2009年6月英语六级考试听力成功指南(第四期)

　　听力原文：

　　Passage 1

　　Your professor has asked me to talk to you today about the topic that should be of real concern to civil engineers: the erosion of US beaches. Let me start with some statistics. Did you know that 90% of the coast in this country is eroding, on the gulf of Mexico for instance, erosion averages 4 to 5 feet per year. Over the past 20 years, there has been an increase in building along the coast, even though geologists and environmentalists have been warning communities about problems like erosion. Someway communities have tried to protect their building and roads and to build seawalls. However geologists have found that such stabilizing structures actually speed up the destruction of the beaches. These beaches with seawalls, called stabilized beaches, are much narrower than beaches without them. You may wonder how seawalls speed up beach loss. The explanation is simple. If the flow of the beaches is gentle, the water energy is lessened as it washes up along the shore. It is reduced even more when it returns to the sea as it doesn't carry back much sand. On the other hand, when the water hits the nearly vertical face of the seawall, it goes straight back to the sea with the full force of its energy and it carries back a great deal of sand. Because of the real risk of losing beaches, many geologists support a ban on all types of stabilizing construction on shore lines.

　　Questions 1 to 4 are based on the lecture you've just heard.

　　1. What is the speaker mainly discussing?

　　2. Why do communities build seawalls?

　　3. How does a gently sloping beach help prevent erosion?

　　4. What would the speaker probably advise engineers to do?

　　Passage 2

　　In Britain the biggest number of working foreigners comes from the odd system know as ‘au pair'. Every week hundreds of girls arrive from strange capitals to live with English families. They are called au pairs. An au pair girl stays with the family and has free food and lodging. In return she does light work in the house. This system began as a genuine exchange, but now has become a commercial bargain between families who need help and girls who need to learn English. As learning languages has become more important, so the numbers involved have gone up.

　　The system succeeds fairly well so far as teaching the girls English is concerned. But it is debatable how far it increases international friendship. There is a basic conflict of objectives-the hosts want cheap labor, the girls want leisure and language. The girls often find it hard to meet English people of their own school ages, for the language schools and clubs are made up of other foreigners.

　　In spite of its shortcomings, the au pair system has probably played some role in breaking down frontiers. The British Vigilance Society estimates that 15 percent of the girls are very happy, 15 percent very happy, and 70 percent more or less content; but only a small minority keep in touch after they go back home.

　　Questions 5 to 7 are based on the passage you've just heard.

　　5. What does the au pair system mean now?

　　6. What is NOT mentioned as an advantage of the au pair system for the girls?

　　7. How do the girls feel about the system?

　　题解：

　　Passage 1

　　这是一篇讲座性的文章。这类文章的特点是开头第一句话往往告知演讲的目的、主要议题等。该文在开头就指出中心是谈有关美国海岸被侵蚀的问题。接着用数字和例子印证该问题的严重性。演讲者分析了造成这一现象的原因是人们建楼、修路和建防护堤。然后着重分析建防护堤对海岸的影响。最后号召人们停止在海岸连修建任何稳固性建筑。

　　1.C 该题是主旨题。从文章第一句可知。

　　2.C 该题是细节题。从"... communities have tried to protect their building and roads and to build seawalls."可知。

　　3.B 该题是细节题。从"If the flow of the beaches is gentle, the water energy is lessened as it washes up along the shore. It is reduced even more that returns to the sea so it doesn't carry back much sand."

　　4.D 该题是细节题。由最后一句可知。

　　Passage 2

　　本文谈到了英国的au pair system，即"互裨"或"平等互惠"制度。每星期，数以百计的女孩从世界各地来到英国，和英国家庭生活在一起，通过帮助做较轻的家务来换取免费食宿。此制度已成为需要协助家务的家庭和需要学习英语的女孩们间的一种商业交易。由于学英语变得日益重要，"互裨"女孩的数量不断增多。

　　接下来，短文谈到了这个制度的社会效应。一方面，它有助于女孩们学习英语;另一方面，它在是否能增进国际间友谊方面颇有争议。主人们要低价劳动，女孩子们要闲暇和学语言，这就是双方在在目标上的基本冲突。女孩子们发现很难遇到和她们同龄的英国人，因为语言学校和语言俱乐部里没有本族的英国人。

　　尽管这个制度有弊病，但它在打破不同文化的界线上还是起到了一定的作用。英国维持治安协会估计说，15%的女孩子们感到非常不快乐，15%的女孩们感到很快乐，70%的女孩或多或少感到满意，但她们当中只有很小部分人在回国之后还能与英国家庭保持联系。

　　5.C 本题测试捕捉特定信息的能力。文中提到这个制度"began as a genuine exchange, but now has become a commercial bargain"。所以最佳选项为C。突出其发展了的"商业化"的特点。

　　6.D本题测试捕捉特定信息的能力。

　　7.A 本题对细节考查，对数字的敏感性。文中说"70 percent more or less content"。