-
How much does the TV cost now?W: Mother said this kind of TV set costs 200 dollars.
M: It used to, but the price has gone up 30 dollars. 200. 170. 230. 30.
-
What does the woman suggest the man do?M: Today is a bad day for me. I fell off a step and twisted my ankle.
W: Don’t worry, usually ankle injuries heal quickly if you stop regular activities for a while. Give his ankle a good rest. Treat his injury immediately. Continue his regular activities. Be careful when climbing steps.
-
What kind of weather is normal for March?M: Excuse me. Have you been waiting here long?
W: Yes, about ten minutes.
M: Did you notice whether the No. 7 bus has passed by?
W: Not while I’ ve been standing here.
M: Good. Hot today, isn’ t it?
W: Yes, it is. I wish that it would rain and cool off.
M: Me too. This is unusual for March. I don’t remember it ever being so hot and dry in March before.
W: You’ re from Florida then.
M: Not really. I was born in New York, but I’ ve lived here for ten years now.
W: My mother and I have just moved here from Indiana.
M: Pretty cold in Indiana, isn’t it?
W: Yes. That’ s why we moved. But we didn’ t know that it would be so hot here. We should have gone to California. Do you think that we’ ve missed the bus?
M: No, it’ s always a little late.
W: It’ s twenty to one, but my watch is a little faster.
M: Take it easy. It never comes exactly every half hour like it should. Cold. Very hot. Cooler than that day. hotter than that day.
-
Why is the man talking to the woman?W: I’m sorry, but I can’t let you check out these books.
M: What do you mean?
W: Wow, the computer shows you got an overdue book, art work, out since last September.
M: But that’ s impossible. I only started going to this school last month and I’ m a business major, not an artist.
W: Oh. This is pretty strange. Let me look out the records. OK. You are Richard Smith?
M: Yeah.
W: You live at fifty thirty-three western?
M: No, I am living on campus, in the new...
W: You did say you are Richard Smith, right?
M: Yeah, well, my full name is Richard James Smith, but I usually go by Richard Smith.
W: Let me check one more thing on the computer. Aha, I see now. There’ s another Richard Smith in the class... Richard E. L. Smith. And it looks like he’ s the one who got the overdue book checked out.
M: Another Richard Smith? No kidding.
W: So I guess you two never met.
M: No, but I think I should probably try. I could at least warn him what’ s just happened.
W: Good idea. Now I’ll let you check out these books today. But I suggest you start using your middle name to avoid any problem like this in the future. To return some business books. To apply for a new library card. To check out some books from the library. To find out where the art books are located.
-
Where is the conversation most probably taking place?W: Excuse me, are you going to buy that book?
M: Well, I need it for a class but it’ s awfully expensive.
W: Oh, we must be in the same class. Introduction to British Literature?
M: Yes, that’ s the one. Were you there yesterday for the first class?
W: I sure was. Professor Robert really seems to know his subject.
M: Yes, I took his Shakespeare course last semester and it was very good. He likes listening to his students.
W: That’ s a relief. I’ m a biology major and I was a little uncertain about taking an English course.
M: I’ m an English major and this is a required course. But now I’ m in trouble because I’ m not sure I can afford this book.
W: Hey, I’ ve got an idea. Why don’t we split the cost and share the book?
M: Sounds great. Do you live on campus?
W: Yeah, I live on the 10th floor of Butler Hall.
M: Perfect. I live on the 3rd floor of Butler. We should have no trouble sharing the book. I can bring it up to your room right after I wrap up the assignment.
W: It’s a deal. In a college bookstore. In a lecture hall. In a library. In a dormitory.
-
Why does old Jake look terribly depressed?W: Bob, do you know who I saw the other day? Old Jake, looking terribly depressed. Did he get pensioned off at last?
M: Yes. They made him retire after 50 years at sea. He is pretty upset about it, but what can you do? He really is pasted.
W: He is all alone, isn’t he?
M: Yes, his wife has been dead for years. They had one daughter, Dories. But she went off to town as soon as she left school. And he hasn’ t heard from her since. I hear she is making good money as a model.
W: Maybe someone could get in touch with her. Get her to come back for a while to help?
M: I don’ t suppose she come. She never got on with her father. He is bit of a tough character and she is rather selfish. Oh, I expect old Jake will get by. He is healthy at least, comes into a clinic for a check regularly.
W: Are you his doctor?
M: No, my partner doctor Johnson is.
W: That bad-tempered old thing?
M: Oh, he isn’ t bad-tempered. He just looks it. He is an excellent doctor, taught me a lot, and he has a very nice family. His wife invites me over there to supper every week. Very pleasant.
