超级大学现代大学英语听力Unit

Unit 6 Work

Task 1

Laura usually leaves the offices of Quest Productions at about 5 o'clock, but last Monday she left

at 5:30. She wanted to get home by 6:30 and she ran to the bus stop but she couldn't get on a bus.

There

were

too

many

people

and

not

enough

buses.

Laura

was

desperate

to

get

home

so

she

decided

to

go

by

tube.

In

the

station

she

went

to

one

of

the

automatic

ticket

machines

but

she

didn't

have

enough

change,

so

she

had

to

join

the

queue

at

the

ticket

window.

She

bought

her

ticket and ran to the escalator. Laura went to the platform and waited for the tube. It arrived and

the crowd moved forward. Laura was pushed into the train. It was almost full but she was given a

seat

by

a

man

with

a

moustache.

Laura

thanked

him

and

sat

down.

She

started

to

read

her

newspaper. In the tunnel the train stopped suddenly and Laura was thrown to the floor together

with the man with the moustache. Somebody screamed. The lights went out. It was quarter past 6

on a cold, wet December evening.

Key

A

1. d

—

b---a ---e---c

B

1. a

Task 2

X was a secret agent. He had rented a furnished room in a provincial town not far from the public

park and had been there two weeks. He was standing at the window looking out at the dull beds of

geraniums, the park gates and the cold, uninviting statue of Queen Victoria that stood across the

street from him. It was raining hard and the few people who passed by looked wet and miserable.

X

was

miserable,

too.

How,

he

wondered,

could

anybody

think

there

was

anything

interesting

about the life of a secret agent He knew it was because people had seen so many television plays

about

glamorous

spies

that

they

thought

the

life

of

a

secret

agent

was

exciting.

They

were

convinced that every cigarette lighter concealed a secret tape recorder; that a fountain pen held in

a certain way would open a locked door, that the touch of a gold ring against the hand of an enemy

would

make

him

reveal

all

his

secrets. How

wrong

they

were!

He

looked

round

his

room.

The

wallpaper was in the worst possible taste, the pictures horrible, the carpet worn, dirty and faded;

and he was cold. This was the third Monday he had come to the window to look out. He prayed it

would be the last.

As if in answer to his prayer, a certain meeting he had been sent to investigate was about to take

place. He took out his camera. Just beneath the statue two women had stopped to speak. He knew

one of them, and it was she who pointed in his direction. The other woman looked up towards him

and in that brief moment he photographed her.

Key

A

1. a 2. b 3. d 4. c

B

1. T 2. T 3. F

C

wondered; television plays; exciting; every cigarette lighter; tape recorder; held in a certain way;

the touch of a gold ring against the hand of; reveal; How wrong they were!

Task 3

Harry:

Well,

Robert,

have

you

made

up

your

mind

yet

what

you

want

to

do

when

you

leave

college

Nora: Oh Harry. Surely he's a bit young to decide on his career. He hasn't even got to college yet.

Harry:

Not

at

all,

Nora.

It's

wisest

to

decide

in

good

time.

Look

at

me,

for

example.

I

really

wanted to be a sailor, but now I spend my days sitting at a desk in an office. Yes, it's silly to train

for the wrong job. And after all, Robert will be going to college soon.

Nora: Now if I were a man I'd be a farmer. To see the crops growing

—

that's my idea of a good

life.

Harry: Yes, and to see the money rolling in is more important still.

Robert: Well, that's not the way I look at it, Dad. It's the job I care about, not the money.

Harry: Maybe not; but you'll learn to care about the money too, when you've got a family to keep.

Nora: And of course Peter

—

well, he's keen to be a racing driver, or else an explorer

Robert: Oh, Peter's not old enough to make up his mind about such things.

Harry: You haven't answered my question yet, Robert. What would you like to do

Nora: Are you sure you don't want to be a farmer, Robert Or a market gardener

Robert: No, I'm sorry Mum, but I don't want to at all. I'd rather be a civil engineer. I want to build

roads and bridges.

Harry: Not ships Isn't it better to be a shipbuilding engineer

Robert: Look here, is it my career we're planning, or yours

Harry: All right, all right, there's no need to lose your temper But you'd better win that scholarship

first.

