Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D).
Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.
Passage One
The world is not only hungry; it is also thirsty for water. This may seem strange to you, since nearly 75% of the earth’s surface is covered with water. But about 97% of this huge amount is sea-water, or salt water. Man can only drink and use the other 3% — the fresh water that comes from rivers, lakes, underground, and other sources. And we cannot even use all of that, because some of it is in the form of icebergs and glaciers. Even worse, some of it has been polluted.
Our need for water is increasing rapidly. Only if we take steps to deal with this problem now can we avoid a severe worldwide water shortage later on. One useful step we should take is to develop ways of reusing it.
Today, in most large cities water is used only once. But it is possible to pipe water that has been used to a purifying plant. There it can be filtered and treated with chemicals so that it can be used again just as if it were fresh from a spring.
But even if every large city purified and reused its water, we still would not have enough. Where could we turn next? To the oceans! All we’d have to do to make use of the vast amount of sea-water is —— remove the salt. This salt-removing process is already in use in many parts of the world. So if we take all these steps, we’ll be in no danger of drying up!
Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
26. What percentage of the earth’s water can man actually use?
27. How can we avoid a worldwide water shortage in the future?
28. How can sea-water be turned into fresh water?
Passage Two
Mrs. Jones was very fond of singing. She had a good voice, except that some of her high notes tended to sound like a gate, which someone had forgotten to oil. Mrs. Jones was very conscious of this weakness, and took every opportunity she could find to practice these high notes. As she lived in a small house where she could not practice without disturbing the rest of the family, she usually went for long walks along the country roads whenever she had time, and practiced her high notes there. Whenever she heard a car or a person coming along the road, she stopped and waited until she could no longer be heard before she started practicing again, because she was a shy person, and because she was sensitive about those high notes.
One afternoon, however, a fast, open car came up behind her so silently and so fast that she did not hear it until it was only a few yards from her. She was singing some of her highest and most difficult notes at the time, and as the car passed her, she saw an anxious expression suddenly come over its driver’s face. He put his brakes on violently, and as soon as the car stopped, jumped out and began to examine all his tires carefully.
Mrs. Jones did not dare to tell him what the noise he had heard had really been, so he got back into his car and drove off as puzzled as he had been when he stopped.
Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
29. What was Mrs. Jones very fond of?
30. What did she do about her weakness?
31. Where did she practice?
Passage Three
China’s first astronaut returned safely to earth on Thursday when his craft touched down on time and as planned after 21 hours in orbit. China’s mission control declared the country’s landmark flight “a success.”
The craft carrying Yang Liwei touched down on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia in northern China as planned at dawn on Thursday. He emerged from the capsule and waved at rescuers. The landing came after a 21-hour mission in which Shenzhou V orbited the Earth 14 times.
It was reported that the astronaut’s condition was good, and he would undergo an immediate exam. The completion of the mission was the crowning achievement of an 11-year, manned space program.
While in orbit Yang spoke to his family, telling them it looked “splendid” in space. He also had a conversation with the country’s defense minister, unfurled the flags of China and the United Nations and took a nap.
