英語專業(yè)四級考試歷年聽寫原文

44/44專業(yè)四級考試聽寫評分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)

1.聽寫共分15小節(jié)，每節(jié)1分，扣分一律寫在試卷右邊的空白處。大錯誤下面畫線。小錯誤用圓圈表示，重復(fù)錯誤用三角記號表示。2.每節(jié)最多扣1分。3.重復(fù)錯誤，僅扣一次分。4.錯誤共分兩類：小錯誤（minormistakes）和大錯誤（majormistakes），分不扣0.25分和0.5分。A.小錯誤：1）單詞拼寫錯一到兩個字母。例：steadily→staedily；harbor→habor兩個字母以下的詞、次序顛倒算小錯。2）標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號錯誤（含大小寫）。例：WorldWarI→worldwarone,andthenadopted→.Andthenadopted3)冠詞、單復(fù)數(shù)錯誤。例：untilthebeginning→untilbeginning;parent→parents4）小錯誤扣分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)：小錯誤在一節(jié)中出現(xiàn)一次，留作總計(jì)；出現(xiàn)兩次：扣0.5分；出現(xiàn)三次：扣0.5分后留作總計(jì)；出現(xiàn)四次：扣1分。5）未扣分小錯誤的扣分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)：累計(jì)2~4個：扣0.5分累計(jì)5~8個：扣1分B.大錯誤：漏寫、加詞、造詞、換詞（冠詞作小錯計(jì)）、大移位、時態(tài)錯誤，每個錯誤扣0.5分。例：loved→love；task—test；trip—trap；flee—flea；havefinished—finsh（ed）5.一些特例的扣分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)：下列情況不扣分：WorldWarI→WorldWarOneracecar→racecarwell-balanced→wellbalanced90percent→90%6.總分只有0.5分時，以1分計(jì)算；其余總分中如含小數(shù)點(diǎn)的，小數(shù)舍去，保留整數(shù)，如12.5→12；7.5→77.空白卷一律打0分。英語專業(yè)四級考試歷年聽寫原文（1993年——2006年）

PackageHolidays(1993)

Packageholidays,coveringatwoweeks'stayinanattractiveplace,areincreasinglypopular.Onceyougettotheairport,itisuptothetouroperatortoseethatyougetsafelytoyourdestination．Everythingislaidonforyou．Thereis,infact,noreasonforyoutobothertoarrangeanythingyourselves．Youmakefriendsandhaveagoodtime.Butthereisverylittlechancethatyouwillreallygettoknowthelocalpeople．Thisisevenlesslikelyonacoachtour,whenyouspendalmostyourentiretimetraveling．Ofcourse,therearecarefullyplannedstopsforyoutovisithistoricbuildingsandmonuments.Youmayvisitthebeautiful,thehistoric,theancient.Buttimeisalwaysshort．Thereisalsotheaddeddisadvantageofbeingobligedtospendyouholidaywithagroupofpeopleyouhavenevermetbefore．

TheAmericanFamily(1994)

TheAmericanfamilyunitischanging.Thereusedtobemainlytwotypesoffamilies,theextendedandthenuclear.Theformerincludedmother,father,children,andsomeotherrelativessuchasgrandparents,livinginthesamehouseornearby.Thenastheeconomyprogressedfromagriculturaltoindustrial,peoplebeganmovingtodifferentpartsofthecountryinordertosearchforjobopportunities.Thesemovessplituptheextendedfamily.Thenuclearfamilyconsistingofonlyparentsandchildrenhasthereforebecomefarmorewidespread.Today’sfamily,however,canbecomposedofdiversecombinations.Withthedivorceratenearlyoneintwo,there'sanincreaseinsingle-parenthomes—afatherormotherlivingwithoneormorechildren.Blendedfamiliesoccurwhendivorcedmenandwomenremarryandcombinethechildrenfromformermarriagesintoanewfamily.Ontheotherhand,thereisanincreaseinchildlesscoupleswhileoneinriveAmericanslivesalone.

