Listening Section
Script:
Listen to part of a lecture in a Canadian studies class. The professor is talking about art. The painter Arthur Lismer wrote, "Most creative people, whether in painting, writing or music, began to have a guilty feeling that Canada was as yet unwritten, unpainted, unsung." According to Lismer, there was a job to be done, and so a generation of artists set out to create a school of painting that would record the Canadian scene and reinforce a distinctive Canadian identity. Calling themselves the Group of Seven, they proclaimed that quote, “Art must grow and flower in the land before the country will be a real home for its people." The Group′s origins date back to the 1911 showing in Toronto of the painting “At the Edge of the Maple Wood” by A.Y. Jackson of Montreal. This painting’s vibrant color and texture made a deep impression on local artists. They persuaded Jackson to come to Toronto and share a studio with them. Jackson began to accompany another painter, Tom Thomson, on sketching trips to Algonquin Park, north of the city. Several of the artists worked at the same Toronto commercial design firm, and it was here that they met and discovered their common artistic interests. After work, they socialized together at the Arts and Letters Club. They talked about finding a new direction for Canadian art. a distinctly Canadian style of painting. It was a romantic quest—mainly fueled by the restless spirit of Tom Thomson, who led the others to the Canadian wilderness to sketch and paint. A patron gave the artists the famous Studio Building in Toronto. It was here that Thomson did some of his finest paintings from sketches made in the wild. Among them was “The Jack Pine,” one of the nation’s best-loved pictures. But then, suddenly and tragically, Thomson died in 1917 drowning in a canoe accident—shocking his fellow painters and Canadian art lovers. The other artists continued their sketching trips to the vast wilderness of northern Ontario. It was there that they found inspiration for some of their greatest paintings. Each artist had his own vision and his own technique, but they all captured the essence of wilderness Canada—a bleak, somber, incredibly beautiful landscape of rock outcroppings, storm-driven lakes, and jack pine trees—a land totally uninhabited by people. After a 1919 trip to the wilderness, the artists decided to organize an exhibition and to formally call themselves the Group of Seven. The seven founding artists were Jackson, Lismer, Harris, MacDonald, Varley, Johnston, and Carmichael. Their 1920 exhibition was an important moment in Canadian art. It proclaimed that Canadian art must be inspired by Canada itself. However, the initial response was less than favorable. Several major art critics ignored the show, while others called the paintings crude and barbaric. Yet, when British critics praised the Group’s distinctly Canadian vision, the Canadian public took another look. Later exhibitions drew increasing acceptance for the Group’s work, establishing them as the “national school.” Before long, they were the most influential painters in the country, and several of their paintings have become icons of Canada. A.Y. Jackson was influential for his analysis of light and shadow’. Arthur Lismer’s work has an intensity all its own— particularly his painting of the "Canadian Jungle.” the violently colored forest in the fall. Lawren Harris went further than the rest in simplifying the forms of nature into sculptural shapes, organizing an entire scene into a single, unified image, and eventually into abstraction.
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1. Which of the following best describes the organization of the lecture?
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A history of an art movement |
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B. |
A description of a painting |
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C. |
A comparison of schools of art |
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D. |
A list of influential painters |
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2. What is the professor′s point of view concerning the Group of Seven?
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A. |
They created a distinctive Canadian art inspired by Canada itself. |
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B. |
They produced a style of painting that was crude and barbaric. |
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C. |
They influenced new trends in Canadian literature and music. |
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D. |
They deserve more attention than they have received. |
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3. Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question. Why does the professor say this?
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to contrast the methods of different artists in the Group |
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to explain why the Group's work was misunderstood |
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To show how one artist inspired the Group's direction |
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D. |
to state that the Group earned very little money |
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4. What subjects did the Group of Seven paint? Click on TWO answers.
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B. |
Uninhabited landscapes |
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5. What does the professor mean by this statement?
