British Holidaying Habits
In the late 1970s, air travel became affordable／for the average family in the UK,／and more people started travelling abroad for their summer holidays.／After all, the British weather wasn’t very good, even in summer,／so a lot of people left the country for a vacation.／
In the 1980s and 1990s, young people in the UK became wealthier on average.／As a result, they started to go abroad in groups,／to places such as Spain and Greece.／Once they arrived at their destination,／they met with other groups of young people and had one long party.／
British holidaying habits have begun to change, however.／Climate change means that the UK now has a hotter climate,／so people do not need to go overseas to find good weather.／Also, going abroad is more expensive.／As a result, more British people are choosing to spend their summer holidays in the UK.／
PART II LISTENING COMPREHENSION
SECTION A CONVERSATIONS
Questions 1 to 3 are based on the following conversation. At the end of the conversation, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the conversation.
Woman: Good afternoon, International Trade Center Exhibition Services. How can I help?
Man: Oh, hello. I’d like some information about exhibiting at the International Automobile Show. Woman: The Auto Show? So, what would you like to know? Man: First, can you give me an idea of how big the fair is?
Woman: Well, 121 companies had stands last year and that figure should be up to 140 this time. Man: Sorry, how many? Woman: 140.
Man: What about visiting numbers?
Woman: Over the two days, we had 16,500 visitors, so with more stands we’d hope for more people this time.
Man: And where did they typically come from?
Woman: About 57% were from overseas: America and Europe, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. The remained were local people.
Man: That’s interesting. Now, a few practical questions. We’re thinking of taking a stand about 45 square meters. How much will that cost us? Woman: $400 per square meter.
Man: Sorry, can you give me the cost again?
Woman: Yes. It’s $400. So if you’re looking at 45 square meters, it would be, let me see, $18000. But that’s just the cost for a basic stand. Man: What does the price include?
Woman: You get a listing in the catalogue in both Chinese and English, some basic furniture——a desk and four chairs, and electricity in lighting. Man: So anything else would be extra like a poster. Woman: That’s right.
Questions 4 to 7 are based on the following conversation. At the end of the conversation, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the conversation. Man: Hello Linda. Woman: Hello Jim.
Man: I’m thinking of investing in your new educational computer that your company has produced. And I’m interested in the advertising campaign. Woman: Oh, thank you. What would you like to know?
Man: I’ve read your campaign plan. It looks OK. I only have a couple of questions, mainly about where you intend to place these advertisements.
Woman: Well, as you can see from the plan, we intend to place them in family magazines and on early evening television. We want whole families that parents and children to see them. Man: Mmm…but are you sure they’ll be the right families? Woman: The right families? Well…
Man: I mean are you certain that the parents who read those magazines and watch those television programs are the people who will buy an educational computer for their children? Woman: Yes, we are quite certain. A market research shows that…
Man: Good. I’m sure you’re right. And I see that you’re thinking of placing advertisements in teenage magazines as well.
Woman: Yes, we intend to place them in some teenage magazines, the more serious ones, you know. And we’re also thinking of putting them in Sunday newspapers because it’s likely that the whole family will be together on Sundays.
Man: I see, but do you really think that the parents and children will like the same advertisements? Woman: We’ve done the research and we think they’ll like our advertisements. Man: Good.
Questions 8 to 10 are based on the following conversation. At the end of the conversation, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the conversation. Woman: Hello. I’m Sue Green. You must be John Fox. Man: Yes, I am.
Woman: Thanks for coming to the job interview. Let me ask you a few questions. Man: Yes, please.
Woman: Have you got any work experience?
Man: Yes. I had a job in a paper factory for a few months after I left school. Then I worked in the summer holidays in the university, first in a fast-food restaurant, then at a book shop. Woman: Ok. Do you drive? Have you got a driving license? Man: Yes, I have.
Woman: That’s fine then. So what kind of interests do you have?