UnidentifiedFlyingObjects(1995)

TherearemanyexplanationsforwhyUFOsvisittheEarth./Themostpopularoneisthattheymaybevisitorsfromotherplanets./Toflysuchaircraft,theirbuildersmustdevelopdifferentformsofaviation,/becausetheyseemtoflymuchfasterthannormalaircraft./TheUFOs,itisbelieved,mustcontainscientists/fromotherplanetswhoarestudyinglifeonearth./Itisevenbelievedthatseveralsuchaircraftmayhavelandedonearth/andthespacevisitorsmaybelivingamongstus./Buttherearealsolessfantasticexplanationsavailable./AlthoughsomesightingsofUFOsaredifficulttoexplain,mostcanbeexplainedquiteeasily./Inmanycasestheobserversmighthavemadeamistake./Theymighthaveseenaweatherballoonoranaircraft./Orthelighttheysawintheskymighthavebeenlightfromtheground,/reflectedontotheclouds./However,theexactcauseofmanysightingsstillremainedamystery.

TheIndianMedicineMan(1996)

AmongtheIndiansofNorthAmerica,themedicinemanwasaveryimportantperson.Hecouldcureillnessandhecouldspeaktothespirits.Thespiritswerethesupernaturalforcesthatcontrolledtheworld.TheIndiansbelievedthatbadspiritsmadepeopleill.Sowhenpeoplewereill,themedicinemantriedtohelpthembyusingmagic.Hespoketothegoodspiritsandaskedfortheirhelp.Manypeoplewerecured,becausetheythoughtthespiritswerehelpingthem,butreallythesepeoplecuredthemselves.Sometimesyourownmindisthebestdoctorforyou.Themedicinemenwereoftensuccessfulforanotherreason,too.Theyknewaboutplantsthatreallycancureillness.Alotofmedicinesaremadefromtheplantsthatwereusedbymedicinemenhundredofyearsago.

LegalAgeforMarriage(1997)

ThroughouttheUnitedStates,thelegalageformarriageshowssomedifference.Themostcommonagewithoutparents’consentis18forbothfemalesandmales.However,personswhoareunderageintheirhomestatecangetmarriedinanotherstate,andthenreturntothehomestatelegallymarried.Eachstateissuesitsownmarriagelicense.Bothresidentsandnon-residentsarequalifiedforsuchalicense.Thefeesandceremoniesvarygreatlyfromstatetostate.Moststates,forinstance,haveabloodtestrequirement,butafewdonot.Moststatespermiteitheracivilorreligiousceremony,butafewrequiretheceremonytobereligious.Inmoststatesawaitingperiodisrequiredbeforethelicenseisissued.Thisperiodisfromonetofivedaysdependingonthestate.Athree-day-waitisthemostcommon.Insomestatesthereisnorequiredwaitingperiod.

TheRailwaysinBritain(1998)

Thesuccessofearlyrailways,suchasthelinesbetweenbigcities,/ledtoagreatincreaseinrailwaybuildinginVictoriantimes./Between1835and1865about25000kilometersoftrackwerebuilt,/andover100railwaycompanieswerecreated./Railwaytraveltransformedpeople'slives./Trainswerefirstdesignedtocarrygoods./However,alawinthe19thcenturyforcedrailwaycompaniestorunonecheaptrainaday/whichstoppedateverystationandcostonlyapennyamile./Soonworkingclasspassengersfoundtheycouldaffordtotravelbyrail./Cheapdayexcursiontrainsbecamepopularandseasideresortsgrewrapidly./Therailwaysalsoprovidedthousandsofnewjobs:/buildingcarriages,runningtherailwaysandrepairingthetracks./Railwaysevenchangedthetime./Theneedtoruntherailwaysontimemeantthatlocaltimewasabolished/andclocksshowedthesametimealloverthecountry./

UnitedNationsDay(1999)

The24thofOctoberiscelebratedasUnitedNationsDay.hisadaythatbelongstoeveryone.Anditiscelebratedinmostcountriesoftheworld.Somecountriescelebrateforaweekinsteadofaday.Inmanypartsoftheworld,schoolshavespecialprogramsfortheday.BoysandgirlsinsomecommunitiesdecorateaUNtree.Inothercommunities,youngpeopleputonplaysabouttheUN.Somelibrariesexhibitchildren’sartworksfromaroundtheworld.Schoolscelebratewiththesongsanddancesofothercountriesorgivepartieswherefoodsofothercountriesareserved.Nomatterhowthedayiscelebrated,thepurposeofthesecelebrationsistohelpeveryoneunderstandtheUN,andtheimportantrolesitplaysinworldaffairs.TheUNencouragespeopletolearnaboutotherlandsandtheircustoms.Inthisway,peoplecangainabetterunderstandingandappreciationofpeoplesallovertheworld.

