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SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
News Item One (For Questions 11—12)
The UN Agency, the World Food Program, says Iraq is facing a food crisis, which is causing enormous damage to its population, especially its children. The agency said more and more Iraqis were spending their whole day struggling to find food for survival and the social fabric of the nation was disintegrating. It said that an entire generation of children was being harmed irreparably and the country was at a point of no return.
WFP says that 60% of Iraq's population, that's 12 million people, are struggling to survive because of food shortages. Food for the average family cost the equivalent of $26 a month. The devaluation of the Iraqi dinar means that few can afford this. Levels of severe malnutrition among children under five now can compare with the Sub-Sahara in Africa. The infant mortality rate has risen by more than 700% compared with before the Gulf War. Many donor states say the Baghdad government should take the blame for this because it refuses to raise money for food by selling oil through the UN as the sanction rules allow. WFP is asking for $122 million dollars to help feed 2 million people, mostly those under five or over seventy. That's double the size of last year's program, although the agency says it's still a fraction of the real need. WFP also acknowledges that it's unlikely that governments around the world will respond fully to this appeal.
News Item Two (For Question 13)
France and US have signed an accord to share sensitive information on nuclear weapons. US and French officials say the agreement is aimed at maintaining the reliability and safety of the two countries' nuclear stockpiles. As part of the accord, the US will share with France its computer data on simulated nuclear explosions. Until now, the US data was shared only with Britain. Officials say the agreement will help the two countries maintain their arsenals after they sign a global treaty expected later this year that bans all nuclear testing.
News Item Three (For Questions 14—15)
The University of Michigan carries out a survey of the drug habits among young people every year. And this year it's concluded that the teenage drug use is rapidly getting worse. 25% of the teenagers surveyed said they'd used an illegal drug at sometime in their lives, an increased of 3% from the figures for 1993. Marijuana use is climbing back towards levels not seen since the late 197O's. And today's Marijuana is up to ten times more potent than in the past. Cocaine use, which leveled off in the early 1990's, is also making a comeback among 13 to 15-year-olds. And LSD, which had dropped considerably in the 1980's, is also on the rise. Officials involved in the survey say the results indicate that young people no longer see drugs as dangerous; instead, the researchers say, they are viewed as glamorous or trendy. The health secretary said it was time to sound the alarm and the secretary calls for a powerful anti-drug message to be sent to children, with parents leading the way.
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
People in Britain speak English with different accents according to where they come from and what kind of social status they have or what kind of education they've received, etc. Among the various accents, there is one that has achieved a certain eminence. It's called Received Pronunciation (RP). And this accent is also generally preferred for teaching English as a foreign language and for reading BBC news bulletins. Why is it so? Let's take a look at how it evolved over the years, its features, its present status and so forth.
Received pronunciation (RP) had its historical origins in a dialect of English spoken particularly in the region stretching southeast from the Midlands, which is in the central part of England, down towards London, the capital city. The two historical university cities of Cambridge and Oxford, though outside this region, are also considered as the place of origin for the dialect. The dialect survived because of its association with centers of power and influence. It was spoken by the merchant classes of London in the 14th century, for example, and would had been familiar to students attending the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the Middle Ages. Its status as an important dialect was enhanced by its use in government and official documents from about 1430 onwards. More recently, its association since the 19th century with public schools helped to achieve special pre-eminence for its distinctive patterns of pronunciation. So we can see, in the United Kingdom, at least, this accent is usually associated with a higher social or educational background, with the BBC and certain professions and it's most commonly taught to students learning English as a foreign language. For many such students, it is the only accent they are prepared to learn and a teacher who does not use it may have difficulty in finding a position as a teacher of English in certain non-English speaking countries. Other names for this accent are the Queen's English, Oxford English and BBC English. As the accent has lost its former regional affiliations, it is now the most widely understood and spoken of all the accents within the British Isles.
So what are the most interesting characteristics of RP? Firstly, a relatively very small number of speakers who use it do not identify themselves as coming from any particular geographical region; secondly, RP is largely confined to England and there it is a non-localized accent; thirdly, RP is a class accent. In England, the higher the social class of the speaker, the less the regional accent, and also the use of local words and grammatical forms.
As we have seen, RP, a non-regional accent based on the speech of the great pubic schools, has been accepted as a standard inside England for well over a century. Increasingly, however, there has been a tendency for the accent of educated people in South-Eastern England to replace strict RP as the standard. RP has lost some of its prestige, as people educated at public schools have lost their monopoly of power in education. A considerable part has been played by the great post-war expansion of higher education. Today, the majority of university students are not speakers of RP. Most schoolteachers too, do not use RP, but an educated regional accent.