Key

A

Harry--- Sailor Nora---Farmer(if she were a man)

Robert---Civil engineer Peter---Racing driver or explorer

B

1. a 2. b 3. c . b 5. d

Task 4

Here are some of the things a young man or woman should not do when he first asks an editor for

a job:

He

should

not

tell

the

editor

that

he

wants

to

be

a

foreign

correspondent

or

a

columnist.

Very

probably

the

editor

does

not

need

either.

He

wants

a

reporter

who

will

go

to

such

places

as

government offices and police stations and write a true story of what is happening there Being a

foreign correspondent or a columnist will come later.

A young person should not tell the editor that newspaper work is only the first step on the way to

bigger and better jobs, such as those in government. The editor must take a lot of time and trouble

teaching someone to be a good newspaperman or woman. He does not like the idea of teaching

people who are soon going to leave him to work for someone else.

A young journalist should accept the working hours and free time the editor gives him. As a new

journalist, it is very probable that he will work longer hours than others and work on weekends.

The editor did the same when he was a young newspaperman with no experience. He expects a

journalist to understand how things are on a newspaper.

Key

1. correspondents; columnist;

may not need either;

to go to places where events

take place and

write stories about them

2. first; bigger; better; who will soon leave to work for other people

3. working hours; free time; work long hours to begin with

Task 5

Sylvia: We've got a new manager in our department.

Larry: Oh You hoped to get that job, didn't you

Sylvia: Yes, I did.

Larry: I'm sorry. That's too bad. Who is it Who got the job, I mean

Sylvia: Someone called Drexler. Carl Drexler. He's been with the company only two years. I've

been here longer. And I know more about the job, too!

Larry: Hmm. Why do you think they gave it to him and not to you

Sylvia: Because I'm the wrong sex, of course!

Larry: You mean you didn't get the job because you're a woman

Sylvia: Yes, that was probably it! It isn't fair.

Larry: What sort of clothes does he wear

Sylvia: A dark suit. White shirt. A tie. Why

Larry: Perhaps that had something to do with it.

Sylvia: You mean you think I didn't get the job because I come to work in jeans and a sweater

Larry: It's possible, isn't

Sylvia: Do you really think I should wear different clothes

Larry: Well...perhaps you should think about it.

Sylvia: Why should I wear a skirt Or a dress

Larry: I'm not saying you should. I'm saying you should think about it. That's all!

Sylvia: Why should I do that I'm good at my job! That's the only important thing!

Larry: Hmm. Perhaps it should be the only important thing. But it isn't, not in this company.

Key

A

1. acd 2. abe

B

1. she is the wrong sex 2. she wears the wrong clothes

Task 6

Al: Is this the right line to file a claim

Bob: Yeah. It's the same line for everything. You just stand here and wait.

Al: Oh. Is there always such a long line

Bob: Every week. Sometimes longer. Is this your first time here

Al: Yes.

Bob: What happened Your plant closed down

Al: No. I'm a car salesman, or, I was a car salesman. But we just aren't selling cars. It's the interest

rates. Two years ago, I averaged ten new cars a month. Do you know how many cars I sold last

month One. One car to a lady who had the cash. But the interest rates are up again. The boss let

three of us go. How about you

Bob: I worked at a vacuum cleaner plant with about fifty workers. We put in a good day's work.

But

the

machinery

was

getting

old.

As

a

matter

of

fact,

the

whole

plant

was

old.

So

the

management decided to build a new plant. You know where In Singapore. The workers here made

about seven dollars an hour, a couple of people made eight or nine an hour. You know how much

they're paying the workers in Singapore $$ an hour! Anyway, all fifty of us got laid off.

Al: How long ago was that

Bob: They closed down ten months ago.

Al: Any luck finding another job

Bob: Nothing. I have one, sometimes two, interviews a week. Last week I thought I had something.

They liked my experience with machines. But I never heard from them again.

Al: At least you know something about machines. All I can do is talk.

Bob: Maybe you'll talk yourself into another job. Good luck. I'll see you here next week.

Al: I hope not. I hope I'll have something by then.

