime. [21]The trip, in other words, gave me some amazing sights, but it’s only sitting still that allows me to turn those into lasting insights. Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard. 19. Why did the speaker fly over the North Pole? 20. What is the best way to develop attentive and appreciative views? 21. What do we learn about the speaker’s trip to North Korea? To go to school. To take unique pictures. To visit his relatives. To make explorations.

I have a passion for cooking, but my path to cooking success is a winding tale. [22]I was born in New Zealand to a Chinese father and an Egyptian mother, educated in England and for a time called San Francisco home. I tried my hand as a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and even took a crack at being a stand-up comic, but my restless soul eventually led me into the kitchen, where I put my imagination to the test. I guess I always liked food. That’s helpful. And I didn’t realize food could be a horrible experience until I went to English boarding school. So I was brought up by two really great grandmothers that could cook and I was always intrigued by how they made food really good, one being Egyptian, the other one being Chinese. [23]When I left Wall Street, I wanted to do something a little creative, and I saw chefs in a completely different light than I’ve seen them in the past, you know, wearing white jackets, looking like doctors. My mother wanted me to be a doctor, so this was as close as I was going to get. And they had, like, the command of everybody, like they were gods in this little space. “Give me this, give me that.” [23]And I like kind of like that world and the ability to create. You know, there are so many celebrity chefs that are out there these days. Each one has their unusual features. You know, Jamie Oliver’s very good at being the guy next door and being sweet and being very knowledgeable and cooking very simple food, and everybody loves Jamie. Gordon Ramsay, I don’t think you have a better chef on television. I’m just a person that’s kind of like shooting from left field, [24]and I think that my race, my upbringing and my education will always send me from a different angle than other people and I think that’s what separates me. So, here are three tips for anybody that’s at home and wants to make Vietnamese food. You’ve gotta have a great fish sauce—first press, just like olive oil. No food coloring, aged, that’s key. [25]Fresh ingredients are very important. Fresh herbs. And then the right cooking vessel for whatever you’re cooking. I mean you gotta have the right equipment, so if you’re gonna make something in a clay pot, let it be a clay pot. Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard. 22. Where was the speaker born? 23. Why would the speaker like to be a chef? 24. What made the speaker different from other celebrity chefs? 25. What is the important tip for making Vietnamese food? In San Francisco. In New York. In New Zealand. In China.