W: Sorry, the computer broke down this morning. I will for you as soon as I have
fixed.
Q: What does the woman imply?
2. W: Did you find the book for your reading assignment in the library?
M: It closed before I got there. I had no idea that it closes so early on weekends.
Q: What does the man mean?
3. M: Did you check the power plug and press the play button?
W: Yes, the power indicator was on, and it was running, but somehow the sound
didn’t come through.
Q: What was the woman probably trying to do?
4. M: Juana, I am awfully sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Shall we have a beer and
forget the whole thing?
W: OK, we can drop it this time. But don’t do it again.
Q: What do we learn from the conversation?
5. W: Airports are sad places.
M: Sometimes, I guess. But we’ll keep in touch. And I will fly over to see you with
Christmas.
Q: What are the speakers doing?
6. M: Are you going to return to your present job after the vacation?
W: No, I plan to graduate next semester. That means I’ll have to be a full-time
student.
Q: What will the woman do?
7. W: John, are you doing research for Professor Williams this semester?
M: Actually, I am working as his teaching assistant.
Q: What does the man mean?
8. M: I heard there are a few seats left for the show tonight.
W: Really? I was under the impression that the tickets were sold out a long time ago.
Q: What do we know from the woman’s reply?
9. W: Mrs. Long’s briefing seems to go on forever. I was barely able to stay awake.
M: How could you sleep through that? It was very important for the mission we
were going to carry out.
Q: What does the man imply?
10. W: You seem very confident about the job interview, don’t you?
M: Yes, I feel ready for it. I bought a good suit and clothing store and I had my hair
cut. I had studied almost everything about finance and economics.
Q: Where is the man probably going to work?
Passage One
There was once a man in South America who had a parrot, a pet bird that could
imitate human speech. The parrot was unique. There was no bird like him in the whole
world. He could learn to say any word except one. He could not say the name of his
native town, Ketunnel. The man did everything he could to teach the parrot to say
Ketunnel, but he never succeeded. At first he was very gentle with the bird. But
gradually, he lost his temper. “You stupid bird. Why can’t you learn to say that one word?
Say Ketunnel or I will kill you.” But the parrot would not say it. Many times the man
screamed, “Say Ketunnel, or I’ll kill you.” But the bird would never repeat the name.
Finally, the man gave up. He picked up the parrot and threw him into the chicken house.
“You are even more stupid than the chickens.” In the chicken house, there were four old
chickens, waiting to be killed for Sunday’s dinner. The next morning, when he went out
of the chicken house, the man opened the door. He was shocked by what he saw. He
could not believe his eyes and ears. On the floor lay three dead chickens. The parrot was
screaming at the fourth, “Say Ketunnel, or I’ll kill you.”
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the passage you have just heard.
11. Why did the man lose his temper?
12. Who killed the three chickens?
13. Why was the shocked at the scene the next morning?
Passage Two
In Britain, if you are found guilty of a crime, you can be sent to prison or be fined or
be ordered to do community work such as tidying public places and helping the old. You
may also be sent to special centers when you learn special skills like cooking, writing and
car maintenance. About 5 percent of the present population are women. Many prisons
were built over one hundred years ago. But the government will have built 11 new
prisons by next year. There are two sorts of prisons: the open sort and the closed sort. In
the closed sort, prisoners are given very little freedom. They spend three to ten hours
outside their cells when they exercise, eat, study, learn skills, watch TV and talk to other
prisoners. All prisoners are expected to work. Most of them are paid for what they do,
whether it is doing maintenance or cooking and cleaning. Prisoners in open prisons are
locked up at night, but for the rest of the time, they are free within the prison grounds.
They can exercise, have visitors, or study. And some are allowed out of the ground to
study or to do community work.
Questions 14 to 16 are based on the passage you have just heard.
14. What do we know about women prisoners in Britain?