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A. |
Art lovers pay high prices for the Group's paintings. |
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B. |
Much of the Group's work has come to represent Canada. |
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C. |
People come from all over the world to study Canadian art. |
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D. |
Canada has more painters now than at any time in the past. |
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6. Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question. What can be concluded about the Group of Seven′s style of painting?
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Three artists are responsible for the Group's style. |
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All artists in the Group followed the style of Jackson. |
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C. |
The Group started the abstract style of painting. |
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D. |
The Group did not share a single style of painting. |
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Script:
Listen to a conversation in a university office.
M: Good afternoon. May I help you?
W: Yes, I hope so. My name is Jennifer Taylor, and I’m in the communications program. Our class is doing a radio program, and we’ll have interviews with a lot of people from all pans of campus life. We’d like to interview the new Dean of Students, if he’s willing.
M: Hmm. That sounds interesting.
W: I hope Dean Evans will agree to meet with us, and let us tape the conversation for the radio. It would be a way for the whole community to get to know him, get to know his ideas and everything ... like the kind of vision he has for the university.
M: How much time would you need?
W: Oh, probably about an hour, no more than that.
M: Hmm. I’m sure the dean would like to participate, but ... uh ... you know, his schedule is pretty tight.
W: Oh, I was afraid of that. Um ...
M: He’s tied up all this week. Everybody wants to. you know, get acquainted. But we can probably work something in. When would you like to do the interview?
W: The radio station can air the show on either the 16th or the 23rd, so we’d have to work around that.
M: Let me look at the dean’s schedule ... Let’s see ... it looks like he’s got a lot of meetings this week, and, well, most of next week, too. What about the week after that? He doesn’t have anything scheduled on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. Would either of those days work for you?
W: Um, yeah. I think so. How about Tuesday afternoon?
M: On Tuesday, he’s free from two o′clock till four- thirty.
W: Let’s see. I’ll be in class until two-thirty, so how about three?
M: All right. Three o’clock. Tuesday. April 15.
W: OK, that will be great. Thank you so much. This will be a great way for everyone to learn about our new dean. We really appreciate the opportunity to do this.
M: You′re really quite welcome. It’s our pleasure. In fact, I’ve put it on the dean’s calendar, and we will see you on the 15th.
W: The 15th. OK. Thank you very much.
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7. What is the purpose of the conversation?
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The man wants to discuss a change in the course schedule. |
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The woman is requesting an interview with the dean. |
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The man is interviewing the woman for a job in the office. |
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D. |
The woman wants to enroll in the communications program. |
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8. Why does the man say this:
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To apologize for the dean's confusing behavior |
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To state that the dean cannot change his schedule |
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To let the woman know the dean is very busy |
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D. |
To express regret that the dean is not available |
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9. Why does the woman want to meet with the dean?
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To learn about his ideas and vision |
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To tell him that she enjoyed his lecture |
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To ask for a letter of recommendation |
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D. |
To request a change in the school calendar |
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10. What can be inferred about the dean?
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He generally does not give interviews. |
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He is in his office two days a week. |
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He is an excellent public speaker. |
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D. |
He has been dean for only a short time. |
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11. When will the meeting with the dean take place?
