短文包括3篇：

Passage 1

Since I started working part-time at a grocery store, I have learned that a customer is more than someone who buys something. To me, a customer is a person whose memory fails entirely once he or she starts to push a shopping cart. One of the first things customers forget is how to count. There is no other way to explain how so many people get in their express line, which is clearly marked 15 items or less, with 20, 25 or even a cart load of items. Customers also forget why they came to the store in the first place. Just as I finish ringing up an order, a customer will say, “Oops, I forgot to pick up a fresh loaf of bread. I hope you don’t mind waiting while I go get it.” Five minutes later, he is back with the bread, a bottle of milk, and three rolls of paper towels. Strange as it seems, customers also seem to forget that they have to pay for their groceries. Instead of writing a check or looking for a credit card while I am ringing up the groceries, my customers will wait until I announce the total. Then, in surprise, she says, “Oh no, what did I do with my check book?” After 5 minutes of digging through her purse, she borrows my pen because she’s forgotten hers. But I have to be tolerant of customers because they pay my salary, and that’s something I can’t afford to forget.

Q26. What does the speaker say about customers’ entering the grocery store?

Q27. Which customers are supposed to be in the express line?

Q28. What does the speaker say some customers do when they arrive at the check-out counter?

Q29. What does the speaker say about his job at the end of the talk?

26-29 點評：

本篇短文主要講述了作者在一家雜貨店兼職工作的經(jīng)歷和感受，并深刻地體會到顧客不僅僅是來商店買東西的人。作者認為，當顧客推起一輛購物車時，所有的事情就拋之腦后了。他們不會算計一件商品值多少錢，他們忘了自己來商店要買什么，他們甚至忘記要為商品付錢，他們不知道東西買夠沒有就去收銀臺排隊結(jié)賬，當收銀員開始掃顧客的商品時，顧客又會跑回去拿很多商品回來，更需要收銀員提醒付錢，但這都是作者作為收銀員所應忍受的，因為“顧客是上帝”，這是作者不敢忘記也是從這次經(jīng)歷中學到的事情。

這篇文章基本上沒有生僻的詞匯，以敘述為主。但是其中有幾個短語需要關注：grocery store意為“雜貨店”；ring up意為“用收銀機記錄收入的錢，收銀機掃條形碼”；credit card意為“信用卡”。理解了這些詞，對聽力的整體理解會有提升。

Passage 2

The speech delivery style of Europeans and Asians tends to be very formal. Speakers of these cultures often read oral presentations from carefully written manuscripts. On the other hand, American speakers are generally more informal relative to speakers in other cultures. American audiences prefer natural, spontaneous delivery that conveys a lively sense of communication. They don’t relate well to speakers who read from a manuscript. If you use an outline of your ideas instead of a prepared text, your speech will not only sound more natural, but you will also be able to establish better relationship with your listeners and keep their attention. The language and style you use when making an oral presentation should not be the same as the language and style you use when writing. Well-written information, that is meant to be read, does not work as well when it is heard. It is, therefore, important for you to adapt written texts or outlines for presentations. Good speakers are much more informal when speaking than when writing. They also use their own words and develop their own speaking styles. Whenever possible, they use short words. Listeners appreciate it when speakers use simple, everyday words in a presentation. One advantage is that it’s much easier for speakers to pronounce short words correctly. Another is that long and sophisticated vocabulary choices make listening more difficult

Question 30 to 32

30. What does the speaker say American audiences prefer?

31. What should one pay attention to when making an oral presentation?

32. What does the speaker focus on in the talk?

30-32 點評：

本篇文章重點分析了成為一名優(yōu)秀的演講者的關鍵因素。歐洲人和亞洲人的演講風格往往是趨于比較正式的，而美國人的演講風格是自然、自發(fā)、生動地傳遞表達信息，這也正是聽眾所喜歡的方式。同時，做口頭報告時應注意寫作和口語所要求的風格差異，有了這樣的認識后，你才能在今后的演講中運用簡短貼近生活的言語表達自己的想法，形成自己的演講風格，成為一名優(yōu)秀的演講者。

這篇文章相對簡單，沒有出現(xiàn)太難的生詞，較容易理解。整個內(nèi)容就圍繞一個主題展開，清晰明了，只要能抓住此主題線索，整篇文章的結(jié)構(gòu)就一目了然了。

Passage 3

Let children learn to judge their own work

A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time. If corrected too much, he will stop talking. He compares a thousand times a day the difference between language as he uses it and language as those around him use it. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, kids learning to do all the other things they learn without adult teachers, to walk, run, climb, ride a bike, play games, compare their own performance with what more skilled people do, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to detect his mistakes. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him. Soon he becomes dependent on the expert. We should let him do it himself. Let him figure out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what is the answer to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or that.

If right answers need to be given, as in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such tedious work? Our job should be to help children when they tell us that they can’t find a way to get the right answer.

Question 33 to 35

33. How does a child learn to do something according to the speaker?

34. What belief do teachers commonly hold according to the speaker?

35. What does the speaker imply about the current way of teaching?

33-35 點評：

本篇文章主要論述要讓孩子們學著自己判斷事情。目前的教學方法對學生學習沒有什么幫助作用，老師認為學生不能發(fā)現(xiàn)他們自己身上的錯誤，孩子習得一件事情是通過把自己的行為和其他人的行為作對比而來的，而這就逐漸讓孩子們失去了自己，變成了其他人，從而慢慢產(chǎn)生依賴感。文章結(jié)尾暗示作者對這種教學方法是不贊成的，同時，提出老師的工作是應該幫助孩子們找到正確答案的方法，而不是什么都為他們做好安排好。