WhatWeKnowAboutLanguage(2000)

Manythingsaboutlanguageareamysteryandwillremainso.However,wenowdoknowsomethingaboutit.First,weknowthatallhumanbeingshavealanguageofsomesort.Nohumanraceanywhereonearthissobackwardthatithasnolanguageofitsownatall.Second,thereisnosuchthingasaprimitivelanguage.Therearemanypeopleswhoseculturesareundevelopedbutthelanguagestheyspeakarebynomeansprimitive.Inallthelanguagesexistingintheworldtoday,therearecomplexitiesthatmusthavebeendevelopedforyears.Third,weknowthatalllanguagesareperfectlyadequate.Eachisaperfectmeansofexpressingitsculture.Andfinally,weknowthatlanguagechangesovertime,whichisnaturalandnormalifalanguageistosurvive.Thelanguagewhichremainsunchangedisnothingbutdead.

CharacteristicsofAGoodReader(2001)

Toimproveyourreadinghabits,youmustunderstandthecharacteristicsofagoodreader.First,thegoodreaderusuallyreadsrapidly.Ofcourse,hedoesnotreadeverypieceofmaterialatthesamerate.Butwhetherheisreadinganewspaperorachapterinaphysicstext,hisreadingrateisrelativelyfast.Hehaslearnedtoreadforideasratherthanwordsoneatatime.Next,thegoodreadercanrecognizeandunderstandgeneralideasandspecificdetails.Thusheisabletocomprehendthematerialwithaminimumofeffortandamaximumofinterest.Finally,thegoodreaderhasinhiscommandseveralspecialskills,whichhecanapplytoreadingproblemsastheyoccur.Forthecollegestudent,themosthelpfuloftheseskillsincludemakinguseofthevariousaidstounderstandingthatmosttextbooksprovideandskim-readingforageneralsurvey.

DisappearingForests(2002)

Theworld’sforestsaredisappearing.Asmuchas1/3ofthetotaltreecoverhasbeenlostsinceagriculturebegansome10,000yearsago.Theremainingforestsarehometohalfoftheworld’sspecies,thusbecomingthechiefresourcefortheirsurvival.Tropicalrainforestsoncecovered12%ofthelandoftheplanet,aswellassupportingatleasthalfoftheworld’sspeciesofplantsandanimals.Theserainforestsarehometomillionsofpeople.Butthereareotherdemandsonthem.Forexample,muchhasbeencutfortimber.Anincreasingamountofforestlandhasbeenusedforindustrialpurposesorforagriculturaldevelopmentsuchascrop-growing.Bythe1990’slessthanhalfoftheearth’soriginalrainforestsremained,andtheycontinuedtodisappearatanalarmingrateeveryyear.Asaresulttheworld’sforestsarenowfacinggradualextinction.

Salmon(2003)

Everyyear,millionsofsalmonswimfromtheoceanintothemouthsofriversandthensteadilyuptherivers.Passingthroughwaters,aroundrocksandwaterfalls,thefishfinallyreachtheiroriginalstreamsorlakes.Theydigoutnestsintheriverbedandlaytheireggs.Then,exhaustedbytheirjourney,theparentsalmondie.Theyhavefinishedthetaskthatnaturehasgiventhem.Months,oryearslater,theyoungfishstarttheirtriptotheocean.Theyliveinthesaltwaterfrom2-7years,untilthey,tooarereadytoswimbacktoreproduce.Theirlifecyclehelpsmanprovidehimselfwithabasicfood-fish.Whentheadultsalmongatherattherivermouthsfortheannualtripuptherivers,theyareinthebestpossiblecondition,andnearlyeveryharborhasitssalmonfishingfleetreadytocatchthousandsformarkets.