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Script:
Listen to part of a lecture in an anthropology class. M: Every human society has developed some interest in activities that could be considered sports. The more complex the culture, the more various the range of sporting behavior. There are certain elements in all human sports that are clues to the common underlying structure of sports. Sports tell us a great deal about the kinds of behavior that our prehistoric ancestors evolved—activities that were basic survival skills. Now, let me ask you—what skills were most important to the survival of our ancestors? Yes, Lynne? W: The ability to find food? M: Yeah.... But what skills were necessary to find food? W: Um ... good eyesight? M: OK. What else? W: Well, if they were hunters, they also had to be fast runners ... and they had to have good eyes and a good arm—I mean a good aim—so they could kill game. M: Yes! And isn′t it interesting that you just used the word “game"? Our prehistoric ancestors were gamers—they hunted game animals to survive. Look at the number of sports that originated in hunting. First, hunting itself. But for some societies, the ancient pattern of killing prey is kept alive in the form of blood sports—these are sports that involve the killing of an animal. Even in places where the killing is no longer a matter of survival, it still survives as a sport. The animals—like ducks or pheasant, certain fish—are often eaten as luxury foods. It′s the personal sense of mastery, the sort of delight in the skills of the hunter... these are more important than the food itself. For our prehistoric ancestors, the climax of the hunt was always a group celebration, with songs of praise for the hunters. As hunting sort of became more symbolic, spectators became more important. The ancient Romans brought the hunt to the people by confining it to an arena— the Coliseum. The Coliseum made the hunting field smaller, and this sort of intensified the activity for the entertainment of the spectators. The systematic killing of animals for sport still survives in parts of the world today - think of bullfights and cock fights. But animal sports are only part of the picture. Today, people find human competition more satisfying than competition involving just animals. Take track and field sports. These don’t involve animals, but they did originate in hunting. The earliest sports meetings—or meets, as we call them—were probably ritualized competitions of important skills. Think of how many Olympic sports there are that involve aiming, throwing, and running—which are all hunting skills. The difference is that now the hunting has become totally symbolic. In some sports, there’s still a strong symbolic element of the kill. Wrestling, boxing, fencing, martial arts all these are examples of ritualized fighting. Even tennis is kind of a fight— of course, an abstract one. There are lots of direct references to fighting in the language of sports, too. For example, what do soccer and chess players do? They “attack" or "defend.” Today, even the most violent fighting sports have strict rules that are designed to prevent serious injury. There′s also some kind of referee to make sure that the rules are observed. In sports, the objective is victory, not the actual destruction of your opponent. Another objective is to impress and entertain the spectators—not to shock or offend them. Because sports contain such a powerful negative element, most have an ideal of acceptable behavior — something we call "sportsmanship." There′s also a universal convention in sports where the winner honors the defeated opponent with a handshake, with words of praise, or some token of respect.
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12. What is the main idea of the lecture?
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Every human society is interested in sports. |
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B. |
Sports contain many elements of hunting. |
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Complex cultures have violent sports. |
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D. |
Rules were developed to make sports fair. |
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13. Listen again to part of the discussion. Then answer the question. Why does the professor say this?
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A. |
To learn about what food the student likes |
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B. |
To encourage the student to elaborate |
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To find out if the student did her homework |
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D. |
To contradict the student's answer |
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14. According to the professor, why did the ancient Romans build the Coliseum?
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To make the hunt an entertainment for spectators |
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To compete with other cities in sports architecture |
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To shock and offend the enemies of Rome. |
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D. |
To put Rome at the center of Olympic sports |
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15. What point does the professor make about track and field sports?
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A. |
They were performed in the Coliseum of Rome. |
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They are shocking because an animal is killed. |
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C. |
They are the most popular sporting events today. |
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D. |
They involve skills originally used by hunters. |
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16. Which sports contain a symbolic element of the kill? Click on TWO answers.
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17. What does the professor imply about the negative element of sports?
