Learners of English, especially self-taught learners may have trouble in understanding the speeches made by native speakers. The following ways might help improve your listening skills.
First of all, do things step by step. It is not good to listen to something beyond your level. Better choose a suitable course and start with the first book. Don’t go on to the second book until you are sure you understand the first one.
Secondly, keep studying one course. Don’t change books often. Never let your attention be attracted by another course just because it seems to be more popular.
Thirdly, listen to the English news over the radio from time to time. Better look through the news stories in Chinese-language newspapers first. That will make it easier for you to understand the English news on the radio.
Fourthly, if you have time, listen to some interesting stories in Special English from the V.O.A or other listening materials of the same level as those of your textbook.
76. What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．How to speak English correctly. | B．How to read fast. |
| C．How to improve your writing skills. | D．How to improve your listening skills. |
77. What does the underlined part “beyond your level” mean?
| A．Easy for you. | B．Too difficult for you. |
| C．Just all right for you. | D．Neither difficult nor easy for you. |
78. What should you do if you want to understand the English news on the radio?
A. Practise speaking very often.
B. Read the news stories in Chinese-language newspapers first.
C. Listen to some interesting stories in Special English from the V,O.A.
D. Ask others to explain it to you.
79. How many pieces of advice does the writer give?
| A．Four | B．Three. | C．Two. | D．Many. |
80. Which of the following is NOT right?
| A．English learners may have difficulty in understanding native English. |
| B．To improve our listening skills, we should choose popular courses from time to time. |
| C．Chinese-language newspapers are good for us to understand the English news on the radio.. |
| D．We can only improve our listening skills step by step. |
When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter (炼铜厂), and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area. Paul knocked him down. From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office. He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back. The answer from that big industry was “No”.
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants. Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren’t any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds. It would be a waste of his life to try to do it. Everyone knew that, he was told. Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted.
Paul later got married but his dream would not die. And then one night he did what he could with what he had. As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote. Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass. For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense. Slowly rabbits appeared. Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.
Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has. It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow (誓言) he made to himself as a child.When Paul was a boy, _______.
| A．he had decided never to leave his hometown |
| B．the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter |
| C．he hit a young visitor because of his comments on the wasteland |
| D．he stopped the copper smelter polluting the area |
Paul went to college to study the science of plants, because _______.
| A．he wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself |
| B．he was interested in planting trees since he was young |
| C．he wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him |
| D．he thought his knowledge would make his advice more convincing |
What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably mean?
| A．It was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland. |
| B．His normal work and life would be greatly affected. |
| C．No one would like to join him in the efforts. |
| D．He had to keep everything he did secret. |
The company hired Paul to plant trees and grass because_______.
| A．they realized the importance of environmental protection |
| B．what Paul was doing moved them |
| C．Paul persuaded them to help him |
| D．they had legal pressure |
We've all heard the old saying，“Sticks and stones can break my bones，but words can never hurt me.” Don't you believe it？Words are powerful，and they can hurt—a lot. In fact，if you're not careful，you can even hurt yourself，by using the wrong word in your writing.
Recently a friend sent me a copy of an email she received from the customer service department of her credit card company，after she contacted them with a question about her account. She was happy with their positive response. But as I read the email，one line jumped out at me：“In lieu of good customer service...”
Did they really mean they were offering her a few extra reward points instead of good customer service？I doubt it. More likely，what the customer service department meant to say was，“Because good customer service is important to us...” followed by the details of what they were doing to make sure she remained a happy customer.
So why didn't the writer say that？I can only guess that perhaps the writer liked the phrase “in lieu of”，thought it sounded more interesting than saying “because”，and so used it—without bothering to check the true meaning.
Have you ever done that？Try to impress others with a big word，only to find out you've used the word incorrectly？It's just the opposite effect，isn't it？You may impress people all right，but it's not the impression you were going for.
When you write，remember to choose your words carefully. People may still disagree with what you say，but they won't be able to dismiss you because you made careless mistakes in how you said it.What's the writer's purpose in giving the saying?
| A．To amuse the reader. |
| B．To persuade the reader. |
| C．To support a conclusion. |
| D．To lead to the topic. |
It can be inferred that the writer's friend ______.
| A．was the manager of the customer service department |
| B．was the customer of the credit card company |
| C．emailed a company to complain |
| D．used a phrase incorrectly |
What does the phrase “in lieu of” most probably mean?
| A．Because of. | B．In honour of. |
| C．Instead of. | D．In favour of. |
According to the writer，the customer service department ______.
| A．didn't express what they really meant |
| B．didn't prefer to use familiar words to attract customers |
| C．didn't need to offer their customers extra reward points |
| D．succeeded in impressing their customers |
The world has changed and being intelligent isn't normally equal to being a successful person. Look at the example of the blue whale：It has a huge brain，but it still doesn't know how to avoid whalers or use its large size and weight to deal with those who try to use their body for profit. Scientists hold an opinion that the blue whale just likes some highly intelligent people who fail to succeed. Those highly intelligent people can't succeed in life because they can't communicate well with the world around them.
