Section One: Listening Test
Part A: Spot Dictation
Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it. Fill in each of the blanks with the word or words you have heard on the tape. Write your answer in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Remember you will hear the passage ONLY ONCE.
Now let us begin Part A with Spot Dictation.

Play is very important for humans from birth to death. Play is not meant to be just for children. It is a form of freedom and connection that can tap into your creativity, and can allow you the chance to find your inner child, and the inner child of others.

I have collected the top five benefits of play here.

Play can stimulate you to think differently. It can go against all the rules and change the same old boring way of doing things. Walt Disney was devoted to play, and his willingness to oppose the common wisdom changed the world of entertainment. The next time you’re stuck in a fixed and boring way of life, pull out a box of colored pencils, modeling clay, glue and scissors, and invite your inner child out, and break free. You’ll be amazed that the way you’re thinking shifts to new worlds of discovery.

Playing can bring greater joy into your life. What do you think the world would be like if every human spends time each day in play? I bet just asking you this question has brought a smile to your face.

Play creates laughter, joy, entertainment and a feeling of inner peace. Starting today, try to get 30 minutes each day to engage in some form of play, and watch your joy factor rise.

Play is known to reduce stress. Studies show that as humans, play is part of our nature. We have the need to play because it is instinctive and basic to human existence. With regular play, our problem solving and adaptive abilities will be in much better shape to handle this complex world. And we’re much more likely to choose healthy answer to challenging situations as they arise. It creates laughter and freedom that can instantly reduce stress, and add a feeling of relaxation to our daily living.

Play can stimulate the imagination, curiosity and creativity. Research shows that play is both a hands-on and minds-on learning process. It produces a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the world and its possibilities. We begin giving meaning to life through story-making and playing out various possible situations.

这次的spot dictation 仍然是大家熟悉的说明文，讲的是play玩耍的意义。文章的结构清楚，在开头已经点出文章的结构，要讲五个play的好处。之后，文章的脉络就一直没有出乎意料的成分，挨个点出了这五个好处，依次是可以发散思维，带来乐趣，平和内心，减缓压力，培养想象力创造力。

综观全文，难度在历年spot dictation 中算是比较简单平和的。真正考生完全不知道的词，基本没有出现，除了一个tab into有些同学可能会陌生一点。相比之下，有几个所谓“只要想一下就可以知道”的词，构成了一些障碍，如instinctive, willingness, modeling clay, adaptive等，这些词在阅读中都是低难度词，但是在听力中，会阻碍大家对语流的理解，记忆，和记录。此外，Spot Dictation这一项的难度，还取决于所填空的词数，这要等试题揭晓才能获知了。但是，已经有理由推断在这个部分中，考生得分率会超过上次考试。

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