听力原文： A delegation of American officials appeared before an international legal panel on Friday to argue that in its fight against terrorism, the United States had not violated its treaty obligations

听力原文： A delegation of American officials appeared before an international legal panel on Friday to argue that in its fight against terrorism, the United States had not violated its treaty obligations to prevent the torture of prisoners. It was the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, that a United States delegation had answered questions from an international body about abuses by soldiers and intelligence officers.

The delegation's report to the United Nations panel, which was meeting in Geneva, did not break new ground. The officials contended that despite instances of abuse in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the United States has not systematically mistreated prisoners and remained committed to a global ban on torture.

Under the Convention Against Torture, a 1987 treaty that is a centerpiece of international human rights law, the United States was supposed to have reported to the United Nations panel on its compliance by 1999.

The panel, known as the Committee Against Torture, will review the American report and issue findings later this month, but it has no power to enforce its conclusions.

The delegation included more than two dozen representatives from the State, Defense, Justice and Homeland Security Departments, but not from the C.L.A.

A delegation of American officials appeared before an international legal panel on (36) to argue that in its fight (37) , the United States had not violated its treaty obligations to (38) the torture of prisoners.

It was the (39) since Sept. 11, 2001, that a United States delegation had answered questions from an (40) about abuses by soldiers and (41)

The delegation's report to the (42) panel, which was meeting in Geneva, did not break new ground. The officials contended that despite instances of (43) in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, (44) , the United States has not systematically mistreated (45) and remained (46) to a global ban on torture.

Under the Convention Against Torture, a (47) treaty that is a centerpiece of international (48) law, the United States was supposed to have (49) to the United Nations panel on its compliance by (50) .

The panel, known as the (51) , will review the American report and issue findings later this month, but it has (52) to enforce its conclusions.

The delegation included more than (53) representatives from the State, Defense, (54) and Homeland Security Departments, but not from the (55) .

(36)

听力原文：W: First of all, when do people start work in American offices?

M: Right, well, the official workdays start at 9 a. m.. It should really mean 9 o'clock, not ten past or half past nine.

W: Would you say that people work very hard in offices in America?

M: Well, I don't know about the employees in your country, but some nations have a philosophy that you only work when the boss is around. And any time he is not there, one can relax by reading the newspaper or whatever one likes doing in a personal way.

W: And things are different in the States, you are saying?

M: Well, in America, one is being paid for one's time. So employees are expected to find other work if their own desks are clear, or to help someone else with his or her work. But you never sit idle doing nothing.

W: Yes, as the saying goes, time is money.

M: Exactly. Your employer owns your time while he is paying you for it. That is precisely what "time is money" means. And anyway the boss does not ask more of you than he is doing himself. He will probably work to the lunch hour himself or even take work until night.

W: Talking about lunch hours. What about them? Do you take them seriously?

M: Oh, yes, sure, of course. The employee's lunch hour should be taken within the period allowed unless you are officially discussing company business, say, on a business lunch. It's the same, too, with the end of the day. I mean, work until the day officially ends at five o'clock unless you are in the office work, where flextime, is, is accepted practice.

W: Oh, so you have the flextime system, do you? I wasn't sure about that.

M: Oh, yes, sure. Flexible working hours, that is, starting or ending work earlier or later. I know, it is still relatively new. However there are more and more Americans on the system today. Well, for the same reasons as in Europe to keep traffic and commuting problems down. And as more women now work, it gives more family time.

W: Urn. Could you say something about contract of hiring in America, please?

M: Well, it's different in America from, say, European countries like Germany or France, perhaps Japan, too. I'm not sure. I know that in some countries, people relax when they have once got a job because they know they will almost never be fired unless they do something wrong.

W: Do you mean that your employer can just fire you in America?

M: No, no, no. There are of course legal protections in the US. So employees cannot be unjustly fired without good reasons. Workers must do a good job, produce well and get along with their colleagues, or they can be let go, as it is called.

W: So one day to the next, you mean.

M: Well, it's really done without warning. But it is important to remember that in the US you are a member of a business firm and not a family. It makes a difference.

W: I wonder, are the physical or external appearances of office life different from European offices?

M: Well, I have heard people comment on the informality found in American offices. And this is certainly a little difficult for people who are more used to hierarchical system, of course. There are some very formal offices, too, say, big banks, law firms, and major corporations. But in many establishments with fewer employees, the atmosphere is loose and easy with a lot of joking and teasing and wandering in and out of the offices among all levels of employees.

W: Well, that sounds quite interesting. I think that's all I want to know really. Thank you very much.

M: My pleasure.

Employees in the US are paid for their time. This means that they are supposed to

A．work hard while their boss is around.

B．come to work when there is work to be done.

C．work with initiative and willingness.

D．work through their lunch break.

听力原文： The Unied States of America is a founding member of the International Football Association. In 1913 the American Football Association was founded with over 7, 000 registered clubs and 1.4 million players.

