PETS四级考试样题笔试(一)b

Tape script:
　　W: Hello. It's been another warm and fine day for most of us. Temperatures in south-east England reached twenty-six degrees Centigrade by mid-afternoon, and Brighton had fifteen hours of lovely sunshine. But already the weather is beginning to change, I'm afraid, and during the night showers will slowly move in from the Atlantic to reach south-west England and the southern coast of Wales by early morning. The rest of the country will have a very mild, dry night with minimum temperatures no lower than fifteen degrees in the south, a little cooler ? eleven degrees or so ? in the north. Any remaining showers in northwest Scotland will pass quickly, to leave a mild, dry night there too. And now, the outlook for Friday and the weekend. Well, southern Europe will once again get the best of the weekend weather, and if your holiday starts this weekend, then southern Spain is the place to go, with temperatures of thirty-four degrees along the Mediterranean¹ coast. At the eastern end of the Med, too, you can expect uninterrupted sunshine and temperatures of up to thirty-two degrees Centigrade in Greece and south-east Italy, but further north the weather's not so settled. Much of France, Belgium and the Netherlands will be cloudy with occasional rain and maximum temperatures will be around twenty-two degrees ? very disappointing for this time of the year. Scotland and Northern Ireland will have heavy rain for much of the weekend and temperatures will drop to a cool seventeen degrees. Across most of England the weather will be cloudy but mainly dry with sunny periods. And when the sun does come out temperatures could rise to a maximum of twenty-three degrees.

　　Now you will hear the recording² again. (The recording is repeated.)

　　That is the end of Part B.

　　Part C　You will hear three dialogues or monologues³. Before listening to each one, you will have time to read the questions related to it. While listening, answer each question by choosing A, B, C or D. After listening, you will have time to check your answer. You will hear each piece once only. Questions 11-13 are based on the following talk introducing Emily Dickinson, a well-known American poet. You now have 30 seconds to read questions 11-13.

　　11. How long did Emily Dickinson live in the house where she was born?

　　[A] almost all her life

　　[B] less than half her life

　　[C] until 1830

　　[D] before 1872

　　12. Which of the following is true of Emily Dickinson?

　　[A] She was not a productive⁴ poet.

　　[B] She saw many of her poems published.

　　[C] She was not a sociable⁵ person.

　　[D] She had contact only with a few poets.

　　13. When was Emily Dickinson widely recognized?

　　[A] after Henry James referred highly to her

　　[B] after seven of her poems were published

　　[C] after her poems became known to others

　　[D] after she was dead for many years

　　Tape script:

M: Emily Dickinson is one of the greatest American poets. She was born in a typical New England village in Massachusetts on December 10, 1830. She was the second child of the family. She died in the same house fifty-six years later. During her life time she never left her native land. She left her home state only once. She left her village very few times. And after 1872 she rarely left her house and yard. In the last years of her life she retreated to a smaller and smaller circle of family and friends. In those later years she dressed in white, avoided strangers, and communicated chiefly through notes and poems even with intimates. The doctor who attended her illness was allowed to "examine" her in another room, seeing her walk by an opened door. She was thought of as a "strange" figure in her home village. When she died on May 15, 1886, she was unknown to the rest of the world. Only seven of her poems had appeared in print. But to think Emily Dickinson only as a strange figure is a serious mistake. She lived simply and deliberately⁶. She faced the essential facts of life. According to Henry James, a famous American novelist, she was one of those on whom nothing was lost. Only by thus living could Dickinson manage both to fulfill⁷ her obligations⁸ as a daughter, a sister, and a housekeeper⁹ and to write on the average one poem a day. She read only a few books but knew them deeply. Her poems are simple but remarkably¹⁰ rich. Not until 1950s was she recognized as one of the greatest American poets.