This is not to say that RP has lost all its magic. It still has a prestige, for example, in the financial and banking sectors, among senior government officials and officers of the armed forces. Moreover, since it has been so fully described, it is the accent usually taught to foreigners learning British English. But the public schools are no longer felt to have a monopoly of "correct speech", and the prestige of educated regional speech has risen enormously during the past half-century. Since an educated South-Eastern accent is fairly similar to RP, there is a tendency nowadays for this to be regarded as a standard. It is the accent used, for example, by many radio and television announcers and presenters. On the other hand, there has been a rise in the prestige of all regional accents in Britain. And it is probable that we are moving towards the American position, in which it is normal and acceptable for a speaker to use an educated accent, and there is no supra-regional class accent.
TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (1998)GRADE EIGHT
PAPER ONE
PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (40 MIN)
In sections A , B and C, you will hear everything ONCE ONLY, listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Mark the correct response for each question on your Colored Answer Sheet.
SECTION A TALK
Questions 1 to 5 refer to the talk in this section. At the end of the talk you will be given 15 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the talk.
1. According to the talk, compulsive gambling and alcoholic addiction share similarities because .
A. no actual figure of addicts has been reported
B. no scientific studies have yielded effective solutions
C. both affect all sectors of society
D. both cause serious mental health problems
2. The development of the gambling compulsion can be described as being .
A. gradual B. slow C. periodic D. radical
3. G. A. mentioned in the talk is believed to be a(n) .
A. anonymous group B. charity organization
C. gamblers' club D. treatment center
4. At the end of the talk, the speaker's attitude towards the cure of gambling addiction is
A. unclear B. uncertain C. optimistic D. pessimistic
5. Throughout the talk, the speaker examines the issue of gambling in a
way.
A. balanced B. biased C. detached . D. lengthy
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SECTION B INTERVIEW
Questions 6 to 10 are based on an interview with an architect. At the end of the interview you will be given 13 seconds to answer each of the following five questions. Now listen to the interview.
6. What strikes the woman most about the male robber is his .
A. clothes B. age C. physique D. appearance
7. The most detailed information about the woman robber is her .
A. manners B. talkativeness C. height D. jewelry
8. The interview is believed to be a bank .
A. receptionist B. manager C. customer D. cashier
9. Which of the following about the two robbers is NOT true?
A. Both were wearing dark sweaters. B. Neither was wearing glasses.
C. Both were about the same age. D. One of them was marked by a scar.
10. After the incident the interviewee sounded .
A. calm and quiet B. nervous and numb
C. timid and confused D. shocked and angry
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Questions 11 to 12 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 30 seconds to answer the two questions. Now listen to the news.
11. According to the news, the enormous food shortage in Iraq has the most damaging effect on its ____ .
A. national economy B. adult population
C. young children D. national currency
12. The WFP is appealing to donor nations to .
A. double last year's food-aid
B. raise $122 million for Iraqi people
C. provide each Iraqi family with $26 a month
D. help Iraq's 12 million population
Question 13 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the question. Now listen to the news.
13. As s result of the agreement, the two countries' arsenals are to be ____ .
A. upgraded in reliability and safety
B. reduced in size and number
C. dismantled partly later this year
D. maintained in their present conditions
Questions 14 to 15 are based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 30 seconds to answer the two questions. Now listen to the news.
14. We can infer from the news that of teenagers under survey in 1993 were drug users.
A. 28% B. 22% C. 25% D. 21%
15. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A. Parents are asked to join in the anti-drug efforts.
B. The use of both cocaine and LSD are on the increase.
C. Teenagers hold a different view of drugs today.
D. Marijuana is as powerful as it used to be.
SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING
In this section you will hear a mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the lecture, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a 15-minute gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE after the mini-lecture. Use the blank paper for note-taking. Fill in each of the gaps with one word. You may refer to your notes. Make sure the word you fill in is both grammatically and semantically acceptable.
The Rise of RP
Historical reasons
Received Pronunciation (RP) was originally associated with a (1)
spoken in the region between central England and London, including Oxford and Cambridge.
Its survival was due to its use by the (2) in the 14th century and by
university students in the (3) Ages.
Its rise in importance resulted from its application in government and official documents.
The prestige of its (4) pattern of pronunciation came about with its
use in (5)_____ schools in the 19th century.
As a result, its ( 6 ) is accepted by television and the radio, the
professions and teaching English as a foreign language.
Three characteristics of RP
1) its speakers don't regard themselves as connected with any geographical region;
RP is largely used in England;
RP is a "class" accent, associated with (7) social classes.
Its present status
Decline in the prestige of RP is the result of a) loss of monopoly of education by the privileged; b) (8) of high education in the post-war period.
However, it still retains its eminence among certain professional people.
There is a rise in the status of all (9) accents.
We are moving towards the (10) position: general acceptance of
all regional accents and absence of a class accent that transcends all regions.
(1) ______ (2) ______ (3) ______ (4) ______ ( 5 ) ______
(6) ______ (7) ______ (8) ______ (9) ______ (10) ______
