听力原文：Man: We work in a large open-plan setting which can be tricky at times with the sort of work we do. There are small meeting rooms where we can go to discuss things confidentially or where members of staff can talk to us in private. Of course, with the sort of information we keep, individual staff records and interview reports and so on, we have to be discreet at all time.

Woman: Well, I wouldn't say to keep out evil spirits. That sounds so superstitious. But I would say, it's a system of arranging all the objects around you at home or at work in such a way that they are in harmony and balance with nature in the way that feng shui teaches us to do then, therefore you are in harmony and balance and so is your life. Man: Now this is something that is very important in Asia. In fact, it's part of the architecture of buildings how the staircases go up, where buildings are aligned, what is your particular interest in it？ Woman: Yes, feng shui is huge in Asia, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong. Even though it's officially frowned upon as a superstition, it's also huge here in the U. S. , no less than the Donald. Donald Trump, the billionaire real estate developer, doesn't make a move without it. He would no more start working on a building project without a feng shui master than he would without, if it was in L. A. , without.., a seismologist to tell him that the building would stay up in an earthquake. Umm. That's because.., these observations that amount to feng shui have developed over thousands of years and they work, as Donald Trump says. Man: How have you designed your house？ I mean, you say this is for how to change your life. Did you choose your home because of feng shui？ How did you set it out？ Woman: We didn't choose our home because of feng shui. We chose our home because it was what we could find at the time. I am lucky enough to have a great view out the window at the far end of my office. And I was going to put my desk facing out the window, and... uh... but I would've had my back to the door. Yet it's a bad idea to arrange your desk in this way according to feng shui, and actually anybody who comes into your office can surprise you. You're constantly off guard. So I turned my desk, so I still had the view at one hand and I had the door and the rest of the room at the other hand, and then I kind of put the other furniture in the office where it worked around that. Man: That is true. By the way, how did you develop your interest in feng shui？ Woman: I came at this topic pretty skeptically as a journalist, hard-bitten journalist that I was. I did a piece for the Los Angeles Times a few years ago on feng shui as real estate phenomena, because major deals rise or fall on good or bad feng shui. And then a few years later, I got a call from Villard Press, asking me to write a good, basic and accessible handbook on this topic. And I said, "Why, sure!" And, so then, I really got more deeply into it, started to study it. My friends would sort of lean in, look at me with one eyebrow up, and say, "Yeah, but do you believe this stuff？" And I would say, "Oh no! But don't quote me." Now, based on just simple things I've done and also lots and lots of people I talked to for the book, I'd have to say, it works and at the very least, it couldn't hurt. Man: When you walk into a building, are you able to sort of immediately sense whether it has good feng shui or not..., a good flow of the ch'i？ Woman: Yes, and so are you. Anytime you walk into any room, you get a feeling about whether you feel good about being there or not so good. You know, maybe your mood's a little peppier or maybe you're more relaxed..., whatever. It's just a positive reaction you get when you're in the midst of good feng shui Man: Well, I wish you good feng shui as you move through San Francisco here. Woman: Thank you. Questions: 11.According to the interview, what exactly is feng shui？ 12.Which of the following statements is true about Donald Trump？ 13.Why didn't the interviewee choose to sit with her back to the door？ 14.How did the interviewee feel when she write about her first article on feng shui？ 15.According to the interviewee, how could we know we're in the A．It is a nothing but a superstitious system of arranging your furniture. B．It's a System of arranging all the objects around you so as to be in harmony and balance with nature. C．It mainly aims to keep out evil spirits. D．It originated from China and is a way of balancing your work with your life.

