听力原文： The combined left-wing opposition in France has defeated President Jaque Chirac’

听力原文： The combined left-wing opposition in France has defeated President Jaque Chirac's ruling conservative coalition in the first round of the country's parliamentary elections. Projections by French TV give the Socialist-led opposition 40% of the vote and Mr. Chirac's center-right coalition 37%. If the left secures the majority of seats in parliament, Socialist leader Leono Jospin would likely became prime minister in the power-sharing arrangement with President Chirac.

The winners of the reported elections are______.

A．the left-wing Conservatives.

B．the left-wing Socialists.

C．the centre-right Conservatives.

D．the centre-right Socialists.

听力原文： Eleanor Roosevelt was the First lady of the United States for some twelve years, but she was much more than that. Long before she became the First Lady, she was working for a better society. Her many activities included work to improve lots of disadvantaged women and to help all women develop their potential. In 1902, at about the time she became involved with Franklin Roosevelt, she began to work as a volunteer at the Rivington Street Settlement House in one of New York's slum districts. There she taught young women who could not regularly attend school due to their long working hours. This experience, Eleanor's first extended contact with poverty and its demands, helped shape her social conscience; it also exposed Franklin to real poverty for the first time.

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A．The President Franklin Roosevelt's wife.

B．A woman working for the President.

C．A famous writer of America.

D．A kind woman liking to help the poor.

听力原文： "The IT industry I guarantee will be in the United States to the degree that these smart people are here in the United States, and that' s why I think it' s important to maximize that number."

Gates urged lawmakers to find ways to keep foreign students in the United States, saying if the country is going to invest in educating them, it should also benefit from that investment by encouraging them to work here.

He urged the federal government to invest more money in education and training, and in research and development (R&D). "Federal research funding is vital. Unfortunately, while other countries and regions, such as China and the European Union, are increasing their public investment in R&D, federal research spending in the United States is not keeping pace."

Crates suggested an increase of 10 percent annually in U.S. funding for research for the next seven years. He also urged more teacher training and higher math curriculum standards. He said the hation should set a goal of doubling the number of science, technology and math graduates by 2015.

Gates suggested an increase of 10% yearly in U.S. funding for research for______.

A．the next 5 years

B．the next 7 years

C．the next 11 years

D．the next 17 years

听力原文： Political controversy about the public-land policy of the United States began with the American Revolution. In fact, even before independence from Britain was won, it became clear that resolving the dilemmas surrounding the public domain might prove necessary to preserve the Union itself.

At the peace negotiations with Britain, Americans demanded, and got, a western boundary at the Mississippi River. Thus the new nation secured for its birthright a vast internal empire rich in agricultural and mineral resources. But under their colonial charters, seven states—Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia—claimed portions of the western wilderness. Virginia's claim was the largest, stretching north and west to encompass the later states of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The language of the charters was vague and their validity questionable, but during the war Virginia reinforced its tide by sponsoring Colonel George Rogers Clark's 1778 expedition to Vincennes and Kaskaskia, which strengthened America's trans-Appalachian pretensions at the peace table.

The six states holding no claim to the transmontane region doubted whether a confederacy in which territory was so unevenly apportioned would truly prove what it claimed to be, a union of equals. Already New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Maryland were among the smallest and least populous of the states. While they levied heavy taxes to repay state war debts, their larger neighbors might retire debts out of land-sale proceeds. Drawn by fresh lands and low taxes, people would desert the small states for the large, leaving the former to fall into bankruptcy and eventually into political subjugation. All the states shared in the war effort, said the New Jersey legislature; how then could half of them "be left to sink under an enormous debt, while others are enabled, in a short period, to replace all their expenditures from the hard earnings of the whole confederacy?" As the Revolution was a common endeavor, so ought its fruits, including the western lands, to be a common property?

Questions:

16.What is the talk mainly about?

17.According to the passage, where did the British grant the new American nation a western boundary?

18.Which of the following states laid claim to the largest land-holdings?

19.Why does the author mention Colonel Clark's expedition?

