2022-2023学年福建省厦门市湖滨片区高三上学期期中考试英语试题 听力

这是一份2022-2023学年福建省厦门市湖滨片区高三上学期期中考试英语试题 听力，共18页。
厦门市湖滨片区2022-2023学年高三上学期期中考试
英语试卷
考试时间：120分钟
本试卷分五部分，共12页。满分150分，时间120分钟，试卷附有答题卡。
注意事项：
1. 答卷前，考生务必将自己的姓名、考生号等填写在答题卡上。
2. 回答选择题时，选出每小题答案后，用铅笔把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。如需改动，用橡皮擦干净后，再选涂其他答案标号。回答非选择题时，将答案写在答题卡上，写在本试卷上无效。
3. 考试结束后，将本试卷和答题卡一并交回。
第一部分 听力理解（共两节，满分30分）
第一节（共5小题；每小题1.5分，满分7.5分）
听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。
1. What does the woman prefer to do?
A. Work out alone. B. Exercise with someone. C. Eat breakfast at the café.
2. What does Heather do?
A. A writer. B. A teacher. C. A doctor.
3. Why is the girl upset?
A. She has no friends now.
B. Her mother is out of work.
C. Her family is about to move.
4. What was the weather like in the Lake District on their holiday?
A. Snowy. B. Sunny. C. Rainy.
5. Where does the conversation take place?
A. Over the phone. B. In a hospital. C. On a beach.
第二节（共15小题；每小题1.5分，满分22.5分）
听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。
听下面一段对话，回答第6和第7两个小题。
6. Why did the man take all the glass back home?
A. There was no space in the bottle bank.
B. The glass was broken.
C. The bottle bank was closed.
7. What does the woman suggest the man do?
A. Leave the glass on the ground.
B. Make a complaint to a newspaper.
C. Empty the bottle bank more often.
听下面一段对话，回答第8和第9两个小题。
8. What are the speakers talking about?
A. Going out for sightseeing.
B. Moving into a new house.
C. Entertaining guests this weekend.
9. What will the man do tomorrow?
A. Work in his garden. B. Do some shopping. C. Have a barbecue.
听下面一段对话，回答第10至第12三个小题。
10. What mistake did the woman make?
A. She only sent one kind of desks.
B. She sent the desks to a wrong place.
C. She forgot to send the replacements.
11. What did HDC ask the speakers to do?
A. Apologize to them. B. Replace all the desks. C. Give their money back.
12. How will the woman solve the problem?
A. Explain to them face to face.
B. Call them for their forgiveness.
C. Invite them to visit the company.
听下面一段对话，回答第13至第16四个小题。
13. Where did the woman go from China?
A. Thailand. B. India. C. Egypt.
14. How long did the woman’s trip last?
A. Two weeks. B. Five months. C. Half a year.
15. Why did the man plan to go to Brazil last year?
A. To visit his parents. B. To look for a job. C. To have a business trip.
16. What will the man do for the woman?
A. Offer her some food.
B. Find her a place to live.
C. Introduce her to his friend.
听下面一段独白，回答第17至第20四个小题。

17. When is Sweetest Day?
A. The second Saturday in October.
B. The third Saturday in October.
C. The third Sunday in October.
18. What is the purpose of Sweetest Day?
A. To make friends.
B. To make someone happy.
C. To make cities more beautiful.
19. Who did the Cleveland man help?
A. His friends and relatives.
B. The aged and his neighbors.
C. The city’s orphans and patients.
20. How did the Cleveland man start Sweetest Day?
A. By offering hugs.
B. By giving away small gifts.
C. By distributing some cash.