Man: Interests? Well, I like travelling. I play a lot of sports and I play the piano. Woman: What sorts of sports do you like? Man: Football, tennis and swimming.
Woman: Right. And what sort of music do you play? Man: Oh, a lot of, different types, classical, jazz.
Woman: Ok, the most important question now. What experience have you had with children?
Man: Well, I’ve looked after my brother and sister as babies and as they’re young children. I also
worked with children in a youth club. Woman: A youth club?
Man: Yes. I’ve been working as a helper in a youth club since I studied in university as a sort of a volunteer with teenagers.
Woman: Good. Ok, well, let you know our decisions in a few days. Man: Thank you.
SECTION B PASSAGES
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the following passage. At the end of the passage, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the passage.
Few people expect luxury while flying, but these days, even the basic seems to be in bad shape. It’s not uncommon to find your trade table broken, the in-flight entertainment system not working and your seat cushion worn. All of this can make you think how old is this plane anyway.
The reality for many US air travelers is that most of their journeys take place on planes that have been in service for a decade or more. The average age of the fleet of the seven large USA passenger airlines is about 14 years old according to the airline monitor. It found American and Delta Northwest have the oldest fleets at about 16 years on average.
At the end of 2008, a small percentage of the merged Delta Northwest planes dated back to the late 1960s. “US. fleets are among the oldest in the world,” said Richard Albelafia, an elevation analyst, “ I’m not really sure that people should read that much into that.” Albelafia said, “ For the safety’s stand point, a lot of the old planes will build tougher and with proper maintenance. There’s no reason why a plane can stay safe for 25 to 30 years. It’s also important to remember that the plane may be 20 years old, but its engines and other major systems could be recently manufactured and upgraded.” said Albelafia, “There’s less pressure on the airlines to upgrade the interior unless the safety issue or redesign that will save money.
Questions 14 to 17 are based on the following passage. At the end of the passage, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the passage.
Higher education isn’t for everyone and people have a variety of parts to choose from once they graduate from high school. They might know from the start that they want to go street to the professional world. If you’re in the market for a job that doesn’t require a degree but does come with a nice salary, here are a few jobs to consider:
Assembly supervisors oversee workers who put together products by using power tools or other dangerous equipment; the annual salary is $59,926.
At construction side assistant site managers report to the head site manager and plan, direct and coordinate the necessary tasks to complete that day’s activities. Salary: $86,584.
And automobile service station manager draws up guidelines for gas stations and automobile repair shops and decides on our operations, a signs of job duties, and sets prices for services and products. Salary: $81,793.
Carpenter supervisors oversee carpentry work on a specify project to ensure that workers on schedule and executing the plan accordingly. The supervisors also perform some of carpenter duties if time permits. Salary: $70,565.
Airlines flight services managers ensure that flight attendance adhere to personal experience and pre-flight requirements. They also compile fly reports. Salary: $ 67,766.
Illustrators design funs and imges for variety of media from website to printing campaigns and video. They often work for advertisement agencies. Salary: $54,995.
Questions 18 to 20 are based on the following passage. At the end of the passage, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the passage.
The police released the first video images yesterday of the two men believed to have been involved in robbing a jewelry shop in the city seven days ago. But the video pictures taken a week ago were not very clear. The camera which filmed the men was about 200 meters away from a parked lorry which the robbers later used as a get-away vehicle. The men were also filmed wearing hoods as they ran towards the lorry after the robbery. The pictures are timed at 9:05 a.m. last Saturday, just half an hour before the robbery occurred. Witnesses have confirmed that at some time during this half hour, they saw the two men without hoods leave the lorry separately. Despite the quality of the video, the police believe the robbers are distinct enough to be identified. The first suspect who got out of the driver side of the lorry was about 5 foot 6 inches tall and fat. He was wearing a grey jacket with a hood and dark trousers. The passenger was slimmer and slightly taller, about 5 foot 8 inches and was wearing light blue jeans and a white jacket with a hooded jogging top. According to the police, the lorry stored in the parking lot of the city mall last month had been repainted from white to silver and faded with false registration plates.