In history the U. S. team entered the finals of the World Cup four times and gained die third place in the first World Cup. But since the 4th World Cup USA has paid more attention to the Olympic Games and American football.

The head coach of the U. S. team now is from Yugoslavia, the 57-year-old coach moved to Mexico twenty-one years ago and later he became the head coach of Mexico's National Team. After that he left for an even smaller country, Costa Rica. Before long, he became well-known all over the world.

On March 7th, 1991 , he faced the biggest challenge in all his life to lead the U. S. team. The American Football Association spent a year building a football field in California for him. And in two years' time his team defeated the teams of Ireland, England and Portugal.

Thus the U. S. team entered with ease into the finals of the World Cup. And as the host, it entered automatically into the first circle in 1994.

When was the American Football Association founded?

A．In 1913.

B．In 1930.

C．In 1914.

D．In 1917.

听力原文： Every student of American history knows that George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were the first three Presidents of the United States, but what else do they know about these interesting men? George Washington was a quiet man. He liked to hunt and fish. He liked to give parties, and he also liked to go to bed early. His parties always ended at 9:00 p.m. After he was retired, he lived on his farm.

John Adams was a bright and serious man. He liked to study law and history. After he was retired, he returned to his home in Boston. He liked to write about politics. He wrote many famous letters to the next president, Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson was a very talented man. In some ways he was like George Washington. He liked living on a farm, and he liked riding horses and hunting. He had other interests, too. He liked to play the violin, liked to sing, and liked speaking foreign languages. After he was retired, he returned to one of his other interests, designing the buildings for the University of Virginia.

When you are studying history, remember that the people in the books are more than names. Don't be afraid to go to the library and find out more about their qualities.

(30)

A．Washington, Adams arid Jefferson are most famous in the history of the United States.

B．Washington, Adams and Jefferson had many different interests.

C．Washington, Adams and Jefferson returned home after they were retired.

D．Washington, Adams and Jefferson were the first three Presidents.

听力原文： I am thankful to the American people for the great privilege of being able to serve as your next president. I want to thank my wife and daughters for their love. Laura’s active involvement as First Lady has made Texas a better place, and she will be a wonderful First Lady for America.

I am proud to have Dick Cheney by my side, and America will be proud to have him as our next vice president.

I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation. The President of the United States is the president of ever), single American, of every race and every background. Whether you voted for me or not, I will do my best to serve your interests, and I will work to earn your respect.

I will be guided by President Jefferson’s sense of purpose: to stand for principle, to be reasonable in manner, and, above all, to do great good for the cause of freedom and harmony.

The presidency is more than an honor. It is more than an office. It is a charge to keep, and I will give it my all. Thank you very much, and God bless America.

(1)

听力原文： (16) The American patent system, provided for in the Constitution, was designed to encourage the creation and use of new technology. An inventor would describe an invention, both in writing and with drawings, and submit the description with a model to a government official. This was a big improvement from the past when patents were submitted directly to the Secretary of State! Now, if the invention was judged to be new and useful, the official would give the inventor a patent. The patent meant that for 14 years, later changed to 17 years, the inventor owned the new invention. Inventors could license their ideas to manufacturers or just use them themselves. (17) The government would not issue any other patent for the same idea, and the inventor could sue anyone who used the patented idea without paying the owner of the patent for permission to use it! A useful patent meant that the inventor could make a lot of money. In exchange for this governmental protection, the government published the patent specifications, which provide enough information so that other people could understand the invention—thus adding to the general available technological knowledge. (18) And at the end of the 14 years, anyone could use the invention for free. (19) The idea behind the patent system was twofold: it would increase the amount of technology, by providing a way for people to make money out of new ideas, and it would make new technology widely available, by publicizing ideas that might otherwise be kept as trade secrets.

16. What is the speaker mainly talking about?

17.What could the inventor do if the idea was used by someone without paying money?

18.What could the owner of the patent do to protect his patent after 14 years?

19.How did the patent system increase the amount of technology?

(7)

A．What the US patent system was about.

B．How the US patent system encouraged technology and creativity.

C．How the US patent system protected Americans.

D．The reasons for the patent system.

听力原文： The American government, as well as every American individual, is touched by and concerned with inflation, and President Carter has called it our No. i problem. Indeed, inflation deserves this title.

The great jump in inflation has been during the past 10 years. Looking at the raw figures, people might consider this a time of prosperity. The wage of the average worker was $ 114 a week in 1969, and by September, 1978 it had reached $206. The number grew as much as $92. On the surface it might seem that people are better off, but it is not true. Taking into consideration the effects of inflation, the picture is different. Actually, inflation plays an important role.

In 1976 the consumer price index stood at 100 and it has now topped 200. Allowing for this, the average wage of workers was $104 in 1969 and $105 in April 1978. Since then with more inflation any gain in purchasing power has been wiped out and more taken away. In fact during the year of 1978, the buying power of the average paycheck had fallen by 3.4 percent. In addition to the income tax, there are usually state and country taxes, the sales tax, that is added to the cost of an item at the retail level. This is another tax that has been increasing with inflation, and it affects all purchasers, including the poorest citizens. Think twice before you say that inflation is not a big deal.