Man: Well, I was thirty and settled at work, but then I came across a report predicting annual internet growth at 2,300%. The figure was like an alarm clock ringing in my head. I started to think about the regrets I might have at eighty. I realised I probably wouldn't even remember the things that seemed important in my thirties (like getting my end-of-year pay bonus. But I'd definitely tell myself I'd been a fool to ignore the internet. Woman: How did you go about choosing a product？ Man: Well, I drew up a list of twenty products, from clothes to gardening tools, and from that I got a shortlist of five, and then I assessed them. I thought about market growth in different countries and I also did some research into suppliers. But there were other important factors as well. I wanted a product that didn't retail for too high a figure. I thought that since many people would be buying from the internet for the first time, they might be afraid to take a risk with large amounts of money. Woman: And what made you decide on books？ Man: Well, basically, I found out that books had an eighty-two billion dollar market world-wide. There's also a high demand for CDs - a product I nearly went for - but with books there's a much wider choice. There're 3 million items in the book category, but only 300,000 in CDs. This choice meant the capabilities of the computer - in organisation and selection - could be put to good use. Woman: Bookstore has certainly been very successful. Why do you think that is？ Man: Well, it's not been easy. For the first five years, it was a struggle raising funds and developing the right software. The ideas weren't the difficult bit. If you and I sat down here for an hour, we'd come up with a hundred good ideas. The hard bit is making those ideas work. There are several key elements, which for me were research, recruiting the right staff, and prioritising. Woman: And you're satisfied with your customer growth？ Man: Well, it was a bit slow at first but then it picked up and from May '97 we started to see our greatest growth. We went from a hundred and twenty million dollars annual sales revenue to two hundred and thirty million dollars by the end of that year, and from 340,000 customers to 15 million. 58% of them were repeat customers. By '98, sales had reached almost three hundred and ten million dollars. Woman: And is Bookstore's success reflected in its profits？ Man: Well, at the moment we're focusing on introducing ourselves to customers and we spend a lot on advertising. Anything else would be a poor management decision. But, of course, it's reflected in our final figures. It's not unusual for a four-year-old company like ours to be in an investment cycle. What is more unusual is for a young company like Bookstore to be sold on the stock market, which happened in July '97. Woman: Bookstore is well-known for its high- quality customer service. What is the secret of your success in this area？ Man: Well, firstly our books are delivered fast and any complaints are dealt with by email and what's important is that the email is always answered in a friendly way, with the emphasis on 'the customer is always fight'. In fact, customers sometimes feel guilty about complaining because Bookstore staff are so helpful! Regular customers are recognised when they go to our website, and we suggest titles to them, based on their previous purchases. Woman: Do you think Bookstore offers a better service than its competitors？ Man: Well, yes. We'd been in the market for about two years before most of our competitors started so we had a head start and although some have caught up now, we're still cheaper. Our book price includes tax and delivery. Most of our competitors' prices don't. But what's more important is that B A．he was earning yep/little in his job. B．he had reached the age for a career change. C．he had to respond to a business opportunity.

W: I know. And she has been doing nothing else ever since. Q: What is Mary's occupation now？ (15) A．Secretary. B．Reporter. C．Teacher. D．Shop assistant.

W: That's too bad. Where are you？ M: I'm on the Garden City expressway near the sport stadium. I was on my way to drop off some samples at a new client's office and then I was going to pick up Billy from kindergarten. But now I'm afraid I won't be able to get there on time. Is there any chance you could get away early？ W: Should be fine. What are the speakers mainly discussing？ A．A problem caused by traffic jam B．The time to meet a new client C．The place to drop off the samples D．The way to get to the kindergarten

Woman: People often ask me why I decided to do it but I'm surprised they don't ask 'Why did you wait so long？' because I'm 57 now! I'm sorry I didn't do it years ago, because it was such a wonderful experience. But the main purpose for going was to collect ￡500,000 for sick children by getting different companies to pay us money for each kilometre that we flew. Man: And now everyone calls you the flying grandmother! Woman: Yes, the thing about growing older is that you don't feel any different inside, so you have to do as much as you can while you can. I'm healthy, and my own children are grown up, so I was free to go. Man: And what about preparing for the trip？ Woman: Well, it took five months to plan. I was going to go with my husband, but he couldn't take time off work. Instead I made the trip with my flying teacher who became a great friend while she was teaching me to fly three years ago. I passed my flying test after two weeks; found it quite easy. Man: And what was the trip like？ Woman: It was really exciting flying over so many different countries. The only thing was that we weren't able to spend much time sightseeing because we only stopped to get water and to camp. We took very little with us, but we did have tents and cooking things to use at night. We had to spend two days in Thailand because of an engine problem, but that was the longest we spent anywhere. Fortunately nothing else went wrong, so we just kept on going after that. Man: What did you enjoy most about the trip？ Woman: The most wonderful thing about flying was seeing the differences in the countryside as we flew across 26 countries in 97 days. We flew over oceans and close to mountains; sometimes it was quite frightening, but we didn't travel when it was dark. We spent several nights camping in the desert and the sky was just full of stars. I made a video of the trip; you'll see it in a minute. Man: Was there anything that you missed while you were away？ Woman: Well, to my surprise I didn't miss going to work or going out to restaurants or films. The most difficult thing was sitting still all the time; I normally play tennis and swim several times a week, so I started to feel very unfit. I missed hot water and proper showers sometimes too, but not as much as I thought I would! The main reason for Angela's trip was to A．make money for her business. B．make money for other people. C．have an exciting adventure.

