Practice one A Disastrous Honeymoon Words You Need to Know
swell allergic platinum
duty-free burgle
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the interview and follow the instructions.
Interviewer:So, tell us about this disastrous honeymoon. I gather it all started with the ring?
Dave:Yes?
Sandy:Yeah, that's right. My finger swelled up so much I had to rip the ring off!
Dave:Mm, I wish we'd known you were allergic to gold. I would've bought you a platinum one.
Interviewer:And then what?
Dave:Well, then it was the Bank Holiday weekend and we couldn't cash our traveler's checks.
Sandy:Yeah, we were stupid, weren't we, to have forgotten that?
Dave:Oh yeah, then of course, it was the car...
Interviewer:The car?
Sandy:New one! What we'd always dreamt of...
Dave:Yeah, first it broke down, and the same night it was stolen.
Interviewer:Oh dear!
Dave:I suppose we should have left it at home, really, but you see we'd only just got it.
Sandy:Yeah, so anyway, we hired another car. It cost a lot of money to stay in a hotel.
And then, because it was the weekend and we didn't have any money left, we had to drive for how long?
Sixteen? Yeah sixteen hours back into France, Oh we should never have forgotten ten the banks again.
Dave:Yeah, we must have been cray to have driven all that way, so you were ill then.
Sandy:Oh yeah, well, it wasn't just that, it was the sun, and the food too.
Dave:Suppose so.
Interviewer:So you came home then, did you?
Sandy:Oh yeah, but at the port someone stle my purse!
Interviewer:Oh!
Dave:I wish we'd spent that money on duty-free shops. And then to cap it all when we got home we found our shop had been burgled...
Sandy:Oh we found that... yeah... yeah!
Interviewer:Why on earth didn't you tell the police you were away?
Dave:Erm... I suppose it slipped our minds...
Sandy:Erm I didn't think... (312 words)
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the interview again and fill in the table with the information you get from the recording.
Exercise 3:Directions:Listen to the passage again and answer the following questions briefly.
Practice Two Change and Eng
Words You Need to Know
Siam Siamese tissue emigrate
circus descendant deteriorate bronchitis
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and answer the following question.
Chang and Eng were the original Siamese twins, born in Siam in 1811.
The King of Siam ordered them to be killed but their mother managed to keep them alive and bring them up as normal as possible.
They were not very tall and were connected by a band of tissue 4.5 inches long, but they were very intelligent.
They emigrated to America, became famous as circus actors and by the time they were thirty they had made a lot of money.
Then they got married. They married sisters and between them had twenty-two children.
Chang and Eng now have more than 1000 descendants. For some years they all lived in the twins' original house;
but when the families grew they built separate homes, Chang and Eng spending three days in one and the next three in the other.
In their later years, Chang's health deteriorated because he drank too much.
Eng became so worried that he tried to get separated, but no doctor would do the operation.
The end of their lives was painful. On January 12th, 1874, Chang took to his bed with bronchitis in his own house
One the Thursday it was time to move, according to the arrangement, to Eng's house.
Eng did not want Chang to go, but Chang insisted. His health grew steadily worse until on January 17th he died.
When Eng realized his twin brother had died he said,"Then I am going to die too." He did, two hours later. (256 words)
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage again and answer the following questions briefly.
Exercise 3:Directions:Listen to the whole passage again and decide whether the following statements are true (T)or false (F).
1)Chang and Eng were very tall and itelligent.
2)Because they were Siamese twins, they led a poor life.
3)They married sisters and had a lot of children.
4)They lived in the twins' original house all their lives.
5)Chang died of bronchitis.
Practice Three The Marie Celeste
Words You Need to Know
bound combat disruption Dei Gratia Morehouse
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and fill in the blanks with the information you get from the passage.
On April 14, 1868, two ships were scheduled to leave the busy port of New York, bound for Europe.
The night before, their captains met and had dinner together. The dinner was very ordinary and certainly neither man knew he would soon have a role in one of the world's greatest mysteries.
The two ships left the next morning. Their names:the Dei Gratia and the Marie Celeste.
After several days at sea, Morehouse, the captain of the Dei Gratia, sighted the Marie Celeste, and he immediately recognized that something was wrong.
It was not moving and there was no sign of life on deck.
Morehouse and a few of his men took a small boat to the Marie Celeste to investigate.
They searched every part of the ship and found nothing - not a man, dead or alive, no signs of illness or combat, no disruption.
In fact, everything was in good order, as if the crew had left ten minutes before.
There was a ten-pound note on a table, with an unfinished letter home near it, a freshly washed stack of clothes in the laundry, and plenty of food and water.
These signs of normal, everyday life on an empty ship were the strangest feature of the mystery.