(30)

A．It first become serious about five years ago.

B．It has finally been brought under control.

C．It may lead to prosperity.

D．It has been climbing.

听力原文： The American government, as well as every American individual, is touched by and concerned with inflation, and President Carter has called it our No. i problem. Indeed, inflation deserves this title.

(29) The great jump in inflation has been during the past 10 years. Looking at the raw figures, people might consider this a time of prosperity. The wage of the average worker was $ 114 a week in 1969, and by September, 1978 it had reached $206. The number grew as much as $92. On the surface it might seem that people are better off, but it is not true. Taking into consideration the effects of inflation, the picture is different. Actually, inflation plays an important role.

(30) In 1976 the consumer price index stood at 100 and it has now topped 200. Allowing for this, the average wage of workers was $104 in 1969 and $105 in April 1978. Since then with more inflation any gain in purchasing power has been wiped out and more taken away. In fact during the year of 1978, the buying power of the average paycheck had fallen by 3.4 percent. In addition to the income tax, (31) there are usually state and country taxes, the sales tax, that is added to the cost of an item at the retail level. This is another tax that has been increasing with inflation, and it affects all purchasers, including the poorest citizens. Think twice before you say that inflation is not a big deal.

(30)

A．It first become serious about five years ago.

B．It has finally been brought under control.

C．It may lead to prosperity.

D．It has been climbing.

听力原文： US FAMILIES TODAY

In the early days of America, the family held together for economic reasons./Father, mother and children all worked together to build the pioneer family or family business./But today, about one out of three marriages ends in divorce,/and more and more of them involve children./ The divorce rate in America is still the highest in the world,/but 75% of the women and 83% of the men who divorce remarry within 3 years./ The children from the broken families join up to produce a new kind of unit called the blended family. / About 18 million children are now living with their step-brothers and sisters in such an arrangement./

Perhaps the most significant trend today is toward the single-parent household./Of all children under 18, 17% are now living with only one parent./Business and government officials are looking for new ways/to help parents meet their family responsibilities as well as to increase their income./

(1)

听力原文：Narrator Listen to part of a lecture in an education class. Professor Just now we talked about an ideal high school. Well...er...What is then an ideal college. Well...uh...An ideal college should be a community, a place of close, natural, intimate association, not only of the young men who are its pupils and novices in various lines of study, but also of young men with older men, with mature men, with veterans and professionals in the great undertaking of learning, of teachers with pupils, outside the classroom as well as inside it. No one is successfully educated within the walls of any particular classroom or laboratory or museum; and no amount of association, however close and familiar and delightful, between mere beginners can ever produce the sort of enlightenment which the young lad gets when he first begins to catch the infection of learning. The trouble with most of our colleges nowadays is that the faculty of the college live one life and the undergraduates is not touched with personal influence of the teachers: life among the teachers is not touched by the personal impressions which should come from frequent and intimate contact with undergraduates. This separation need not exist, and, in the college of the ideal university, would not exist. It is perfectly possible to organize the life of our colleges in such a way that students and teachers alike will take part in it; in such a way that a perfectly natural daily intercourse will be established between them; and it is only by such an organization that they can be given real vitality as places of serious training, be made communities in which youngsters will come fully to realize how interesting intellectual work is, how vital, how important, how closely associated with all modern achievements only by such an organization that study can be made to seem part of life itself. Lectures often seem very formal and empty things; recitations generally prove very dull and unrewarding. It is conversation and natural intercourse with scholars chiefly that you find how lively knowledge is, how it ties into everything that is interesting and important, how intimate a part it is of everything that is "practical" and connected with the world. Men are not always made thoughtful by books; but they are generally made thoughtful by association with men who think. The present and most pressing problem of our university authorities is to bring about this vital association for the benefit of the novices of the university world, the undergraduates. Classroom methods are thorough enough; competent scholars already lecture and set tasks and superintend their performance; but the life of the average undergraduate outside the classroom and other stated appointments with his instructors is not very much affected by his studies; is almost entirely dissociated from intellectual interests. Now get ready to answer the questions. You may use your notes to help you answer. 23. What is an ideal college? 24. Where can students acquire knowledge in a successful education? 25. From whom are beginners not likely to get the sort of enlightenment? 26. What can be inferred about the gap between teachers and undergraduates? 27. According to the speaker, what are the best descriptions of normal lectures at school? 28. The passage discusses the gap between teachers and students. Summarize the problems by putting the following statements according to the sequence they appear in the passage.Narrator Listen to part of a lecture in an education class. Now get ready to answer the questions. You may use your notes to help you answer.

What is an ideal college?

A．It should provide experienced and professional men.

B．It should be managed by experienced scholars.

C．Experienced scholars and energetic young men will manage it.

D．It should be harmonious between the experienced and the inexperienced.