W: It has been the last thing I will do since the ball hit me last time. Q: What does the woman mean？ (18) A．She won't go to play tennis. B．She can't play tennis. C．She doesn't like doing sports. D．She is not good at playing tennis.

What do we know from the talk？ A．The man is looking for a smaller shirt. B．It's time for the shop to close. C．Bigger shirts may arrive the next day.

W: So do I. I think I will freeze if I stay longer. What are they talking about？ A．The heater of this room. B．The cold weather. C．Long working hours.

M: As far as the work efficiency is concerned, why not the typist？ Q: What does the man imply？ (19) A．They should find a new place for the old typewriter. B．They should find a new place for the typist, C．They should find a new typist. D．They should buy a new typewriter.

M: Good morning, Cindy. W: Roberta, what exactly do time management consultants do？ M: Well, Cindy, it's all about helping people to organize their work in an ef fective way: maximum efficiency; minimum stress. W: Hah, sounds like something I need. Who are your clients？ M: Um, mainly business people, but I've also worked with politicians, civil servants and university lecturers. W: Um, quite a range, then. And what sort of things help people to organ ize their time？ I suppose punctuality is important. M: Um, yes and no. It's easier to finish a meeting on time if it starts on time. But in international contexts, you do have to be aware of cultural differences. W: For example？ M: Well, in Britain big, formal meetings usually start on time, but less for mal meetings often begin a few minutes late. In Germany, on the other hand, people expect all meetings to begin on time; In some countries, er, for example, in Latin America, there's a more relaxed attitude. So, you d6 have to adapt to circumstances. W: Um, it sounds like even if you manage your own time very well, you still can't control what other people do. M. Well, you can set limits. If you're meeting a friend who always arrives late, you can say, "Well, I'm going to wait for 15 minutes. If they aren't there by then, I'll leave," W: Hmm. I've got one friend who's always late. I don't think I'd ever see her if I did that. M: Hah, but people who are always late are the ones you need to set limits with. If they know that you won't wait, then, perhaps they'll make an effort. W: Isn't that rather harsh？ M: No, not really. Someone who constantly turns up late is putting a low value on your time. Let them know you've got other things to do. And I'm not suggesting you do that with everyone just the persistent latecomers. (20) A．To help people to organize their work in an effective way. B．To help people to become efficient at their jobs. C．To help people to arrange their time properly. D．To help people to reduce stress.

There are only two animals that have larger brains than man, the whale and the elephant. Yet, in proportion to his size, man's brain is larger. (19[C])Man's usually weighs about three pounds or a little more, and this is about one-fortieth of the weight of his whole body. The whale's body, on the other hand, is a thousand times heavier than its brain, while the elephant's body is about five hundred times as heavy. But a man who has a large brain is not necessarily more intelligent than one whose brain is smaller. We know that geniuses have existed who have had very large brains, but there have been others whose brains were rather small. Idiots have been known to have very large brains. (20[D])We do not understand precisely why some people are more intelligent than others. Whether our brains are relatively large or small is less important than that we try to do our very best. This article is mainly about ______. A．the weight of a whale's brain B．the brains of geniuses C．the size of a person's brain and his intelligence D．the intelligence of the elephant