Intelligence is a word in life that makes you think you are better than others. Intelligence can blind these very people from how others view them. These people also think that the route to power and success results purely from intelligence and they sometimes live in a fantasy world that they create by their supposed brain power.
This is a distance that develops whether or not they realize it and sometimes，a person can be disliked simply because of his or her intelligence. This distance is sometimes so far apart that it gets to the position where they can't listen to each other. One side thinks the other is stupid and the other thinks he/she is haughty(傲慢的)．And most of the time it is the intelligent people who lose themselves in this situation. They become unpopular with most of the people around them. This affects them in whatever they do and sooner or later they will lose their confidence.
It doesn't help that they get a culture shock—especially when they leave college and realize success and richness don't always and sometimes never come naturally with intelligence. While some might think this is a dramatic picture to paint，it is sometimes the end result of some people.The example of “the blue whale” is used to show ______.
| A．communication is more important than intelligence |
| B．human beings are always more intelligent than animals |
| C．humans should have the sense of protecting animals |
| D．the blue whale is the largest animal in the world |
Those supposed intelligent people often believe that ______.
| A．they should make their life the same with others |
| B．they should live in a better world than the others |
| C．they are sure to be successful because of their intelligence |
| D．other people's opinion should be seriously considered |
What makes the intelligent people lose their confidence?
| A．They often can't get higher positions though they are intelligent. |
| B．They become separated from other people and lose their support. |
| C．They can't persuade those stupid people to accept their ideas. |
| D．They often can't make good use of their advantages. |
We can infer that the end result of the supposed intelligent people would be ______.
| A．great achievements | B．more efforts |
| C．proper changes | D．failure in the future |
The first tape recorder didn’t use tape. It used long thin wire. It was invented in 1900 by Valdermar Poulsen. In 1930, German scientists invented the tape we use today. Back then the tape was on big rolls. In 1964 the Philips company in Holland invented the cassette. It’s pretty much a holder for the tape. People use cassettes all over the world. If you don’t have a cassette recorder, borrow one.
Think of a book your parents read out loud to you. That might be a great book to read out loud to your mom or dad in their car. Put a cassette in the recorder, open the book, hit the record button and start reading out loud.
Remember there is no such a thing as a wrong way to do this. You might think you’ve made a mistake, but this gift is part of you, and nothing about that can be a mistake. It’s impossible.
You get to be all artistic and creative here. You might want to play music in the background. Do whatever you want. The gift is you, so you decide. Remember to say “I love you”at the end of your reading. That’s like the prize at the end of the book.Why does the author mention the history of tape recorders in Paragraph 1?
| A．To inform readers of new inventions. |
| B．To lead into his following suggestion. |
| C．To give an example of his suggestion. |
| D．To show the importance of tape recorders |
What does the author advise us to do?
| A．To read a book to our parents in their car |
| B．To ask our parents to record a book. |
| C．To make a gift for our parents. |
| D．To practice reading out loud. |
Why does the author say it is impossible to make a mistake in Paragraph 3?
| A．Because the tape shows your true love. |
| B．Because it’s easy to use a tape recorder. |
| C．Because the music is what your parents like. |
| D．Because it’s impossible to find a mistake in the book. |
When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety…But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm．These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-Kilometer- an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up．
“Storm chasing (追逐)”is becoming an increasingly popular hobby，especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July．A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to l,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop．
Although anyone can do it，storm chasing is extremely dangerous．The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds．Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain．If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm - chasing vacations during the storm season．
Even then，storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement．“Storm chasing is 95％driving，”says Daniel Lynch，who spends most of his summer storm-chasing．“Sometimes you
Can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen，and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However，for storm chasers，it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm，it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life，”says Jasper Morley．“Every storm is an example of the power of nature．It is the greatest show on Earth．”For storm chasing，the first thing storm chasers do is to．
| A．head straight for the center of the storm |
| B．get into the car for safety |
| C．wait patiently for the storm to develop |
| D．collect information about a coming storm |
Beginners of storm chasing are advised
| A．not to drive in a heavy rain |
| B．to do it in an organized way |
| C．not to get too close to a storm |
| D．to spend more time on it in summer |
By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph，the author means that
| A．storm chasing costs a lot of money |
| B．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting |
| C．efforts in storm chasing are well paid |
| D．a storm presents the greatest show on Earth |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment． |
| B．Many storm chasers get killed in the storms． |
| C．Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world． |
| D．Storm chasing is only fit for young people |