北京英语水平考试（BETS）三级听力模拟试卷3

On a train, you overhear a woman phoning her office. Why has she phoned?Woman: Jenny, hi, it’s me. I’m on the train and it’s stuck somewhere just outside the station -- signalling problems or something ...Yes, I know, sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Anyway, listen, could you check my diary and see when I’m supposed to be with those marketing people ... it’s on my desk ...... Oh, isn’t it? Oh, that’s strange. And it’s not in the drawer? I wonder ... Oh, I know, I must have left it in Jimmie’s office after yesterday’s meeting. You couldn’t get it and then ring me back, could you? Sorry to be a nuisance. To check the time of an appointment. To apologise for being late. To find out where her diary is.

You will hear a radio interview with Mike Reynolds, whose hobby is exploring underground places such as caves. For questions 9-18, complete the sentences. Cavers explore underground places such as mines and (9)______ as well as caves. When cavers camp underground, they choose places which have (10)______ and available. In the UK, the place Mike likes best for caving is (11)______ As a physical activity, Mike compares caving to (12)______ Cavers can pay as much as ￡20 for a suitable (13)______ Cavers can pay as much as ￡50 for the right kind of (14)______ ,which is worn on the head. Mike recommends buying expensive (15)______ to avoid having accidents. Caving is a sport for people of (16)______ and backgrounds. Some caves in Britain are called ’places of (17)______ The need for safety explains why people don’t organize caving (18)______ .Interviewer: In the studio with me today, I have Mike Reynolds who’s what is known as a caver. In other words, he spends long periods of time exploring underground caves for pleasure. And Mike’s here to tell us all about this fascinating hobby and how to get started on it. So Mike, why caves? Mike: Well, cavers actually explore any space that’s underground whether it’s caves, old mines or tunnels. Interviewer: Oh right. So hew big are these underground spaces? Mike: Oh -- anything up to 80 kilometres long ... which means that, in some cases, in order to reach the end you’ve got to sleep, to set up camp, inside the cave at some point-- usually where both space and fresh air are available. Interviewer: No good ill you’re afraid of the dark. Mike: No. Interviewer: So, where do you find the best caves? Mike: In terms of countries, the best places are, for example, Ireland, Australia and the Philippines. Here in the UK, various areas have the right sort of geology. My favorite is Wales, but you can find plenty of caves in northern England and in Scotland too. Interviewer: Caving involves a lot of physical exercise, doesn’t it? Mike: That’s right ... in terms of physical activity, it’s very similar to climbing except they go up and we go down. The conditions can be very different though ... we often find ourselves facing very small gaps in the rock which we have to crawl through on our hands and knees. Interviewer: So the right equipment is obviously very important. If I wanted to start out on a hobby like this, what would I need? Mike: Well, you’d need a hard hat, and it’s important to get one that fits properly, so that it doesn’t keep falling over your eyes or feel too tight, and these can cost anything from five to twenty pounds. Interviewer: Umm ... that doesn’t sound too much for starters. Mike: Oh, but then there’s the lamp. You wear that on your head because it’s very important to keep your hands free at all times. But it doesn’t come with the hat and it can cost anything up to fifty pounds to get a suitable one. Interviewer: I guess warm clothes are a must too? Mike: You’ll need to spend thirty to forty pounds on a waterproof suit because the caves can be pretty wet and cold inside and you can get iii if you’re not protected. Then, of course, the thing that you really need to spend money on is something for your feet that keeps the water out. Strong boots are essential for this, also because without them you could be slipping on wet surfaces and doing yourself an injury. Cheap ones are just not as safe, I’m afraid. Interviewer: It sounds pretty tough. I mean is it really only a sport for the young and fit? Mike: That’s quite interesting because people tend to think that, but in fact cavers come from all ages and backgrounds -- students and professionals alike. You even find eighty-year-olds who’ve been doing it for years. Interviewer: What exactly is it that people find so attractive? Mike: It’s excitement ... the pleasure you get in finding something new - a passage that nobody knew about before or a piece of rock that’s just lovely to look at. Interviewer: And I understand that conservation has become a key issue as well? Mike: Yes. Forty-eight caves in Britain are now known as ’places of special interest’ because of what they contain and this is the same in other countries too. Interviewer: So, do cavers enjoy competing, like in other sports? Mike: No. We want to enjoy a safe sport and, in order to ensure that, there are no competitions in caving. We try to organize a range of events, but the emphasis is on co-operation and the enjoyment of the sport for what it can offer the individual. Interviewer: Well, it sounds like something I’ll have to try one day. Mike, thank you very much for coming in and sharing ...