Money(2004)

Moneyisacceptedacrosstheworldaspaymentforgoodsorservices.Peopleusemoneytobuyfood,clothesandhundredsofotherthings.Inthepast,manydifferentthingswereusedasmoney.PeopleonPacificislandsonceexchangedshellsforgoods.TheChineseusedclothandknives.InAfrica,elephanttusksorsaltwereused.Eventoday,somepeopleinAfricaarestillpaidinsalt.CoinswerefirstinventedbytheChinese.Originally,theywereroundpiecesofmetalwithaholeinthecenter,sothatapieceofstringcouldkeepthemtogether.Thismadedoingbusinessmucheasier,butpeoplestillfoundcoinsinconvenienttocarrywhentheywantedtobuysomethingexpensive.Tosolvethisproblem,theChineseagaincameupwiththesolution.Theybegantousepapermoneyforcoins.Nowpapernotesareusedthroughouttheworld.

TheWristWatch（2005）Itisgenerallybelievedthatwristwatchesareanexception/tothenormalsequenceintheevolutionofman'sjewelry./Reversingtheusualorder,theywerefirstwornbywomen,/andthenadoptedbymen./Intheolddays,queensincludedwristwatchesamongtheircrownjewelry./Later,theywerewornbySwissworkersandfarmers./UntilWorldWarI,Americansassociatedthewatchwithfortunehunters./Thenarmyofficersdiscoveredthatthewristwatchwasmostpracticalforactivecombat./Racecardriversalsolovedtowearwristwatches,/andpilotsfoundthemmostusefulwhileflying./Soonmendaredtowearwristwatcheswithoutfeelingself-conscious./By1924,some30percentofman'swatcheswerewornonthewrist./Today,thefigureis90percent./Andtheyarenowwornbybothmenandwomen/forpracticalpurposesratherthanfordecoration.

TheInternet(2006)

TheInternetisthemostsignificantprogressinthefieldofcommunications./Imagineabookthatneverends,alibrarywithamillionfloors,/orimaginearesearchprojectwiththousandsofscientists/workingaroundtheclockforever./ThisisthemagicoftheInternet./YettheInternethasthepotentialforgoodandbad./Onecanfindwell-organized,information-richwebsites./Atthesametime,onecanalsofindwastefulwebsites./MostwebsitesareknownasdifferentInternetapplications./Theseincludeonlinegames,chatrooms(chatrooms)andsoon./Theseapplicationshavegreatpower,too./Sometimesthepowercanbesogreat/thatyoungpeoplemayeasilybecomevictimstotheirattraction./Soweneedtorecognizetheseriousnessoftheproblem./Wemustworktogethertouseitspowerforbetterends.專業(yè)四級標(biāo)準(zhǔn)聽寫二十篇TEM4DictationPractices

Passage1Salt

Wedonotknowwhenmanfirstbegantousesalt,/butwedoknowthatithasbeenusedinmanydifferentwaysthroughouthistory./Historicalevidenceshows,forexample,thatpeoplewholivedover3,000yearsagoateslatedfish./ThousandsofyearsagoinEgypt,saltwasusedtopreservethedead./

Stealingsaltwasconsideredamajorcrimeduringsomeperiodsofhistory./In18thcentury,forinstance,/ifapersonwascaughtstealingsalt,hecanbeputinjail./Historyrecordsthatabouttenthousandpeoplewereputinjailduringthatcenturyforstealingsalt./About150yearsbefore,intheyear1553,/takingmoresaltthatonewasallowedtowaspunishableasacrime./Theoffender’searwascutoff.