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听力原文： Lecturer: In the last lecture, we looked at the adverse effects of desert dust on global climate. Today we're going to examine more closely what causes dust storms and what other effects they can have. As you know, dust storms have always been a feature of desert climates, but what we want to focus on today is the extent to which human activity is causing them. And it is this trend that I want to look at, because it has wide-ranging implications. So, what are these human activities？ Well, there are two main types that affect the wind erosion process, and thus the frequency of dust storms. There are activities that break up naturally wind-resistant surfaces such as off-road vehicle use and construction and there are those that remove protective vegetation cover from soils, for example, mainly farming and drainage. In many cases the two effects occur simultaneously which adds to the problem. Let's look at some real examples and see what I'm talking about. Perhaps the best-known example of agricultural impact on desert dust is the creation of the USA's 'dust bowl' in the 1930s. The dramatic rise in the number of dust storms during the latter part of that decade was the result of farmers' mismanaging their land. In fact, choking dust storms became so commonplace that the decade became known as the 'Dirty Thirties'. Researchers observed a similar, but more prolonged, increase in dustiness in West Africa between the 1960s and the 1980s when the frequency of the storms rose to 80 a year and the dust was so thick that visibility was reduced to 1,000 metres. This was a hazard to pilots and road users. In places like Arizona, the most dangerous dust clouds are those generated by dry thunderstorms. Here, this type of storm is so common that the problem inspired officials to develop an alert system to warn people of oncoming thunderstorms. When this dust is deposited it causes all sorts of problems for machine operators. It can penetrate the smallest nooks and crannies and play havoc with the way things operate because most of the dust is made up of quartz which is very hard. Another example - the concentration of dust originating from the Sahara has risen steadily since the mid-1960s. This increase in wind erosion has coincided with a prolonged drought, which has gripped the Sahara's southern fringe. Drought is commonly associated with an increase in dust-raising activity but it's actually caused by low rainfall which results in vegetation dying off. One of the foremost examples of modern human-induced environmental degradation is the drying up of the Aral Sea in Central Asia. Its ecological demise dates from the 1950s when intensive irrigation began in the then Central Asian republics of the USSR. This produced a dramatic decline in the volume of water entering the sea from its two major tributaries. In 1960, the Aral Sea was the fourth-largest lake in the world, but since that time it has lost two-thirds of its volume, its surface area has halved and its water level has dropped by more than 216 metres. A knock-on effect of this ecological disaster has been the release of significant new sources of wind-blown material, as the water level has dropped. And the problems don't stop there. The salinity of the lake has increased so that it is now virtually the same as sea water. This means that the material that is blown from the dry bed of the Aral Sea is highly saline. Scientists believe it is adversely affecting crops around the sea because salts are toxic to plants. This shows that dust storms have numerous consequences beyond their effects on climate, both for the workings of environmental systems and for people living in drylands ... SECTION 4 Questions 31-40 Questions 31-32 Complete the notes using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer Main focus of lecture: the impact of 【31】______ on the occurrence of dust st

One day, he received an invitation to join at the ruler's palace. Very pleased, he went to tell his colleagues. They laughed and told him the meaning of the invitation. They had all been invited and each person who was invited had to bring with him a certain number of silver' and gold coins. The number of coins varied according to the person's position in the service of the government. My friend's income was not high, so he did not have to pay much. Each person bowed before the ruler. His gold went onto one heap; his silver went onto another heap. And in this way he paid his income tax for the year. This was the simple way of collecting income tax. The tax on property was also collected simply. The ruler gave a man the power to collect a tax from each owner of land or property in a certain area, if this man promised to pay the ruler a certain amount of money. Of course, the tax collector managed to collect more money than he paid to the ruler. The difference between the sum of money he collected and the sum of money he gave to the ruler was his profit. What do we know about the speaker's friend？ A．He was once a friend of the ruler. B．He was a tax collector. C．He was a government official. D．He was once a school teacher in India.

W: Sometimes. You know the life of a social worker is not all wonderful and working to help people in their daily life. I have to spend a lot of time pushing paper, and writing reports too. But when I do get out, yeah, I see a lot of foreigners. And sometimes they come in because life in America has just beaten them down and they can't cope financially or emotionally. M: Really？ I would think that they had a good support network in place, especially university students. W: They do have a network, and a variety of support groups, but these can't meet all of the students' needs. They can't help with paying bills, dealing with American neighbors and customs, fitting in, getting a driver's license, etc. They try, but very often the student has to figure out a lot of this stuff by himself. And if he or she is shy, they don't have the courage to ask other people, even other people from their nationality. M: So what are some of the things that overseas students struggle with？ W: This might interest you, but they struggle with the food, especially Chinese. You know, they come here knowing that Americans love Chinese food so much. They think that there will be good restaurants with Chinese food that they love. But they get here and they are extremely surprised. Americans enjoy totally different flavors. M: So what do they do？ W: If they're brave and curious, they look around and test all the restaurants. There is usually at least one restaurant in every town that has almost quality food. Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 23. In which aspect does the woman help people in her work？ 24. Why do people come to the woman for help？ 25. How did Chinese students expect the American-made Chinese food before they came to the U.S？ (20) A．Writing reports for them. B．Teaching them foreign languages. C．Helping them deal with daily existence. D．Introducing work for them.