What had happened to the captain and crew? If they had been attacked, why was everything still in its place and why were there no signs of a struggle?
If they had died suddenly from a disease, where were their bodies?
Investigators searched for the answers to these questions for years and years, but they camp up with nothing.
The fate of the men of the Marie Celeste remains as one of the unanswered questions of our time. (289 words)
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage and decide whether the statements on the recording are true (T)or false (F).
1)Both the Dei Gratia and the Marie Celeste set off for Europe.
2)Captain Morehouse was surprised to see the Marie Celese disappear.
3)The captain of the Marie Celeste left an unfinished letter explaining what had happened.
4)All the food and water had been used up on the ship.
5)The untouched contents of the Marie Celeste mystified Morehouse and others.
Exercise 3:Directions:Listen to the passage again and answer the following questions briefly.
Happy Minute
Enjoy listen to the passage and answer the following question.
What did the third man imply when he said he liked to hear Look,he is moving at the funeral?
Three friends arrived at the Pearly Gates at the same time.
As part of their orientation to heaven, St. Peter asked what kind of remarks they would most like to hear from their family and friends at their funerals
"I would like to hear them say I was a great doctor and a good family man," said the first.
"I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and that, during my career as a schoolteacher, I made a difference in many lives," said the second fellow.
"Those both sound terrific," replied the third, "but I'd like to hear them say, "Look! He's moving!"
Lesson Two Overwhelming Disasters
Practice One Unsinkable Ships Words You Need to Know
luxury liner tragedy coward collide
iceberg rescue shipwreck destination
the Titanic the Andrea Doria
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the passage and report what the passage mainly tells us.
On the morning of April 10, 1912, the luxury liner the Titanic left England on a voyage to New York.
Four days later she lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. On Wednesday July 18,1956, the ocean liner the Andrea Doria left Italy.
The Andrea Doria was also traveling to New York. Eight days later this great ship also lay at the bottom of the Atlantic.
The sinking of these two huge ships, these two very, very large ships, shocked the world.
Reports of these two tragedies filled the newspapers for days. When the Andrea Doria went down,
people compared her sinking with the sinking of the Titanic. There were similarities between the two events;
however, there were also important differences.
What were some of these similarities? First of all, both ships were transatlantic ocean liners.
In addition, they were both luxury liners. They carried many of the world's famous and rich people.
In fact, ten American millionaires lost their lives when the Titanic went down.
Today millions of dollars worth of gold, silve, and cash may still remain locked inside these two sunken ships.
Another similarity was that as each ship was sinking, there were acts of heroism and acts of evil.
Some people acted very bravely, even heroically. Some people even gave up their lives so that others could live.
There were also some people who acted like cowards. For example, one man on the Titanic dressed up as a woman so that he could get into a lifeboat and save his own life.
One last similarity was that both of these ships were considered "unsinkable." People believed that they would never sink.
There are also differences between these great ship disasters. To begin with,
the Titanic was on her very first voyage across the Atlantic. The Andrea Doria, on the other hand, was on her 101st transatlantic crossing.
Another difference was that the ships sank for different reasons. The Titanic struck an iceberg while the Andrea Doria collided with another ship.
Another contrast was that the Andrea Doria had radar to warn of the approach of another ship,
but the Titanic was not equipped with radar. The Titanic had only a lookout.
The lookout was able to see the iceberg only moments before the ship struck it.
But, of course, the greatest difference between these two terrible accidents was the number of lives lost.
When the Titanic sank, more than 1,500 people died. They were drowned or frozen to death in the icy North Atlantic water.
Over 700 people survived the sinking. In the Andrea Doria accident 60 people lost their lives, and about 1,650 lives were saved.
One of the reasons that so many people died on the Titanic was that the ship was considered to be unsinkable and so there were about half the number of necessary lifeboats to rescue all the people aboard the ship
The Andrea Doria had more than enough lifeboats to rescue every person on the ship;
however, they were able to use only about half of the lifeboats they had because of a mechanical problem.
The passengers and crew of the Andrea Doria were very lucky that another ship was able to rescue most of them.
The passengers on the Titanic were not so fortunate.
It is interesting that the wreck of the Titanic was only found in September of 1985. (565 words)
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage again and fill in the blanks with the information from the recording.
Exercise 3:Directions:Listen to the passage again and decide whether the following statements are true (T)or false (F).
1)The Titanic and the Andrea Doria both sank in the Atlantic Ocean.
2)A lot of gold, silver and cash have been discovered in these two ships.
3)A man dressed up as a woman on the Titanic in order to save the lives of other people.
4)The Titanic had not enough lifeboats because of a mechanical problem.
5)The wreck of the Titanic wasn't found until the 1980s.
