GET 200501原文

Section A

1. W: Can you install the equipment for me?

M: It’s very heavy. It will be OK if you can find another hand. Q: What does the man mean?

2. W: Marvin, congratulations on your winning such a great award.

M: All the honor should go to my colleagues. Q: What does the man mean?

3. W: Do you know what happened to Jack?

M: I don’t care what happened to him.

W: I know you feel sick of hearing his name, but he was seriously injured in a car accident. Q: What is the man’s attitude towards Jack?

4. M: Mary, I bought an old vase for ten dollars but it turned out to be more than five hundred years

old!

W: You’ve gotta be kidding. That must be an imitation. Q: What does the woman mean?

5. W: Hey, Frank, you look upset. Is it the problem with the project?

M: Yeah, I can’t come up with a solution. Q: What’s wrong with the man?

6. W: You look tired. How was the conference?

M: I felt so rushed all the time. It took me half the time to fly to and from it. I’m not sure if it was

worth it.

Q: What does the man think about the conference?

7. M: I’ve got a C on the biology test, so I have to talk to the professor to change it.

W: That will get you nowhere. The only thing you can do is to do it better next time. Q: What does the woman mean?

8. M: I can’t put up with what Joe said at the meeting. That was an insult to me.

W: But you should be outspoken about this. Q: What is the woman’s suggestion?

9. M: How did you enjoy the party last night, Sally?

W: Enjoy the party? I was wondering why everyone gave me the cold shoulder. W: Maybe they dislike the way you were dressed. Q: What happened to the woman at the party?

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Section B

Mini-Talk One

Last month, two American trade groups announced measures designed to improve the living conditions and treatment of farm animals. The groups are the Food Marketing Institute and the National Council of Chain Restaurants. They represent thousands of food stores and eating places across the country.

Animal rights activists have long urged the American food industry to establish rules for the treatment of farm animals. They say the new measures are a good first step.

The new measures call for all farm animals to have enough food, water and space to live. They include a number of issues about the treatment of farm animals. For example, one measure says farmers should stop starving chickens to make them lay more eggs. Another says pregnant pigs should not be housed in very small metal boxes. And all animals should be unconscious and feel no pain before they were killed. The trade groups say they are now developing ways to make sure food suppliers honor the new measures. They say additional measures will be announced next month.

10. What are the newly announced measures about?

11. According to the talk, why don’t some farmers give enough food to hens? 12. Which is mentioned as one of the new measures?

Mini-Talk Two

The President of the United States has approved a project to bury nuclear waste material under Yucca Mountain in the state of Nevada. The project calls for burying more than seventy-thousand tons of radioactive nuclear waste material.

The material includes used nuclear fuel from power centers and waste from the production of nuclear weapons. The waste is now stored at more than one-hundred-thirty power centers in almost forty states. However, these power centers have little storage space left. The federal government owns Yucca Mountain. No one lives there. It is an extremely dry area more than one-thousand-forty-five kilometers northwest of Las Vegas.

However, there is much opposition to the plan. Opponents include environmental groups and Nevada state officials. They say the area is near inactive volcanoes and has experienced earthquakes. Movement in the earth could spread the radioactive material. Now the Energy Development must provide evidence about the safety of the project. Supporters of the project hope it will begin in 2010. However, opponents say they will continue to fight against it.

13. Where is the nuclear waste stored at the present time?

14. Why does the United States decide to find a new area to dispose of the nuclear waste? 15. Why do the environmental groups and some Nevada state officials oppose the plan?

Section C

Rain Forest is an area of woodland characterized by heavy vegetations and comparatively high temperature and rainfall throughout the year. Rain forests are the world’s most biologically diverse ecosystems. Although they account for less than 7 percent of the land surface on Earth, some scientists estimate they contain as high as 90 percent of its plant and animal species. Even more impressive

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are the number and diversity of animal species that call rain forests their home.

Rain forests also play a critical role in global climate regulation by absorbing carbon dioxide, a gas believed to be partially responsible for global warming. Plants naturally absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen gas, and tropical rain forests absorb more carbon dioxide than any other ecosystem on earth. Global output of carbon dioxide has increased nearly 30 percent in the last century. There is general agreement among the scientific community that by absorbing some of the gas, rain forests play a vital role in lessening its impacts. To be classified as a rain forest, the treetops, or crowns, must touch each other, creating a shaded forest interior. In addition, temperature and rainfall must be high and relatively even throughout the year. Forests that meet these criteria are usually found on the two side of the equator, such as South and Central America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. In South America, a vast, forested area of the Amazon River basin in Brazil and neighboring countries is by far the largest rain forest in the world. It encompasses more than 3.5 million sq km – about half of the total global rain forest cover.

Section A

1. B 2. A 3. D 4. B 5. A 6. D 7. A 8. C 9. D

Section B

10. A 11. B 12. D 13. B 14. B 15. D

Section C

16. (as high as) 90 percent / 90%

17. global climate regulation / lessening impacts of carbon dioxide 18. (nearly) 30 percent / 30%

19. the tree tops must touch each other

20. more than 3.5 million square kilometers / 3.5 million sq km

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