Passage Translation
Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 2 English passages. You will hear the passages ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each passage, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. You may take notes while you are listening.
Passage one
In the early 1990s, some influential people said that being in single-sex classes could raise a girl’s self-esteem. Schools across the country began creating single-sex classrooms and schools but many critics claim that all female schools may actually be detrimental to a girl’ s education, because they reinforce the regressive notion of sex differences.
The renewed interest in single-sex schooling has fostered a controversy among Americans. Those who give it full endorsement believe girls need an all-female environment to take risks and find their own voices. Those who question the validity of single-sex schooling believe there is no such thing as separate but equal.
在20世纪90年代初期,一些很有影响力的人物称,女孩子在全女生课堂学习,有助于增强她们的自信心。于是,举国上下,各所学校都开始设立全女生课堂以及女校。但是很多批评家声称,全女性学校并不利于教育女生,因为这些学校突出强调了“性别差异”这样一个落后思想。
在今日美国,人们对单性别教育的兴趣卷土重来。那些大力支持者们相信,女生们需要全女性教学环境来采取冒险行动并表达自我观点。而那些单性别教育的质疑者们认为,被人为分离的男女两性根本没有平等可言。
Passage Two
Now I'd like to identify some key changes in our cities.
First of all, they're getting bigger and bigger. For the first time in history, there will soon be more people living in urban areas than in rural environments. In 1950, New York City was the only city with a population of 10 million. Now, in 2010, worldwide we have 38 cities with populations of over 10 million people--what we call megacities.
Cities are also getting taller because land is getting more and more expensive. We can have a tall apartment building that a thousand people can live in. Skyscrapers have become a symbol of modern cities.
今天我想为大家指出在我们城市里发生的一些关键变化。
首先,城市越变越大。很快,城市居民数就要超过乡村居民数,这在历史上是头一次。在1950年,纽约是世界上唯一一个人口超过一千万的城市。而在2010年的今天,世界范围内我们有38个人口超千万的城市——我们称其为大都市。
同时,因为土地越来越贵,所以城市越变越高。我们高耸的公寓楼甚至能够容纳1000人。高楼大厦已经成为现代化都市的象征。