Practice Two The Tyrone
Words You Need to Know
cabin jolt leak
Exercise 1:Directions:Listen to the whole passage and decide whether the following statements are true (T)or false (F).
Mrs Grace Hume is one of the few living survivors of the Tyrone disaster.
The ship sailed from Liverpool for New York on the 7th of April 1926. 500 passengers were aboard.
Only 85 of them survived. Mrs Hume described the voyage recently for a BBC radio program.
"The morning we left Liverpool the weather was very pleasant and we were all sure we were going to have a very pleasant voyage.
The captain told us it would be warm and calm all the way to New York. I still remember some of the passengers.
There was an old lady who was going to visit her son in Boston.
Then there was a man who was going to start a new life in Canada.
They both went down with the ship. The first and second days were very nice.
I thought I would soon have a fine suntan. Then, on the second evening,
the captain told us that the weather the next day was going to be a bit worse than expected but that it wouldn't last long.
It turned very nasty on the third day. I remember someone saying "Oh, well, it'll soon be over."
None of us had any idea how bad it was going to get. By the time it was evening, it was really terrible.
Everybody stayed in their cabins on the fourth day. The storm was impossible to describe by then.
Suddenly I felt a jolt, then someone started screaming something about a huge leak in the engine room.
We all ran up on to the deck. I was sure I would never be able to get in one of the lifeboats.
There were too many people fighting over them. I also knew that I would go down with the ship if I stayed any longer because it was going to sink any minute.
When I jumped into the water I sank so deep that I was sure I was never going to come up again.
Somehow I did and there was a lifeboat in the water near me, only half full. Someone pulled me in.
"During the night I often thought we were going to sink again or at least die of the cold,
but the next morning the storm died down. Then a ship came into sight and we and some people in another lifeboat were rescued. " (396 words)
Exercise 2:Directions:Listen to the passage again and fill in the missing words with the information from the passage.
Exercise 3:Directions:Listen to the passage again and answer the following questions briefly.
Happy Minute
Enjoy listening to the passage and consider the following question.
How do you uderstand the well_meaning sense of humor in the woman's answer
One summer afternoon, while touring southern Utah, my husband and I pulled into the only hotel in a small town.
While signing the register, we asked the young woman behind the desk if our room was airconditioned.
When she shook her head, we hesitated, wondering if we should push on to the next town.
Sensing our doubt, she brightened as she came up with a solution. "Just turn on the heater," she suggested.
"Our customers tell us all that comes out is cold air anyway."
Quiz Two
Part A:Directions:In this part you will hear 10 short conversations between two speakers.
Each conversation will be heard only once. At the end of each conversation,
you will hear a question about what was said.
Listen carefully and decide which of the four choices is the best answer to the question you have heard.
1)Man:Didn't you say you'd drive me to the airport?
Woman:Right. We'll leave immediately after the news.
Question:What are these people going to do now?
2)Woman:Just a second. I want to leave a message for Bill.
Man:Don't bother. We'll be back in less than an hour.
Question:What can be concluded from this conversation?
3)Man:Would it help if I looked after the baby?
Woman:That would give me time to get everything else ready.
Question:What is the man going to do?
4)Man:You ought to see a doctor about that cough.
Woman:I guess I should. I've been putting it off for days.
Question:What does the woman mean?
5)Woman:Have you seen the price of gasoline lately?
Man:Yes. It's enough to make me sell my car and get a bicycle.
Question:What are these people talking about?
6)Man:Would you have some free time to look at this proposal for me?
Woman:I'm kind of busy now. How does late this afternoon sound?
Question:What does the woman mean?
7)Woman:I'm very sorry. I've spilled my coffee on your magazine.
Man:It's easy for you to say you're sorry. My magazine is ruined.
Question:How does the man feel?
8)Man:I think the whole class is going on the field trip next Friday.
Woman:I'm not so sure. Not everyone has paid the transportation fee.
Question:What does the woman imply?
9)Man:I can't remember the due date for our final paper.
Woman:I think it's the twelfth, but the professor said not to wait until the last minute to hand it in.
Question:What did the professor suggest the students do?
10)Man:Don't you think Bob should go into engineering - I mean, he's so good in math.
Woman:He'll have to decide that for himself.
Question:What does the woman say about Bob?
Part B:Directions:In this part, you will hear a short passage three times. When it is read for the first time,
you should listen carefully for the main idea. When you listen to the passage again,
try to fill in the 10 blanks in the printed passage with the words you hear on the recording.
There is a pause in the recording after each clause containing a blank to allow you time to write down the words.
Finally, check what you have written down when the passage is read for the third time.
Learning a skill requires time. (No one acquires an ability)to do some activity instantly.