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A. |
People prefer sports with a strong negative element. |
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B. |
The concept of sportsmanship makes sports less negative. |
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C. |
Today, only blood sports contain a negative element. |
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D. |
Sports will become even more negative in the future. |
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Script:
Listen to a lecture in a geography class. Professor: Today, we′ll be discussing the formation of various mountain ranges around the world. What are some of the major mountain ranges? Student: The Rockies and the Himalayas . . . Professor: Mmhm. What about in Europe? Student: The Alps . . . Professor: And in South America? Student: Uh . . . I know it . . . uh.... it’s the Andes. Professor: That’s right. You got it. The major mountain chains are the Himalayas, the Rockies, the Alps, and the Andes, and we’ll be discussing them today. We’ll also be discussing two smaller North American chains, the Appalachians and the Cascades, which do not rank among the world’s tallest. The development of these two ranges, when compared with the development of the Himalayas, Rockies, Andes, and Alps, provides a clear overall picture of the . . . um . . . evolutionary process of the development of mountain ranges. Look at the world map showing the mountain ranges of the world. The tall mountain ranges of today’s world were all formed within the last hundred million years. The Rocky Mountains began forming about a hundred million years ago and today comprise a 3,300-mile range. The Andes began forming about 65 million years ago, through volcanic activity. The Andes are actually part of the volcanically active Ring of Fire that encircles the Pacific Ocean. This range is more than 1,000 miles longer than the Rockies. The Alps and Himalayas are actually part of the same 7,000-mile mountain system. They began forming about 80 million years ago from the crashing action of major tectonic plates. Now, if you were asked to name the world’s major mountain ranges, you might not think of the Appalachians. As you can see from the map, the Appalachians are a range of north-south mountains running in the eastern part of North America. These mountains are actually far older than the major mountain ranges of today, the Himalayas, the Andes, the Alps, and the Rockies, and in all probability the Appalachians used to be just as big and majestic. The Appalachians began forming more than 400 million years ago and were completely formed 200 million years ago; that′s more than 100 million years before the Rockies began forming. The Appalachians were formed during major collisions of the North American plate with other, um, others of the world’s great plates. At their height, the Appalachians were a grand and impressive mountain range, perhaps rivaling the Himalayas of today. Over millions of years, however, these mountains’ve been eroded by the forces of nature and no longer have the impressive height they used to. Now, before we wrap up for today, I’d like to add a final note about the Cascade Mountains. You can see from the map that the Cascades are in the western part of North America. These mountains completed their rise from the sea scarcely a million years ago and are among the youngest of the world’s mountains ranges. They’re volcanic mountains that’re also part of the volcanically active Ring of Fire encircling the Pacific Ocean. Well, that’s all for today. I hope that this lecture has helped you to understand the evolution of the mountains of the Earth. You’ll find additional details on this topic in the assigned reading in the textbook.
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18. What is the topic of this lecture?
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A. |
Methods of proving which mountains are really the oldest |
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B. |
The history of mountains in the last 100 million years |
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C. |
Examples of ways that volcanic mountains develop |
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D. |
Examples of stages in the evolution of mountain-building |
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19. What is true about the ages of various mountain ranges?
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A. |
The Cascades are younger than the Rockies. |
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B. |
The Appalachians are older than the Rockies. |
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C. |
The Himalayas are younger than the Andes. |
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D. |
The Alps are younger than the Cascades. |
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20. Which mountain ranges were created by volcanic action?
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21. Which mountain ranges were created by crashing tectonic plates?
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22. What is true about the length of the mountain ranges?
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A. |
The Alps are 7,000 miles long. |
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B. |
The Rockies are longer than the Andes. |
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C. |
The Himalayas are 7,000 miles long. |
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D. |
The Andes are more than 4,000 miles long. |
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23. Which mountain ranges are part of the Ring of Fire?
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24. Why does the professor discuss the Appalachians and Cascades?