Saltwasanimportantitemonthetableofroyalty./Itwastraditionallyplacedinfrontofthekingwhenhesatdowntoeat./Importantguestsattheking’stablewereseatednearthesalt./Lessimportantguestsweregivenseatsfartherawayfromit./(175words)

Passage2Perceptions

Askthreepeopletolookoutofthesamewindowatabusystreetandtellyouwhattheysee./Probablyyouwillreceivethreedifferentanswers./Eachpersonseesthesamescene,buteachperceivessomethingdifferentaboutit./

Perceivinggoesinourminds./Ofthethreepeoplewholookoutofthewindow/onemaysaythatheseesapolicemangivingadriveraticket./Anothermaysaythatheseesarush–hourtrafficjamatthestreetcorner./Thethirdmaytellyouthatheseesawomantryingtocrossthestreetwithfourchildren./Forperceptionisthemind’sinterpretation/ofwhatthesenses–inthiscaseoureyes–tellus./

Manypsychologiststodayareworkingtotrytoexplain/justhowapersonexperiencesorperceivetheworldaroundhim./Usingascientificmethodthesepsychologistssetupexperiments:/theyaretryingtofindoutwhatmakesdifferentpeople/perceivetotallydifferentthingsaboutthesamescene./(164words)

Passage3Balloons

Balloonshavebeenusedforsportforaboutonehundredyears./Therearetwokindsofsportballoons:gasandhotair./Hotairballoonsaresaferthangasballoons,/whichmaycatchfire./HotairballoonsarepreferredbymostballoonistsintheUnitedStatesbecauseoftheirsafety./Theyarealsocheaperandeasiertomanagerthangasballoons./Despitetheeaseofoperatingaballoon,/pilotsmustwatchtheweathercarefully./Sportballoonflightsarebestearlyinthemorning/orlateintheafternoon,whenthewindislight./Overtheyears,balloonistshavetriedunsuccessfullytocrosstheAtlantic./Itwasn'tuntil1978thatthreeAmericanballoonistssucceeded./Ittookthemjustsixdaystomakethetrip/fromtheirhomesintheUnitedStatestoParis,

Passage4YouFoundaJob,NowHowdoYouSaveMoney?

Savingyourhardearnedmoneycanbedifficult,/asmostofusenjoyspendingratherthansaving,/Icertainlyhadatoughtimeholdingontomymoneyeverypayday./WhenIgotmyfirstfewpaychecks,/rightawayIspentthecold,hardcashI’dearnedbyhardwork./ButIquicklyrealizedthatthissortofspendingwouldn’treallyhelpmegetthethingsIwanted./SoImadeapactwithmyself.IpromisethatbeforeIdidanythingwiththemoney,/Iwoulddepositatleast50%ofthemoneyintomysavingaccount./Thatway,Ieliminatedthetemptationtospendthatmoney./

AfterIgotusedtosavingmymoney,/itwasmucheasierformenottobetemptedtobuythingswhenIsawthem./WhenIsawaCDorvideogamethatlookedappealing,/Ilearnedtoaskmyself,“DoIreallyneedthis?”/Askingthisquestionhelpedmeappreciatemymoneyandnotletitslipoutofmywalletquitesofast./(173words)

Passage5OnlineHealthForum

Therearemanyaspectstohealth,illnessandhealing./Amongalltheteachingsthereisonethemethatisuniversaltothemall/andthatistheunquestionablebenefitachievedbycommunicatingwithothersabouthealthanditsrelatedissues./Itiswiththissinglephilosophyinmind/thatwehavedevelopedthissiteasaforumforcommunication./Dealingwithamedicalconcernisoftendifficult./Connectingwithotherswhoaregoingthroughthesamething/canmakeaworldofdifference./Ourmissionistodeveloponlinecommunitiestohelpyoumakethoseconnections./Youcanpostquestions,commentsandrespondtomessagesfromothers./We’vegotvarioustopics,andwe’readdingmoreallthetime./Ifyoudon’tseethetopicyouarelookingfor,/justletusknowandwewillconsideramessageboardforit./Wehopeyoudecidetobecomearegularparticipant/andhelptomakethisagreatresource./(158words)