It is possible to cram information into your head (in a relatively short period), but a skill must be developed.
Any activity, (whether it is riding a horse or writing a paper), is actually composed of several separate and different activities,
(each of which must be mastered a step at a time). The basics are learned first,
(then additional abilities are developed and refined). A rider learns to sit a horse at the various gaits,
then he learns how to position his hands and how to hold his feet
He is not expected (to learn at once every thing that riding involves).
The same is true as you develop your skill as a writer. (You cannot possibly discover)all that you need to know at once.
You will start with the basics of composing and move from there,
(learning to develop a number of separate abilities)that will improve your overall ability to write effectively.
(Don't be discouraged)if your work is not perfect at first. No one expects it to be because it can't be.
(You should expect progress, not perfection, from yourself.)(198 words)
Part C:Directions:In this part you will hear two passages. Each passage will be heard only once.
At the end of each passage you will hear some questions. Listen carefully and decide which of the four choices is the best answer to the question you have heard.
Montreal, Quebec -
William Murphy had fifty-six cents in the bank, lived in a small room, and was unemployed.
But, he had one thing going for him. He was honest. And that honesty paid off for him yesterday.
He received a $ 1.2-million check for returning a lost lottery ticket to the owner.
Last Sunday morning, Murphy found a wallet while he was walking down the street.
He picked it up and looked inside. He found ID cards, $18.00, and six lottery tickets.
He checked the identification and saw that the wallet belonged to Mr Jean-Guy Lavigueur.
He put the wallet in the mailbox but he kept the lottery tickets.
He thought, "Maybe, I'll win $10.00 or something."
Later that evening, he checked the newspaper. He had the winning lottery ticket and it was worth $7,650,267.00.
He was so surprised he almost had a heart attack!
For, a minute, he thought about keeping the ticket but then decided to return it to Mr Lavigueur.
He remembered the address from the ID cards so he went to the house and knocked on the door.
Yves, Jean-Guy's French-speaking son answered the door.
William tried to tell him about the lottery ticket but Yves didn't understand a word of English.
Yves told him to go away in French. Then, he closed the door in William's face.
The next night, William returned with a bilingual friend. This time, Jean-Guy opened the door.
William gave him the ticket and said,"You are a millionaire! This is your ticket and it's worth over $7 million."
Jean-Guy said, "You are an honest man. I'm giving you a $1.2-million reward."
Both men are very happy. Jean-Guy is going to share the money with his family.
They are going to buy a new house. William Murphy plans to go skiing in Vancouver. (301 words)
11)When did William almost have a heart attack?
12)Why did the owner's son tell William to go away?
13)Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Then maybe this is for you.
When you worry about needing sleep and toss and turn trying to find a comfortable position,
you're probably only making matters worse. What happens when you do that, is that your heart rate actually increases, making it more difficult to relax.
You may also have some bad habits that contribute to the problem. Do you rest frequently during the day?
Do you get virtually no exercise, or do you exercise vigorously late in the day?
Are you worried about sleep, or do you sleep late on weekends?
Any or all of these factors might be leading to your insomnia by upsetting your body's natural rhythm.
What should you do, then, on those sleepless nights? Don't bother with sleeping pills.
They can actually cause worse insomnia later. The best thing to do is drink milk or eat cheese.
These are irch in amino acids and help produce a neurotransmitter in the brain that induces sleep
This neurotransmitter will help you relax, and you'll be on your way to getting a good night's sleep.
Until tomorrow's broadcast, this has been another in the series "Hints for Good Health." (199 words)
14)What can you do to make it easier to go to sleep?
15)What can help you go to sleep, according to the passage?
16)What does "insomnia" mean in the passage?
17)How is this message sent?
Part D:Directions:In this part you will hear a passage. The passage will be heard only once.
At the end of it you will hear three questions, which are not printed out for you.
While listening carefully, you may take notes and then answer the questions briefly in your own words.
If your answer to a question is "No", please supply more information to explain it.
Woman:You must be terribly busy with your senior paper right now, Richard.
Man:That's all over. That was finished 2 days ago, in fact now I'm waiting for the result.
I worked literally night and day to get it ready.
Woman:Why did you hurry so much?
Man:I had to go home to my sister's wedding that Saturday. I couldn't miss it.
Since my Dad was gone, I had to take his place.
Woman:I didn't know you have a younger sister.
Man:I do. But it wasn't for her wedding. She got married a year ago. It was my older sister. She's 29.
Woman:So why did you come back if all your work is complete?
Man:It isn't. I still have to finish up 3 courses before I graduate. (133 words)
18)Does the conversation take place in the middle of the semester?
19)What is the man waiting for?
20)What do we learn about the marriage of the man's two sisters