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A. |
They are among the world's oldest and youngest mountains. |
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B. |
They are examples of the world's tallest mountains. |
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C. |
They are the world's oldest mountains. |
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D. |
They were formed in different ways from other mountains. |
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Script:
Listen to part of a talk in a biology class. M: Until recently, we knew almost nothing about how important bees are in maintaining natural diversity. Now we know more about them. We know, for example, that honeybees are the dominant pollinators because they play a role in pollinating four out of five food crops in North America. We also know that honeybees along with the other insects, bats, and birds that transfer pollen between flowers—all together they contribute more than ten billion dollars a year to fruit and seed production on North American farms. Pollination is one of nature’s services to farmers. So think about this: if you eliminated the pollinators, it would take the food right out of our mouths. We biologists never imagined we′d see the day when wild plants or crops suffered from pollinator scarcity. But, unfortunately, that day has come. In fact, fanners in Mexico and the U.S. are suffering the worst pollinator crisis in history. So ... what happened? Any ideas? Alicia? W: Is it ... um ... because of natural enemies? I read something about a kind of parasite that’s killed lots of bees. M: It’s true. An outbreak of parasitic mites has caused a steep decline in North American populations of honeybees. But parasites aren′t the only factor. W: What about the pesticides used on farms? All those chemicals must have an effect. M: Most definitely, yes. Pesticides are a major factor. Both wild and domesticated bees are in serious trouble because of pesticides. In California, farm chemicals are killing around ten percent of all the honeybee colonies. Agriculture in general is part of the problem. Think about this for a minute: the North American continent is a vast collection of “nectar corridors“ made up of flowering plants. These corridors stretch for thousands of miles, from Mexico to as far north as Alaska. And every year, there′s an array of migratory pollinators flying north and south with the seasons, following the flowers. The migratory corridors the flyways—are like ... uh ... something like a path of stepping-stones for the pollinators, with each “stone” being a collection of flowering plants. But our system of large-scale agriculture has interfered. During the past fifty years, millions of acres of desert in western Mexico and the southwestern United States have been turned into chemically intensive farms, planted with exotic grasses, creating huge stretches of fly way that are devoid of nectar-producing plants for migratory pollinators. What we have now are huge gaps between the stepping-stones—patches of plants here and there. A couple of migratory pollinators are worth noting. One is the lesser long nosed bat, and another is the most famous pollinator what is our most famous pollinator? Or I should say our most beautiful pollinator. W: Oh, I know. It’s the monarch butterfly! M: The monarch butterfly—yes. Millions of monarchs from all over the U.S. and southern Canada fly south every year in late summer. The monarch is the only butterfly that returns to a specific site year after year. Unfortunately, the herbicides used on the milkweed in the Great Plains are taking a toll on monarchs. and fewer of them are reaching their winter grounds in Mexico. Another important pollinator is the long nosed bat. These amazing animals feed on cactus flowers. What they do is, they lap up the nectar at the bottom of the flower, and then when the bat flics off to another cactus, the pollen stuck to its head is transferred to that plants flower. But the long-nosed bat is having a tough time, too. Some desert ranchers mistake them for vampire bats, and they’ve tried to poison them, or dynamite the caves where they roost.
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25. What is the talk mainly about?
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A. |
The economic importance of bees |
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B. |
Nature's services to farmers |
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A decline in pollinator populations |
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D. |
How flowers are pollinated |
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26. According to the professor, what factors have affected pollinator populations? Click on TWO answers.
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27. Listen again to part of the talk. Then answer the question. Why does the professor say this?
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To show the effect of agriculture on pollinators |
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B. |
To describe effects of plant disease |
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C. |
To describe nectar-producing plants |
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D. |
To show how stones improve a garden |
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28. Listen again to part of the talk. Then answer the question. What can be inferred about monarch butterflies?
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A. |
Their diet consists mainly of other butterflies. |
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B. |
They have lived on Earth for several million years. |
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C. |
Their population has been reduced because of herbicides. |
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D. |
They are the most common butterflies in North America. |
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29. Based on the information in the talk, choose TWO answers that describe long nosed bat.
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A. |
It has been mistaken for a similar animal. |
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B. |
It returns to the same site every year. |
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C. |
It pollinates four out of five food crops in North America. |
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D. |
It feeds on the nectar of cactus flowers. |
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30. Based on the information in the talk, choose the answer that describes honey bee.
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A. |
It returns to the same site every year. |
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B. |
It pollinates four out of five food crops in North America. |
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C. |
It feeds on the nectar of cactus flowers. |
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D. |
It has been mistaken for a similar animal. |
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31. Based on the information in the talk, choose the answer that describes monarch butterfly.
