Part III Listening Comprehension
Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
I first met Joe Gumps when we were both 9 years old, which is probably the only reason he is one of my best friends. If I had first met Joe as a freshman in high school, we wouldn’t even have had the chance to get to know each other. Joe is a day student, but I am a boarding student. We haven’t been in the same classes, sports or extra curriculum activities. Nonetheless, I spend nearly every weekend at his house, and we talk on the phone every night. This is not to say that we would not have been compatible if we had first met in our freshman year. Rather, we would not have been likely to spend enough time getting to know each other, due to the lack of immediately visible mutual interests.
In fact, to be honest, I struggle even now to think of things we have in common, but maybe that’s what makes us enjoy each other’s company so much. When I look at my friendship with Joe, I wonder how many people I’ve known whom I never disliked but simply didn’t take the time to get to know. Thanks to Joe, I have realized how little basis there is, for the social divisions that exist in every community. Since this realization, I have begun to make an even more determined effort to find friends in unexpected people and places.
Questions:
26. Why does the speaker say Joe Gumps become one of his best friends?
27. Where does the speaker spend most of his weekends?
28. What has the speaker learned from his friendship with Joe?
Passage 2
It was a bad night for Louis. His research in the neighboring town had taken longer than he expected. It was late and he was very tired when he drove home. He turned into his building’s parking lot, but all the spaces were full. He drove back out onto the street looking for a parking space. The first block was full. The next block was almost empty. Louis didn’t see a no-parking sign, but he suspected that if parking were allowed there, most of the spaces would be filled. Then he saw a small parking lot with two free spaces. He was so glad to see them that he didn’t even think to read the sign by the entrance. He drove in, parked, and hurried home to go to bed. The next morning he went back to the lot to get his car. It was gone. He ran home and telephoned the city police to say that his car had been stolen. It took the police only a minute to tell him what had happened. His car had been on a private lot. It had been taken away by the police. Louis had to take a taxi to the city garage far from the center of town. He had to pay a fee of $40 to get his car back. In addition, he got a parking ticket --- his first one ever in Greenville.
29. Where did Louis intend to park his car when he came back from work one night?
30. What did Louis think had happened to his car the next morning?
31. Where did Louis finally get his car back?
Passage 3
Well, to pick up where we left off last time, I believe we agreed the creativity is a mysterious idea. It's one of those things we all recognized when we see it. But we don't really understand what it is. We seem to feel that some people are naturally creative, but we don't know how they got that way. Is creativity a natural gift like good looks? Or is it something that can be acquired like knowledge? Perhaps if we analyze the creative process carefully, we might get some insight into what it is and how it might work in our lives. The creative process has always been accepted as a source of all important work in the arts. But we should not think the creativity play the role only in the arts. Every major scientific discovery began with someone imagining the world to look differently from the way others saw it. And this is what the creativity is all about. Imagining the world in a new way, and despite what you may believe about the limits of your own creative imaginations, we all have the potential to imagine the world in an absolute new way.
In fact, you were born with it. It is your birth right as a human being. And what's more, you use it every day almost every moment of your life. Your creative imagination is what you use to make sense of your experiences. It's your creative mind to get the meaning from the chaos of your experiences and brings order to your world.
32: What did the speaker most probably discuss last time?
33: What is a widely accepted idea about the creative process?
34: What leads to major scientific discoveries according to the speaker?
35: What does the speaker imply about the creative process?
点评（沪江网校）：
Passage One
本篇短文主要讲述了作者和好朋友Joe之前的友谊。他们二人在9岁的时候就认识了，随着时间的变化，两个人的友谊也越来越牢固。作者在文章中反思，他之所以能和Joe有如此深厚的友谊是因为他们能够有较长的时间相处，能够充分了解彼此。而在现代社会，人们则很少有时间去了解他人。了解到问题所在，也让作者更有决心去了解和结识更多的朋友。
这篇文章基本上没有生僻的词汇，以叙述为主。但是其中有几个短语需要关注：day student：走读学生;boarding student：寄宿学生;curriculum：课程;mutual：相互的;nevertheless：然而; thanks to：多亏了….。理解了这些词，对听力的整体理解会有提升。
Passage Two 本篇文章是一本有趣的小故事。Louis很晚开车回家，发现自己小区和附近路边的停车位都满了，所以他只能开车到隔壁的一个街区去停车。但是因为时间太晚，Louis都没有仔细观察停车位入口旁的标识。第二天早上，Louis发现车子不见了。他以为车辆被盗所以报警。最后才发现，自己的车停到了别人私人车位上，被警察拖走了。Louis不得不开车到很远的地方取车，而且还交了罚单。
这篇文章也很简单，没有出现太难的生词。整个内容就是一篇简短的小故事，只要能抓住时间线索，整篇文章的结构就很清楚了。
Passage Three
本篇文章讲述了人类的创造力。大家都知道有创造力的存在，但是却不知道创造力确切的是什么。文章中提出问题，创造力是与生俱来的还是后天习得的?最后文章得出结论，创造力是每个人都有的。它不仅仅在艺术领域有卓越的贡献，其实在很多重要的科学发现中也扮演了重要角色。创造力可以帮助人们从一个全新的角度认知世界，认识自我。
这篇文章生词不多，但是所谈论的内容比较抽象。而且文章的第一句话，实际上是在提醒，这篇文章是接着前面的某个内容进行深入。pick up在这里表示“重新开始”，第一句话就是说，接着上次的内容继续讲。这一点是需要格外注意的。