W: Yes. I teach their daughter Pen at school. She is a bit careless and lazy about her school work, but a bright little thing and very popular with her age group. His health is getting worse. His past life upsets him a good deal. He can no longer work at sea. He has not got the expected pension.
-
Everyone needs a break, and vacations are not meant for serious study.【C1】______The Spring Festival is coming up so this is the perfect time to discuss some great English language literature to take on a long train journey.
Before getting into the recommendations, you need to determine your English reading comprehension level. If you’ re at the beginner level, there are two options: reading a children’ s book or reading a book that you’ ve read in Chinese translation.【C2】______If you’ re at the intermediate level, popular books like pop fiction, mysteries and thrillers are good options. For advanced readers, classic works of literature or modern prize winners(Nobel, Pulitzer)are good options.
【C3】______When I pick up a book I like, even though the first few chapters are really hard to get through, I would try to get accustomed to the language the author uses. Generally, after the first few chapters, things get a lot easier, especially if I get involved in the story.
Another great way to keep yourself motivated is to find a friend who’ s interested in reading the same book. You can make goals that you both want to achieve. 【C4】______
Some quick recommendations: Harry Potter, start with the first book and go on from there, the Narnia series: anything by US writer Michael Crichton: and if you like horror, US writer Stephen King is always unusual and fun.【C5】______Happy reading!
[A]Instead, they’ re a great way to take a break and enjoy a good book.
[B]If you pick a book which is so challenging, it will be too stressful.
[C]You may also enjoy your reading when hanging out with your family.
[D]The most important thing is to pick a book that you’re really interested in.
[E]You can also discuss plot lines or vocabulary issues with each other by SMS or e-mail.
[F]You should just find a topic or author you’ re interested in, and the rest will go from there.
[G]This will help you get over any unfamiliar words or phrases, since you’ re already familiar with the story.
-
Women with low literacy suffer disproportionately more than men, encountering more【C6】________in finding a well-paying job and being twice as likely to end up in the group of lowest wage earners, a study released on Wednesday said.
Analysis by the Institute for Women’ s Policy Research(IWPR)found women at all levels of【C7】______tend to earn less than men, but it’ s at the lowest literacy levels that the wage gap between genders is most【C8】______
Women with low literacy are twice as likely as men at the same skill level to be among the lowest earners, bringing in $300 a week or less, the report said.
“ Because women start off so low in terms of wages, having higher literacy and more skills really【C9】______a big difference,“ said Kevin Miller, a【C10】______research associate at IWPR and co-author of the study.
Women need to go【C11】______in their training and education level to earn the same as men, Miller said.
The【C12】______was based on 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy surveys, the most recent data【C13】______, and focused on reading skills, not writing and numeric literacy. That data was【C14】______from a nationally representative sample of 19,714 people aged 16 and older, living in households or prisons.
Data showed about one-third of American adults have low literacy levels, and more than 36 percent of men and 33 percent of women fall into that【C15】______, the institute said.
[A]pattern[B]independent[C]makes
[D]difficulties[E]collected[F]conducted
[G]available[H]category[I]positions
[J]striking[K]literacy[L]analysis
[M]senior[N]further[O]longer
-
“Family“ is of course an elastic word. And in different countries it has different meanings. But when British people say that their society is based on family life, they are thinking of “family“ in its narrow, peculiarly European sense of mother, father and children living together in their own house as an economic and social unit. Thus, every British marriage indicates the beginning of a new and in-dependent family—hence the tremendous importance of marriage in British life. For both man and woman, marriage means leaving one’ s parents and starting one’ s own life. The man’ s first duty will then be to his wife, and the wife’ s first duty will be to her husband. He will be entirely responsible for her financial support, and she will be responsible for the running of the new home. Their children will be their common responsibility and their alone. Neither the wife’ s parents nor the husband’ s, nor their brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles, have any right to interfere with them—they are their own masters.
Readers of novels like Jane Austen’ s Pride and Prejudice will know that in former times, marriage among wealthy families were arranged by the girl’ s parents, that is, it was the parents’ duty to find a suitable husband for their daughter, preferably a rich one, and by skillful encouragement to lead him eventually to ask their permission to marry her. Until that time, the girl was protected and maintained in the parents’ home, and the financial relief of getting rid of her could be seen in their giving the newly married pair a sum of money called a dowry. It is very different today. Most girls of today get a job when they leave school and become financially independent before their marriage. This has had two results. A girl chooses her own husband, and she gets no dowry. Every coin has two sides: independence for girls is no exception. But it may be a good thing for all of the girls, as their social status are much higher and they are no longer the subordinate of their parents and husbands.