You will hear five young people talking about what makes a good teacher. For questions 19-23, choose from the list (A-F) which of the opinions each speaker expresses. Use the letters only once. There is one extra letter which you do not need to use. A A good teacher praises effort. B A good teacher knows the subject well. C A good teacher is strict. D A good teacher is available outside the classroom. E A good teacher is entertaining. F A good teacher has experience.Speaker 1Girl: Well, I’ve had lots of teachers who really knew their stuff, I mean, you could ask any question, and you knew you’d get the answer ... But most teachers, when their class was over, that was it, they were gone. You see, a teacher may know a lot, the thing is, it’s usually after class that you need their help, often as an individual, if you know what I mean. They think if they just turn up and de the job, that’s good enough. 1 remember one teacher, she was new, said drop in any time. I liked that, I really did ...

What was the origin of Martin Middleton’s love of travel?Interviewer: Today’s guest needs no introduction. He is a man who has given us hours of interest and entertainment over the years, with his weekly series of wildlife programmes. He is, of course, Martin Middleton. Martin, you’ve been to the four corners of the Earth in search of material. Where did this love of adventures come from? Martin: I don’t really know ... I didn’t travel much as a child, but I remember reading about the East and being fascinated by it. Then, when I was about 12, I met someone who’d been to Singapore -- and to me that seemed incredible ... and, of course, when I started in television, back in the early 1960s, you didn’t travel to make a wildlife programme ... you went along and filmed at the local zoo. So, when I said I’d like to go and film in Africa, the Head of Programmes just laughed at me. Interviewer: ... and, did you go to Africa? Martin: On that occasion, no! But I eventually got them to allow me to go to Borneo in 1962. There was just me and a cameraman. We went off for four months, filming wherever we found something interesting. We bought a canoe, sailed up-river for ten days and ended up in a traditional long house. Nowadays, of course, it’s all quite different. Interviewer: Different? In what way...? Martin: We do months of preparation before we set off, so when we start filming, we know exactly what scenes we want to get. I mean, you don’t get up in the morning and say to your team, ’What shall we do this morning?’ You have to know exactly what each scene is going to show ... to work to a strict plan. Interviewer: Some of your programmes have taken place in some pretty remote areas. It’s hard to imagine other programme-makers wanting to risk the dangers or discomfort that you’ve experienced. Martin: Well, if you want original material -- you’ve got to go off the beaten track ... but you can find yourself doing some pretty strange things ... um ... like, for example, on one occasion, jumping out of a helicopter onto an iceberg. There I was ... freezing cold ... then it started to snow ... and the helicopter had gone back to the ship and couldn’t take off again. So I was stuck there, on this iceberg, thinking, ’This is crazy ... I didn’t even want to come here!’ Interviewer: What I wonder is ... where does somebody like yourself, who travels to all these exotic places as part of their work, go on holiday? Martin: (laughs) I’m not very good at lying on a beach -- that’s for sure. I wouldn’t go to a place just to sit around. It’s nice to have an objective when you’re travelling... to have something you want to film ... mm ... I’ve just come back from the Dominican Republic, and we were put up for the first night in a big hotel ... The place was absolutely full of people, just lying there sunbathing. They seemed quite happy to spend the whole day stretched out around the pool ... they never seemed to want to go and explore the amazing things there were to see outside the hotel. For me, that would be a very boring way to spend a holiday. Interviewer: Your programmes, though, must have inspired a lot of people to take their holidays in remote and little-known places. Martin: You are probably right, but ...well ... I have mixed feelings about all this. I go back to the places where, years ago, I was the only European, and now there are cruise ships coming three times a day. So, you worry that in ten years or so, every remote place on the planet will be swallowed up, because everyone will be visiting it. But, on the other hand, I am in favour of tourism that is done in a way that protects the environment. You can see a good example of this in the Galapagos Islands, where the tourism is carefully managed. That’s very successful, and could be a model for the future ... living abroad in the 1960s something he read as a child a television film about Africa