W: I'm pretty sure we have one left, but it's only available for tonight. Q: What is the man trying to do？ (18) A．Tour the harbor. B．Find accommodations. C．Check out of a hotel. D．Pay a bill.

M：I'm sorry to hear that, but you can always rent one if you have a license. Q：What does the man mean？ (14) A．She can use his car. B．She can borrow someone else's car. C．She must get her car fixed. D．She can't borrow his car.

听力原文： LOS ANGELES--Spider-Man caught just about everyone in his web. The superhero's latest adventure, Spider-Man 3, smashed box-office records with $148 million in its first three days, according to studio estimates Sunday. That put it ahead of the previous record debut of ＄135.6 million set last summer by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man' s Chest. With ＄59.3 million on opening day Friday, Sony's Spider-Man 3 broke the single-day box-office record, also held by Dead Man's Chest with ＄55.8 million in its first day. Since it began rolling out overseas on Tuesday, Spider-Man 3 has taken in ＄227 million in foreign markets, bringing the film's worldwide total to ＄375 million. In just days, the movie has grossed ＄117 million more than its whopping ＄258 million production budget. In just two days, it also nearly matched the ＄114.8 million opening weekend of 2002's Spider-Man, which had held the debut record until Dead Man's Chest opened. Spider-Man 3 reunites director Sam Raimi, who also made the previous two installments, and stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. How much did Spider-Man 3 take in on its opening day？ A．＄148 million. B．＄227 million. C．＄59.3 million. D．＄55.8 million.

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Martin Boothby, 41, was living on the streets when he decided to sneak into the home of his ex-wife' s mother Sandra Bayley in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Ms Bayley had left the house empty while she was away on holiday. Boothby crept into the property and brushed his teeth before helping himself to a hot bath and cup of tea. But he was spotted by a keen-eyed neighbor who contacted the authorities. Who was Sandra Bayley ？ A．The man' s neighbor. B．The man' s own mother. C．The man's ex-wife. D．The man's ex-mother-in-law.

M: I'd be happy to. The piece that broke off was over a thousand square miles in area. More recently and quite alarming to scientists is that a forty-mile crack, some 30 feet wide in places has torn through the ice shelf. W: I understand that the scientific community is quite concerned. What is the significance of these events？ M: Well, some scientists believe that this is a clear sign of global warming. Back in 1978, some American researchers predicted that Antarctica would show early signs of global warming due to the green house effect. W: But couldn't crumbling ice shelves also be a result of the unusual weather Antarctica itself has experienced lately？ M: That's certainly possible, but you'll have to remember that over the past thousands of years, ice shelves have been through a lot of weather changes without breaking up. W: I think most people know that if the ice cap over Antarctica melts, the level of the oceans will rise. What sort of impact will this have？ M: Well, the ice shelves currently insulate the Antarctic continent from wind, which slows down the melting. If the winds cause even a tenth of the continent's ice to melt, the world's oceans could rise as much as 30 feet. What are the speakers mainly discussing？ A．An experiment in Antarctica. B．Part of the Larsen Ice Shelf broke off. C．The formation of the Larsen Ice Shelf. D．An expedition in Antarctica.

听力原文：You will hear a man calling about expenditure. A: Hello. B: Hello, the Chief Accountant Office. A: This is David. I am calling about expenditure. How much did we spend on entertainment this year？ B: 2 566. A: That’s down a little on last year, And what’s the figure for depreciation？ B: 3 00, the same as last year. A: Hm, expenditure on secretarial expenses is up． B: Yes, there’s a big increase there． A: What’s the figure of 2 612 for？ B: Where’s that？ A: Six figures down. B :That's motor expenses. A: And what does this figure represent？ B: Audit and accountancy costs. A: They were both up a lot. B: Yes, but expenditure on telephone and postage is down. It’s half as much as last year. You will hear a man calling about expenditure. Message Total amount on entertainment this year: (9)______ Items where expenditures are the same: (10)______ Items where expenditures are up: secretarial expenses, motor expenses, audit and (11)______ costs Items where expenditures are down: expenditures on (12)______ and postage

A．He does not earn as much money as his classmates． B．He does not work as well as his classmates． C．He does not get enough pay for his ’hard work． D．He does not have enough time for his study．