Passage6Words

Howmenfirstlearntoinventwordsisunknown,/inotherwords,theoriginoflanguageisamystery./Allwereallyknowthatismen,unlikeanimals,/somehowinventedcertainsoundstoexpressthoughtsandfeelings,/actionsandthings,sothattheycancommunicatewitheachother;/andthatlatertheyagreeduponcertainsigns,calledletters,/whichcouldberepresentthosesounds,andwhichcouldbewrittendown./Thosesounds,whetherspokenorwritteninletters,wercallwords./Thepowerofwords,thenliesintheirassociations,/thatis,thethingstheybringupbeforeourminds./Wordsbecomefilledwithmeaningforusbyexperience;/andthelongerwerlive,themoreweremindedofthegladandsadevents/ofourpastbycertainwordswerreadandlearn,/themorethenumberofthewords/thatmeanssomethingtousincrease./(149words)

Passage7Teacher-studentRelationship

Therelationshipbetweenateacherandastudentcanbeeithergoodorbad,helpfulorharmful./Eitherway,therelationshipcanaffectthestudentfortherestofhislife./Agoodteacher-studentrelationshipwillmaketheteacher’sjobworthwhile./Abadrelationshipcandiscouragethestudentfromlearning/andmaketeachinganunpleasanttask./

Inordertohaveagoodteacher-studentrelationship,/respectbetweenteacherandstudentisveryimportant./Iftheteacheristoostrict,hefrightensthestudent./Iftheteacheristoofriendly,thestudentmaybecomelazyandstoplearninghard./Theteacher’sattitudeandapproachshouldbeinbetweenthosetwoextremes./Asforthestudent,hisproperrespecttotheteachermustbeshownallthetime./Heshouldbeeagertolearnandwillingtoworkhard./

Inconclusion,agoodteacher-studentrelationshipcanbebeneficialtoboth./Thestudentabsorbsknowledgeeagerlyandenjoyable,/andtheteachergainssatisfactionfromhiswork./(163words)

Passage8Nearsightedness

Weakeyesightisatermthatisgenerallyusedtorefertonearsightedeyes./Peoplewhoarenearsightedcanseewellatashortrange,/butanythingveryfarawayislikelytobeunclear./Theterm“weakeyesight”ismisleading,/forinnearsightedeyesthelensoftheeyeisactuallytoostrong./Thenearsightedlensissopowerfulthatitfocusesthelightcomingontotheeyesoquickly./Nearsightednessiscommon,anditsgrowthmaybegraded;/oftentheunclearnessofdistantobjectissoslightatfirst/thatapersonmaynotrecognizethecondition./

Nearsightednessisfrequentlydiscoveredfirstatschool./Itisherethatastudentfirstrealizesthedifficultyofseeingwordsontheblackboard,/whereasothersintheclasshavenotroublereadingtheblackboardatall./Afterdiscovery,nearsightednesscaneasilybecorrected./Youjustneedsapairofglasses/whichcandecreasethepowerofthelensoftheeye./(161words)Passage9RiceCooking

RiceisverymuchunderappreciatedintheUnitedStates./WiththeexceptionofAsiancooking,/riceisusuallyasidedishorcombinedwithotheringredients./Riceisverynutritious,lowcostandeasy-topreparefood./Therearedifferenttypesofriceavailableandthecookingtimevariesbytypeofrice./Followthepackageinstructionsfortheamountofliquidnecessaryandthecookingtimes./Bothvaryforeachtypeofrice./Regularwhitericehasbeenmilled/toremovethehullcomesinlong,mediumandshortgrains./Longgrainedriceisthebestforall-purposeuse./Brownricehasapleasantnuttyflavorandafirmertexture./Whilewhitericeiscookedinabout15minutes,/brownricetakes45to50minutestocook./Whencookingricedonotbeconcernedifyouhavecookedriceleftover./Therearesomeexcellentrecipes,whichusecookedrice./(151words)