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Questions 21 and 22 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the news.
American astronauts would not return to the moon as planed if US congress passes president Obama’s proposed budget. Obama’s budget which aims to cut funding in certain areas while increasing money used to create jobs would cancel NASA’s constellation programme. The programme has sought to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020. NASA’s programme also intended to study the idea of establishing a moon colony. The programme was set to follow the US space agency’s shuttle missions which are due to end in September. On its website, the White House Budget Office says the programme to send astronauts to the moon is behind schedule, over budget and overall less important than other space investments. “Using a broad range of criteria, an independent review panel determined that even if fully funded NASA’s programme to repeat many of the achievements of the Appolo era, 50 years later was the least attractive approach to space exploration as compared to potential alternatives.” the site says.
Questions 23 and 24 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the news.
A Russian cargo ship with about 30 crew members aboard was in danger of sinking off Russia’s eastern coast while storming weather interfered with rescue efforts , sate-run Itar-Tass news agency said Friday.
Ice had formed on the outside of the ship and the crew was chipping it off. The crew sent out the distressed signal but there was no explanation of the problem. Because of the severe weather aircraft can’t be used to rescue the crew. According to Itar-Tass the vessel is about 19 miles from the oil rig where rescue vessels are based, while a tugboat dispatched from land were still about 4 times farther away. “The cargo ship had been on route to a fishing area when it experienced problems.” The news agency reported, “The ship hauls fish from boats to ports.”
Questions 25 and 26 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the news.
Dozens of recording stars began converging on a Hollywood studio Monday to add their voices to a song. They hoped to raise millions of dollars for Haitian earthquake relief. The words and music are updated version of we’re the world, a song that raised at least $30 million for African humanitarian programme 25 years ago. Lionel Richie who co-worked the first song with Machael Jackson is organizing the effort. The original producer Quincy Jones is using the same studio he used in 1985. Reporters and security surrounded Hanson Studios, anticipating the arrival of limousines delivering stars on Monday afternoon for what is expect to be a marathon recording session. Smoky Robinson who sang on the original said the at least 100 singers asked to take part does not include any of the 45 stars from the previous version. Organizers have not said when the song might be ready for the world to hear.
Question 27 and 28 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the news.
AT & T plans to spend 18 billion dollars in 2010 upgrading its wireless networks to handle the increasing amount of new traffic. This is roughly 2 billion dollars more than the company had invested in the previous year. Specifically AT & T will add 2000 new cell sites and upgrade existing cell sites with 3 times more fiber links than it had in 2009. This will increase capacity to connect the cell towers to AT & T’s main network. AT & T, which is the only wireless operator in the US selling iPhone, had been a target of much criticism over this past year as many iPhone subscribers, particularly in densely populated urban areas have complained about dropped calls, slow Internet access and poor service. Some critics claimed the company has not been spending enough on network upgrades to keep up with growing demand. AT & T has acknowledged that it has faced some difficulties particularly in big cities, but the company is closing the gap.
Questions 29 and 30 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the news.
An Olympics security plan, five years in the making, is taking shape in Vancouver this week. The Canadian police since handing up the 900 million dollars security operation the largest in Canada’s history. It would involve 15,000 police, private security and military personnel. The Winter Olympics would take pace Feb. 12 to 28 in 2010 in Vancouver. Political protest may post big threats to the games. The threat of a terrorist attack is really as low, but the memory of the 1972 Monich Olympics has not gone away. That year a terrorist group attacked the athletes’ village, eventually killing 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. It is no coincidence that in Vancouver security patrols are particularly evident around the low-rise apartment buildings where the athletes would be housed. In downtown Vancouver some roads are already closed and rings of security fencing surround some key venues. Perched on top of fencing is never work from 900 surveillance cameras to detect intrusions.
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