Key

Former Jobs When Laid-off Why Laid-off

1st man Car salesman Recently Low sales, due to the increase of interest rates

2nd

man

Worker

at

a

vacuum

10

months

ago

Plant

moved

to

Singapore

where

cleaner

plant

worker are paid much less

B

1st speaker---bcd 2nd speaker---ae

C

1. F 2. F

Task 7

Interviewer: Do you prefer what you're doing to teaching

First

Man:

Yes,

one

of

the

things

I

found

a

bit

frustrating

about

teaching

was

rather

difficult,

especially

if

you're

teaching

in

England

and

most

of

the

students

know

quite

a

lot

of

English

before they arrive. They learn a lot of English outside the classroom, in pubs or coffee shops or

other places, with the families they're living with. It's very difficult to pin down how much they

learn

from

your

actual

lesson,

whereas

in

marketing,

again

there

are

lots

of

areas

that

are

grey

rather than black or white, but there are quite a few other areas where one can see quite clearly the

results of one's efforts.

Interviewer: What did you do after you quit your job in advertising

Second Man: In fact, I became a journalist and I worked as a freelance. I didn't have a full-time

job

with

any

newspaper.

I

just

had

to

contribute

things

as

they

came

along

and

I

wrote

for

magazines, and I did quite a lot of broadcasting for the VOA. Well, this was in a way the opposite

of advertising because I enjoyed it a lot but I found it very hard to earn enough money to live on.

Interviewer: And then you decided to be a teacher

Second Man: Well, and so I thought. Well, I must do something which produces an income that I

can be sure of. While I was working as a journalist I had done an article for a magazine about the

English

language

teaching

world

and

in

fact

I

had

come

to

the

school

where

I

now

teach

as

a

journalist

and

interviewed

a

lot

of

the people. And

I

thought

it

seemed

a

very

nice

place

and

I

thought that the classes I visited had a very, very nice feeling about them, and so I thought, well,

I'll see if they'll have me.

Interviewer: Why do you prefer teaching to advertising

Second Man: Well, partly because in teaching you work regular hours. In advertising you just had

to stay at the office until the work was finished [I see.] and it could be three o'clock in the morning.

[Oh, dear.] Also you were very often made to work at weekends. Often some job would come up

that was very important and they said it had to be finished

—

it had to go into the newspapers next

week.

Interviewer: So there was a lot more pressure.

Second Man: There was a lot more pressure in advertising. Also, the people I worked with when I

was first in advertising were young hopeful people like myself. By the end I was working with a

lot of old people who quite honestly were awful. And I kept looking at them and saying, “Am I

going

to

be

like

that”

And

I

thought

if

I

am

I'd

better

get

out,

whereas

the

English

language

teachers

I

saw,

who

were

older

people

I

thought,

well,

they

seemed

quite

nice.

And

I

wouldn't

mind being like that myself.

Key

A

1. F 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. T 6. F

B

1. According to the first speaker, it is frustrating because the teacher cannot see clearly the results

of his efforts.

According to the second speaker, English language teaching is a good job, because it guarantees a

stable income and regular working hours and means less pressure. He also likes the way elderly

teacher are.

Task 8

Matthew: Michael, do you go out to work

Michael: Not regularly, no. I used to; I used to have a job in a publishing company, but I decided it

wasn't really what I wanted to do and that what I wanted to do wouldn't earn me much money, so I

gave up working and luckily I had a private income from my family to support me and now I do

the things I want to do. Some of them get paid like lecturing and teaching, and others don't.

Matthew: What are the advantages of not having to go to work from nine till five

Michael: Ah... there're two advantages really. One is that if you feel tired you don't have to get up,

and the other is that you can spend your time doing things you want to do rather than being forced

to do the same thing all the time.

Matthew: But surely that's in a sense very self-indulgent and very lucky because most of us have

to go out and earn our livings. Do you feel justified in having this privileged position

Michael: Yes, because I think I use it well. I do things which I think are useful to people and the

community and which I am enjoying doing.

Matthew: Chris, what do you think the value of work is

Chris: Well, I think in our present-day society, for most people, work has very little value at all.

Most of us go out to work for about eight to nine hours of our waking day. We do things which are

either totally futile and totally useless or have very little justification whatsoever, and for most of

us the only reason for working is that we need to keep ourselves alive, to pay for somewhere to

live, to pay to feed our children.

Matthew: But surely people wouldn't know what to do if they didn't have to go to work

Chris: Well, again this raises the sort of two main aspects of work. Should we think of work only

as

a

sort

of

bread-winning

process,

and

this

is

very

much

the

role

it

has

in

current

society,

or

should we take a much wider perspective on work and think of all the possible sort of activities