-
I don’ t think there is anything wrong with your blood. The key to your problem is that long nap after dinner. If you didn’ t sleep for hours during the early part of the evening, you would be more ready to sleep at bedtime. If you didn’t nap after dinner, you would not want to stay up so late, and you would not feel the need to take a sleeping pill. The pill is still working in your system when you get up in the morning. This helps account for the fact that you feel tired all day. You should get out of the habit of sleeping during the evening. Right after your evening meal, engage in some sort of physical activity—a sport such as bowling, perhaps. Or get together with friends for an evening of cards and conversation. Then go to bed at your usual time or a little earlier, and you should be able to get a good nights rest without taking a pill.
If you can get into the habit of spending your evenings this way, I am sure you will feel less tired during the day. At first it may be hard for you to go to sleep without taking a pill. If so, get up and watch television or do some jobs around your house until you feel sleepy. If you fall asleep and then wake up a few hours later, get up but do not take a sleeping pill. Read a while or listen to the radio, and make yourself a few hours’ sleep that night, you will feel better in the morning than you usually feel after taking a pill. The next night you will be ready to sleep at an earlier hour.
The most important thing is to avoid taking that nap right after dinner and avoid taking pills.
-
Jackson:
Viewed from a scientist’ s standpoint, all of the energy contained in fuel either now or in the future becomes heat. Some of the heat is used directly or produces useful work. The rest is lost or rejected. That is to say, it is radiated into the atmosphere from the engines, motors, furnaces, power lines, television sets, boilers and all the other energy-consuming machinery that makes our wheels go around.
Browning:
It is necessary to improve the efficiency with which we use energy in order to do more work. But improvement cannot come overnight, and there are limits beyond which not even science can help. According to the Center for Strategic and International studies, about three quarters of the energy we use to move things, including ourselves, accomplishes no useful work.
Jeffrey:
In terms of efficiency, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation may be using energy more efficiently than private automobiles. Unless private automobiles can operate at near capacity, their overall efficiency is poor. For example, an urban bus carrying 36 passengers may achieve an efficiency of around 120 passenger-miles per gallon of gasoline. But buses are not always fully loaded,and sometimes they carry no passengers at all.
Vandenberg:
It is true that buses can sometimes run without passengers. City trains seem to be very efficient, but they suffer the same shortcomings as buses and cost more. Except for rush hours, commuter trains seldom run at full capacity. This wastes even more energy and is more than the management can afford. As a result, commuter trains are truly practical only in places where there are a lot of people.
Nathan:
For some people, mass transportation may serve their needs. For others, a combination of mass transportation and private transportation may be preferable. Better design and wise use of both mass transportation systems and private vehicles will play an important part in helping us make fuller use of energy for transportation.
Now match the name of each person(36-40)to the appropriate statement.
Note: there are two extra statements.
Statements
[A]Public transportation is usually more energy-efficient.
[B]City trains and buses have different faults to overcome.
[C]The efficiency of the city train depends on the size of population.
[D]No fuel energy is fully used.
[E]A combined means of transport can help to increase energy efficiency.
[F]Problems of energy loss can never be completely solved.
[G]Private cars usually run at full capacity.
-
Your friend Bob wants to know something about the library in your school. Write an email to Bob, telling him about:
1)the location and opening time of the library:
2)the inner environment of the library:
3)and the functions of the library.
You should write about 100 words. Do not sign your own name at the end of your email. Use “Wang Lin“ instead.
-
Read the text below. Write an essay in about 120 words, in which you should summarize the key points of the text and make comments on them. Try to use your own words.
It’ s the graduation season again. According to a latest survey, most Chinese graduates have high salary expectations, and thus prefer working for foreign companies or state-owned enterprises in first-tier cities.
The survey was conducted by renren. com, a Chinese social media site is similar to Facebook. The results show that among 1,510 respondents, more than 64. 7 percent want to work in first-tier cities.
In addition, 29.4 percent of the graduates who were born in the 1990s want to work for foreign companies, 25.5 percent for SOEs and 23.5 percent for private companies.
One interesting revelation is that although there are less than 100 days before graduation and more than half of the respondents have yet to get a job offer, they are not lowering their salary expectations. Apparently, 41.2 percent aim for 8000-10000 yuan($ 1279- $ 1599)per month and 31. 4 percent for 4000-6000 yuan.
According to the data released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the average monthly salary in Beijing was 5826 yuan($931)last year, while the numbers for Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing were 5380, 4058 and 3995 yuan respectively.
A sample of comments in Weibo: “Are the survey results only jokes for April Fools’ Day? Don’ t daydream anymore! Please check if you have a good command of English and professional skills that deserve a decent job with a high pay. “ On other comments says: “ Some of my classmates got offers from foreign banks, international accounting firms and other famous foreign companies. They are told their yearly salary can reach 100,000 yuan($15 ,990). “
