200501da.doc

2005.1 1. M: I'm looking for an unfurnished two-bedroom apartment, but all your apartments are furnished. W: We can take care of that. We can simply remove the furniture. Q: What does the woman mean? 2. W: I don't agree with Mr. Johnson on his views about social welfare. He seems to suggest that the poor are robbing the rich. M: He might have used better words to express his ideas. But I've found what he said makes a lot of sense. Q: What does the man mean? 3. W: I've been studying all the time, but I still can't see any improvement in my grades. M: Maybe instead of studying in your dorm, you'd better go some place where there are fewer distractions. Q: What does the man advise the woman to do? 4. W: The seminar originally scheduled for today has been cancelled. The hours I've spent preparing for it are totally wasted. M: Not really. As far as I know it's been postponed till next week. Q: What does the man say about the seminar? 5. M: Hi, Janet, I hear you've just returned from a tour of Australia. Did you get a chance to visit the Sydney Opera House? W: Of course I did. It would be a shame for anyone visiting Australia not to see this unique creation in architecture. Its magnificent beauty is simply beyond description. Q: What do we learn from this conversation? 6. M: Sherry, how are you doing with your thesis? W: Oh my thesis. That's something I definitely don't want to talk about right now. I finished my first draft some time ago. But my supervisor said I should do more research if I want to achieve the quality that he expects of me. Q: What do we learn from the conversation about the woman's thesis? 7. W: I can't believe Karen is late for such an importance occasion as a job interview. I reminded her time and again yesterday. M: You should have known her better by now. Everything you tell her goes in one ear and out the other. Q: What does the man imply? 8. W: Hi, Joe, I wonder if you could do me a favor and tell the professor I've lost my voice. So I can't attend this morning's class. I need time to study for tomorrow's exam. M: I don't think it's wise to say so. Since you're not going to give the lecture, you might as well simply skip the class and apologize to the professor later. Q: What will the woman probably do? 9. M: After high school, I'd like to go to college and major in business administration. I really like power and enjoy telling people what to do. W: You're very ambitious. But I'd rather spend my college days finding out what children are interested in. Child's psychology is for me. Q: What do we learn from the conversation? 10. M: It seems the restaurants here have little business these days. W: That's true. But ours is a scenic resort. And this is not the busy season. When summer comes, you'll see armies of tourists waiting in line in order to get a seat. Q: What do we learn from the conversation about the restaurants in the town? Passage 1 Both John and Sue joined the staff of a successful public relations firm in New York during the same year. They had just completed their PR degrees at a nearby university and were thrilled to be hired by one of the finest PR firms in the city. John's first assignment was to create a promotion campaign for a client who was putting a new game on the market. Initially Sue was assigned to work with a sportswear company on a marketing concept for its newest line of clothing. As time passed and work with their respective first clients became more and more difficult, John and Sue realized that they had been assigned two of the toughest clients in town. Although John completed his assignments quickly and successfully, he was furious when he learned that the boss had deliberately assigned him a difficult client. In response he not only complained to his colleagues but also to the boss's secretary. Sue, on the other hand, had a more difficult time satisfying her first client and she took several additional months to actually complete the assignment. However, she just laughed when she heard that the boss had made the assignment purposely. Over the next two years, John worked reluctantly with each assignment and problem that he encountered. Sue accepted each assignment cheerfully. And when problems arose, she responded with her characteristic "No problem, I can handle it." Although Sue took longer to complete her projects than John and both were equally successful on the assignments they completed, Sue was given the first promotion when there came a vacancy. 11. What's the relationship between John and Sue now? 12. Why was John furious after he finished his first assignment? 13. What's Sue's attitude to difficult tasks? 14. How does the story end? Passage 2 American visitors to Eastern Asia are often surprised and puzzled by how Asian cultures and customs differ from those in the United States. What's considered typical or proper social conduct in one country may be regard as odd, improper or even rude in the other. For example, people from some Eastern Asian countries may begin a conversation with a stranger by asking personal questions about family, home or work. Such questions are thought to be friendly, whereas they might be considered offensive in the United States. On the other hand, people in most Asian cultures are far more guarded about expressing their feelings publicly than most Americans are. Openly displaying annoyance or anger, yelling, arguing loudly and so forth is considered ill-mannered in countries such as Japan. Many Eastern Asians prefer to hold their emotions in check and instead express themselves with great politeness. They try not to be blunt and avoid making direct criticisms. In fact, they often keep their differences of opinion to themselves and merely smile and remain silent rather than engage in a confrontation. By comparison, Americans are often frank about displaying both positive and negative emotions on the street and in other public places. Americans visiting Asia should keep in mind that such behavior may cause offense. A major difference between Americans culture and most Eastern Asian cultures is that in Eastern Asia, the community is more important than the individual. Most Americans are considered a success when they make a name for themselves. 15. How would some Asians start their conversation when they meet for the first time? 16. What would a Japanese do when he feels annoyed? 17. What is encouraged in American culture according to the passage? Passage 3 In order for a chemical to be considered a drug, it must have the capacity to affect how the body works. No substance that has the power to do this is completely safe. Drugs are approved only after tests have demonstrated that they are relatively safe when used as directed and when their benefits outweigh their risks. Thus some very dangerous drugs are approved because they are necessary to treat serious illnesses. Many people suffer ill effects from drugs called side effects, even though they take the drug exactly as directed. The human population contains a great variety of genetic variation, but drugs are tested on just a few thousand people. When a particular drug is taken by millions, some people may not respond in a predictable way, even though the drug has been tested. A patient may also acquire a tolerance for a certain drug, which means the patient has to take ever larger doses to produce the desired effect. Tolerance may lead to habituation, in which the person becomes so dependent on the drug that he or she becomes addicted to it. Addition causes severe psychological and physical disturbances when the drug is taken away. Finally, drugs often have unwanted side effects. This usually causes only minor discomfort, such as a skin rash, headache or sleepiness. Certain drugs, however, can produce serious adverse reactions. 18. Under what circumstances are drugs approved? 19. Why do many people suffer side effects from a drug even though they take it as directed? 20. What will happen when patients acquire a tolerance for a certain drug?