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A. |
It pollinates four out of five food crops in North America. |
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B. |
It returns to the same site every year. |
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C. |
It feeds on the nectar of cactus flowers. |
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D. |
It has been mistaken for a similar animal. |
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Script:
Listen to part of a discussion in a botany class. The class is talking about flowers. W1: In a perfect, idealized flower, its four organs are arranged in four whorls, all attached to the receptacle at the end of the stem. Before we go on, let’s quickly go over the four parts of the flower. First, let’s start from the outside and work in. Which organ is on the outside, closest to the stem? M: The sepal. That’s the part that kind of looks like a leaf ‘cause it’s usually green. The sepal protects the flower bud before it opens up. W1: Right. Then what comes next? W2: The petals, the colorful part of the flower. It’s the petals that make the flower attractive to insects and birds ... and people, too. W1: Right. And inside the petal layers we have ...? M: The flower’s reproductive parts — the stamens and carpels. W1: That’s right. So we have the four parts of a flower: sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Now, during the millions of years in the history of flowering plants, numerous variations evolved. In certain flowers, one or more of the four basic floral organs—sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels—have been eliminated. Plant biologists distinguish between complete flowers—those with all four organs—and incomplete flowers—those lacking one or more of the four floral parts. For example, most grasses have incomplete flowers that lack petals. There are many variations in the size, shape, and color of flowers. One important element in plant classification is the arrangement of flowers on their stalks. The large composite family, for example, which includes asters, daisies, and sunflowers, have flower heads that form a central disk. What appears to be a single flower is actually a collection of hundreds of flowers. The central disk consists of tiny, complete flowers. And what appear to be petals surrounding the central disk are actually imperfect flowers called ray flowers. M: I’m not sure I got that. Could you say that again? W1: Sure. The flower head the center part of the plant— actually consists of many tiny, tightly packed complete flowers that stand upright on a flat disk. The whole arrangement looks like a single, symmetrical flower, but it’s actually a collection of hundreds of separate flowers. The petals—what look like petals—are actually larger flowers called rays that extend from the rim of the disk. Does that help? M: Uh, yeah. I guess so. What you’re saying is. a single sunflower is really hundreds of flowers put together. W1: That’s right. This will make more sense in the lab this afternoon. So ... in the composite family, there are about 19.000 different species worldwide. Many are grown as ornamentals—cosmos, zinnia, dahlia, marigold, and aster. Probably the most-recognized composite flower is the English daisy. The daisy was introduced from Europe and now is a wildflower found on lawns, in fields, and at roadsides throughout North America. The name of the daisy has an interesting origin. The word "daisy’’ means "day′s eye" and comes from an older Anglo-Saxon word. The English daisy folds up its rays at night and unfolds them again at dawn—the "eye of the day" or "day’s eye.’’ Several cultivated varieties of English daisy are popular as edging plants or in rock gardens. The English daisy comes in lots of colors rose, lavender, pink, and white. It has a long bloom time, from April to September. The plants are compact and attractive, with flower heads up to two inches across. In the lab, we’ll be looking at some different varieties of the daisy, and you’ll see for yourself why they’re so popular.
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32. What aspects of flowers does the class mainly discuss? Click on TWO answers.
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A. |
The composite family of flowers |
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B. |
The organs of a flower |
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C. |
The evolution of flowers |
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D. |
The uses of flowers in art |
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33. Which part of the flower attracts insects and birds?
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34. Listen again to part of the discussion. Then answer the question. Why does the professor say this?
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A. |
To remind the student that his lab report is due today |
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B. |
To announce that the location of the lab has moved |
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C. |
To imply that the student will see examples in the lab |
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D. |
To apologize for giving the student incorrect information |
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35. Based on the information in the discussion, choose TWO true sentences.
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A. |
The sunflower has one large symmetrical flower on its stalk. |
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B. |
All varieties of the English daisy are white with a yellow center. |
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C. |
The arrangement of flowers on the stalk can help identify the plant's family. |
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D. |
Incomplete flowers do not have all four basic flower organs. |
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36. According to the professor, how did the daisy get its name?
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A. |
Its central disk resembles the human eye. |
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B. |
It blooms for only one day each year. |
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C. |
Its flowers open at dawn, the “day's eye." |
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D. |
It was named for an Anglo-Saxon chief. |
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