20.According to the passage, how did the smaller states try to raise money to pay their war debts?

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A．A controversial public-land policy.

B．How independence from Britain was won.

C．The land holdings of Massachusetts.

D．How New Jersey developed its western land.

听力原文： The outgoing parliament in the Palestinian territories has voted to give new powers to the President Mohammad Abbas. The move has been met with anger from the militant group Hamas which won the Palestinian elections last month. President Mohammad Abhas's Fatah Party suffered a stunning electoral defeat at the hands of Humus. But in what was almost their final act before the new Humus dominated legislature is sworn in, Fatah members have boosted the president's position. They've given him the authority to bypass parliament and appoint judges to the constitutional court. Humus has been outraged. It regards Fatah as having used the old unrepresentative legislature's dying moments to strengthen the president's hand for cynical party political aims.

President Mohammad Abbas has been given the authority to bypass parliament because ______.

A．Fatah Party intended to irritate the militant group Hamas.

B．Fatah Party wanted to strengthen the legislative power.

C．Fatah Party was defeated in the Palestinian election.

D．Fatah Party suffered a stunning defeat in the constitutional court.

听力原文：Statistics show that 300 people are killed in air crashes in the United States every year, but about 50,000 people are killed in car accidents.

What does the speaker mean?

A．Travelling by car is more dangerous than by air.

B．There are 300 air crashes each year in the US.

C．The air crashes each year kill about 50,000 people.

D．Travelling by plane is more dangerous than by car.

听力原文：The train will leave at eight fifteen.

A．

B．

C．

听力原文： The history of American newspapers has paralleled the history of our culture. As our society has changed, so have its newspapers.

Early colonial newspapers were designed for the elite—those who were interested in political and business information. With the advent of new technology, compulsory education and the major cultural changes brought on by industrialization and urbanization, newspapers moved into the popular culture with the advent of the penny press.

The significant changes in our society as the United States was transformed into a truly industrial nation between the end of the Civil War and the turn of the 20th century brought about many changes in American journalism, including the era of sensationalism, or yellow journalism.

Twentieth-century newspapers, for the most part, have attempted to blend objectivity and social responsibility. This era also has seen the development of electronic news media, interpretative reporting, investigative reporting, advocacy journalism, "new journalism" and specialized newspapers.

Wire services play an important role in gathering news and information for the mass media. The two largest American wire services are the Associated Press and United Press International. The other dominant worldwide news sources are AFP, Reuters and Tass, headquartered in Paris, London and Moscow, respectively.

Individual biases and other problems play a role in making mass communication a complex activity. Although the various functions of the media—to inform, entertain, influence, advertise and transmit culture—are criticized, the most severely criticized is the function to inform. Reasons for this are that people (1) tend to blame the messenger for unpleasant information, (2) fail to understand the watchdog function of the media, (3) believe the myth that the mass media dwell only on bad news and (4) bring their own biases into the information-sharing process.

26. What kind of people were early colonial newspapers designed for?

A．Business people.

B．Elite.

C．Immigrants.

D．People in the cities.

听力原文： If you plan to remain in the United States for any length of time, you will soon find it too expensive to stay in a hotel and will want to find another place to live in. As is true in cities everywhere in the world, the farther you live outside the city, generally the lower the rents will be. However, traveling to and from the city by bus, car, or train may make it as expensive as living in the city. Naturally, it is easier to join in the life of a city if one is close to the center. For this reason, you may prefer to live as close to the center of the city as possible. Or, you may prefer to rent a place for only a month or two until you become more familiar with the area.

Your best source of information about either houses or apartments is likely to be the local newspaper. Usually, the week's most complete listing of houses or apartments to rent appears in the Sunday newspaper, which, in many cities, can be obtained late Saturday night. Many people looking for hours or apartments believe that they have a better chance of finding a place to live in if they have all the information as soon as possible. On Sunday morning, they are ready to call or visit.

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A．Near a market.

B．In the city center.

C．Near the city.

D．Far away from the city.