Passage10FirstSignofAIDS

TheviruscausingAIDSentersthebloodandquicklypenetratescertainwhitecellsinthebody./Atfirstthereisoftenlittleornotraceofthevirusatall./Thissituationusuallylastsforsixtotwelveweeks./Duringthistimethepersonisfreeofsymptoms/andantibodytestsarenegative./Thefirstthingthathappensafterinfection/isthatmanypeopledevelopaflue-likeillness./Thismaybesevereenoughtolooklikeglandularfever/withswollenglandsintheneckandarmpits,/tiredness,feverandnightsweats./Someofthosewhitecellsaredying,/virusisbeingreleased,/andforthefirsttimethebodyisworkinghardtomakecorrectantibodies./Atthisstagethebloodtestwillusuallybecomepositive./Mostpeopledonotrealizewhatishappening,/althoughwhentheylaterdevelopAIDStheylookback/andrememberitclearly./Mostpeoplehaveproduceantibodiesinabouttwelveweeks./(156words)

Passage11TheLibraryofCongress

TheLibraryofCongressisthenationallibraryoftheUnitedStates./Itwasfoundedin1800toservetheneedsofthecongressmen./Today,itcontainsbooks,articlesanddocumentsoneverysubjectimaginable./Besidessenators,congressmenandothergovernmentofficials,/itserveslibraries,researchers,artistsandscientiststhroughoutthecountryandtheworld./

TheLibraryisoneofthelargestlibrariesintheworld./Ithasacollectionof74millionitemswhicharehousedinthreebuildings./Thebookshelvesstretchfor350miles./Ofthe18millionbooks,morethanhalfareinlanguagesotherthanEnglish./

Themainreadingroomisagreathallofmarblepillars./Itisthecenterofactivityinthelibrary./Thereisacomputercatalogcenterwithsixterminalsforquickaccesstoinformation./Forgreaterspeedandefficiency,/thelibraryhasinstalledanelectricbook–carryingsystem/thatcarriesbooksfromonebuildingtoanotherinonlyafewseconds./(160words)

Passage12ACarSoccerRace

AmericanfootballisdifferentfromtheEuropeanfootball/andsomepeoplethinkthatitisbetter./Nowthere’sanewkindoffootballorsoccerwhichisplayedinAmerica./It’scalledcarsoccer./Theplayersdrivesmallcars,whicharecalledBeetles./Theplayerstrytocatchtheballintheircars./Thecarsareprotectedallsincetheyoftencrashintoeachother./Theballislargerthantheusualoneandtheplayersareprotected,too./In1985,theFirstEuropeancarsoccermatchtookplaceinWestGermany./TeamsfromsomecountriesinEuropeanplayedinthematch./TheBeetlesracedaroundthegroundmadly/whilethespectatorsshouted“Theballisbehindyou”./Whenthematchended,threecarshadbeencrashedintopieces./Andtheplayersaswellasmanyofthespectatorswerebadlyhurtandhadtobetakentohospital./Willthiscarsoccerbecomeaspopularasfootball?Idoubt./(160words)

Passage13ChangesofFamilyLife

Theconceptoffamilylifehaschangedconsiderablyovertheyears./Inearliesttimes,severalgenerationslivedtogetherinclans,/whichconsistedofalllivingdescendentsandtheirhusbandsorwives./Theseclanswerealmosttotallyself-sufficient,/everymembercontributinginsomewaytowardthesurvivalofthegroup./Themenhuntedandfishedforfoodorsometimesmaintainedflocksofsheeporgoats./Thewomenbakedbreadandroastedthemeattheirmenprovided./Specialmembersofthecommunitywereselectedtomakeproductslikepottery,basketsandhomeweapons./Butwiththedevelopmentofgreatervarietiesoffood,clothingandshelter,/asingleclancouldnolongerdevelopalltheindividualskillsthegrouprequired./Clansmergedintolargersocietiesandatthesametimebrokeintosmallerunitsconsistingofmarriedcouplesandtheirchildren./LatertheIndustrialRevolutionbroughtaboutevenmoreimportantchangesinfamilylife./Newinventionsbroughtshorterworkinghoursformenandeasierhousekeepingroutinesforwomen./Todayaproductivefamilylifesuggestsnotthegroup’scooperativeeffortsofworkingtogether,/butthepleasantandmeaningfulsharingofitsleisure./(185words)

Passage14Vitamins

Itwasnotuntilthebeginningofthiscenturythatitwasrecognized/thatcertainsubstanceswereessentialinthediettopreventorcuresomediseases./Thesesubstancesarenow