1997年12月北美听力文字_第2页

Part B
Questions 31-33 Listen to a radio interview with the artistic director of a dance company.
Today’s arts report betrays Dan Parker of the American Indian Dance Theater.

Mr.
Parker, I understand your troop performs traditional music and dance from many different
Native American cultures. Can you give us some ideas of some of the dances you’ll be
doing in your performance tonight?
Certainly. We’ll be doing won-us-award dance. Originally it was a story telling
devise to recount battles. Another is the grass dance preformed by the plains Indians
where they actually flatten tall field grass to prepare it for a ceremony.
Since your dancers are from many different tribes, how can you be sure the dances
are done correctly?
Everything we do has been approved by the elders of our tribes. That’s partly
because we don’t necessarily know each other’s styles or dances, but it’s also because
it’s hard to get complete agreement even within the same tribe about exactly how the
dance should be done.
Anyone who attends one of your performances would notice that your company goes
to a lot of trouble to provide detailed explanations of the origin of the dances, the music,
the costumes and so forth. Could you explain to our listeners why you do this?
Good question. There are always concerns that traditional dances performed in a
theater are nothing more than a spectacle. Our explanations show that in our cultures
dance is ritual rather than entertainment. We also want to make it clear to our audience
that we are not performing any dances used for sacred ceremonies.
31. What is the main topic of the conversation?
32. What is the purpose of the interview?
33. Why are the dances approved by the elders of the tribes?
Questions 34-37 Listen to a phone conversation between two friends who are discussing
a problem?
Hello?
Hello, Sam. This is Paula Hanson. Sorry to bother you, but I’m having a small
problem I thought you might be able to help me with.
Sure, Paula. What’s up?
Well, you know Sarah and I moved into an off-campus apartment in the fall, over on
the west side of town. Any way, we’ve been happy with it until the past couple of months.
Yeah. What happened?
Well, the dishwasher broken down, so we reported it to Ms. Corners, the owner. She
said she’d take care of it, but a month went by and nothing happened.
Did you get back in touch with her?
I got a repairperson to give me an estimate, then I sent it to her. When I didn’t hear
from her, I had the repair done. And I deducted the cost from the rent check.
So what’s the problem?
She called here mad as a hornet. She said she could have gotten the repair done
for less money. Now, she’s threatening to evict us for not paying the full rent.
Hold on, Paula. It does sound pretty serious. But I’m sure you can all sit down and
work this out.
Well, you’re over at the law school. So, I wondered if you would mind coming with
Sarah and me when we go to talk to Ms. Corners. We’re supposed to meet with her
tomorrow night at eight.
Sure. I haven’t studied a lot about contracts yet, but I’ll be glad to help you straighten
things out. Why don’t I stop by about 7:30?
Thanks Sam. You are our lifesaver.
34. Why is Paula unhappy?
35. Why is Ms. Corners angry?
36. What are Paula and her roommate planning to do?
37. Why does Paula think Sam can help her?

Part C
Questions 38-42 Listen to part of a lecture in speech class.
Today we are going to practice evaluating a main tool used when addressing
groups—the voice. There are three main elements that combine to create either a
positive or negative experience for listeners. They can result in a voice that is pleasing to
listen to and can be used effectively. Or they can create a voice that doesn’t hold
attention. Or even worse, causes an adverse reaction. The three elements are volume,
pitch and pace.
When evaluating volume, keep in mind that a good speaker will adjust to the size of
both the room and the audience. Of course, with an amplifying device like a microphone,
the speaker can use a natural tone. But speaker should not be dependent on
microphones. A good speaker can speak loudly without shouting.
The second element, pitch is related to the highness or lowness of the sounds. High
pitches are for most people more difficult to listen to. So, in general, speaker should use
the lower registers of their voice. During a presentation, it’s important to vary pitch to
some extent in order to maintain interest.
The third element, pace that is how fast or slow words and sounds are articulated
should also be varied. A slower pace can be used to emphasize important points. Note
that the time spent not speaking can be meaningful too. Pauses ought to be used to
signal transitions or create anticipation. Because a pause gives the listener time to think
about what was just said or even to predict what might come next, it can be very affective
when moving from one topic to another.
What I’d like you to do now is watch and listen to a videotape and use the forms I gave
you to rate the speaking voices you hear. Then tonight, I want you to go home and read
a passage into a tape recorder and evaluate your own voice.
38. What is the main point the professor makes?
39. According to the professor, what can a speaker do to keep an audience’s attention?
40. What recommendation does the professor make about volume?
41. According to the professor, how can a speaker indicate that the topic is about to
change?
42. What are the students going to use a tape recorder for?

Questions 43-46 Listen to part of a lecture at a museum.
Let’s proceed to the main exhibit hall and look at some of the actual vehicles that had
played a prominent role in speeding up mail delivery. Consider how long it used to take
to send a letter across a relatively short distance. Back in the 1600s, it took two weeks
on horseback to get a letter from Boston to New York, a distance of about 260 miles.
Crossing a river was also a challenge. Ferry service was so irregular that a carrier would
sometimes wait hours just to catch a ferry. For journeys in land there was always the
stagecoach. But the ride was by no means comfortable because it had to be shared
with other passengers.
The post office was pretty ingenious about some words. In the nineteenth century in
the southwestern desert for instance, camels were brought in to help get the mail through.
In Alaska reindeer were used. This practice was discontinued because of the
disagreeable temperament of these animals.
We’ll stop here a minute so that you can enter this replica of a railway mail car. It
was during the age of the iron horse that delivery really started to pick up. In fact, the
United Sates transported most bulk mail by trains for near 100 years. The first airmail
service didn’t start until 1918.
Please take a few moments to look around. I hope you’ll enjoy you tour. And as
you continue on your own may I suggest you visit our impressive philatelic collection.
Not only can you look at some of the more unusual stamps issue but there is an
interesting exhibit on how stamps are made.
43. What is the talk mainly about?
44. According to the speaker, why was it a problem for mail carriers to cross rivers in the
1600s?
45. What does the expression “the age of the iron horse” refer to?
46. What can be found in the museum’s philatelic collection?

Questions 47-50 Listen to the beginning of a talk on astronomy.
Most people think of astronomers as people who spend their time in cold
observatories peering through telescopes every night. In fact, a typical astronomer
spends most of his or her time analyzing data and may only be at the telescope for a few
weeks of the year. Some astronomers work on purely theoretical problems and never
use a telescope at all.
You might not know how rarely images are viewed directly through telescopes. The
most common way to observe the skies is to photograph them. The process is very
simple. First a photographic plate is coated with a light-sensitive material. The plate is
positioned so that the image received by the telescope is recorded on it. Then the image
can be developed, enlarged and published so that many people can study it.
Because most astronomical objects are very remote, the light we receive from them is
rather feeble. But by using a telescope as a camera long-time exposures can be made.
In this way, objects can be photographed that are a hundred times too faint to be seen by
just looking through a telescope.
47. According to the speaker, what do people often think about astronomers?
48. What is one advantage of photographing the skies?
49. Why do astronomers often use photographic plates?
50. What is one reason astronomers make long-time exposures?