第二部分 阅读 （共两节，满分50分）
第一节 （15个小题，每题2.5分，满分37.5分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
Wonder Plates
A unique, personalised gift!
Wonder Plates offers you a unique gift opportunity- a personalised ceramic(陶瓷的）plate! Each plate contains a special message from you to your best friend or loved one. All you have to do is follow these three steps:
Step 1
On an A4 sheet of paper write a personal message. Write it exactly as you want it to appear on the plate. We recommend a typewritten printout. The message should not be more than 50 words.
Step 2
Select one of our 10 plate colour options and a design from one of our 12 design patterns.
Step 3
Sign the attached form, enclose your personal message, and send these to us together with your payment. Please send only money orders or cheques. Do not send cash.
Charges
The charge for a standard-sized plate is $ 20 regardless of the colour you choose. A fixed charge of $100 per plate for the design and printing of the message is also payable. For orders of two to four plates, customers may get a 15% discount. For orders of five to ten plates, the cost of per plate is reduced to $12 and the design and printing of the message is just $75 per plate.
Delivery
Once we receive your order and payment your plate(s) will be sent via regular mail. Delivery can be expected within 14 business days. If you require a faster delivery time, please fill in the Urgent Form and send an additional $30 (guaranteed 3-day delivery). We guarantee your satisfaction, but if for some reason you are not satisfied with our product or service, please fill in the Consumer Feedback Form and send it to our Customer Service department. Alternatively, you may call one of our friendly Customer Service Officers at 122523.
21. What are you expected to do if you want such a plate?
A. Write at most 50 words on an A4 sheet of paper.
B. Type your message and send it by e-mail.
C. Choose your favorite colour from 12 options.
D. Pay in the form of cheques or cash.
22. How much should you pay for six ceramic plates?
A. $480. B. $522. C. $612. D. $720.
23. What can be learned about the faster delivery?
A. You need to call 122523.
B. You should pay an extra fee of $14.
C. You have to buy two or more plates.
D. You can receive your order within 3 days.
B
People are often surprised by my fear of blood and needles. Working in a public health unit, I probably have more daily interaction with syringes (注射器) than the average person. But the truth is, having my blood drawn scares me.
When I was 9, I had an extremely high temperature. A nurse rudely stuck the needle into my arm, causing a sharp pain. I avoided having blood taken from my body for the next years. A few months before I turned 30, my doctor ordered a blood test as part of my physical exam. I panicked. Sensing my fear, she gently suggested I see a psychiatrist (精神科医生). “Dr. M helped my other patients with the same fear,” she said.
When Dr. M called to set up an appointment, I hesitated. Talking about personal problems to a medically licensed stranger was uncommon in my family. “A psychiatrist?” Mother asked. “He’ll just put you on drugs. Can’t you get over this yourself?” I almost listened. But I went to Dr. M’s clinic finally. “Phobias (恐惧症) are pretty easy to treat,” he said. I wasn’t convinced of his words. But despite my doubts, I was running out of options.
We started with basic exposure treatment. I watched videos of blood being drawn every day. As I started to feel more at ease with needles, Dr. M suggested drawing blood. As he gently pressed the needle into my flesh, I felt dizzy and breathed deeply. After a few minutes, I looked at the needle. It wasn’t so bad. I didn’t pass out. “You’re doing well,” Dr. M said.
I still find it unpleasant getting blood drawn, but thanks to several months of treatment, I’m less scared. I hate to admit it, but Dr. M is right — phobias can be treated. Sometimes, we have to leave our comfort zone and face our fears. And this can lead to freedom in the end.
24. What caused the author’s phobia?
A. Her sensitivity to pains.
B. Her bad medical experience.
C. Her anxiety about the blood test.
D. Her regular contact with syringes.
25. What was the author’s mother’s attitude toward her appointment with Dr. M?
A. Optimistic. B. Objective. C. Supportive. D. Disapproving.
26. What can we know about the author’s treatment?
A. It was smoother than expected.
B. It eased the author’s pain totally.
C. It centered on watching videos.
D. It cost the author a great deal of money.
27. Which can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Walk toward what scares us
B. Bravery brings us a happier life
C. Ups and downs make one strong
D. Nurse our mental health carefully
C
In a paper published recently in Nature Communications, the authors, including experts from China’s Tsinghua University, said that most of the current electricity demand in advanced, industrialized nations can be met by some combination of wind and solar power. “Wind and solar could meet more than 80 percent of demand in many places without crazy amounts of storage or additional generating ability, which is the critical point (临界点),” said co-author Steve Davis, UCI professor of Earth system science, “if we want to have a zero-carbon emission (排放) future without using fossil energy resources”.
The team analyzed 39 years’ worth of hourly energy demand data from 42 major countries to evaluate the adequacy of wind and solar power resources to serve their needs. They found that a full shift to sustainable power resources can be easier for lower-latitude (低纬度的) countries, which can rely on solar power availability throughout the year. The researchers highlighted Germany as an example of a relatively smaller country, in terms of land mass, at higher latitude which will make it more challenging to meet its electricity needs with wind and solar resources.
“Historic data show that countries which are farther from the equator (赤道) can occasionally experience periods during which there is very limited solar and wind power availability,” said lead author Dan Tong, assistant professor of Earth system science at Tsinghua University. “One recent occurrence of this phenomenon in Germany lasted for two weeks, forcing Germans to turn to dispatchable (可调度的) generation, which in many cases is provided by fossil fuel-burning plants.” Among the approaches the researchers suggested to alleviate this problem are building up generating capacity, developing long-term storage capabilities and pooling resources of multiple nations on a continental land mass to make the burden lighter to a certain country.
“Europe provides a good example to help people produce net-zero carbon electricity,” said Tong. “A lot of consistency and reliability could be provided by a system that includes solar resources from Spain, Italy and Greece with plentiful wind available in the Netherlands, Denmark and the Baltic region.
28. What does Steve Davis imply by saying “critical point”?
A. Electricity demand will be beyond human control in the future.
B. Carbon emission will be reduced by using wind and solar power.
C. Electricity generating can be replaced by wind and solar power.
D. Fossil energy will be used with zero-carbon emissions in the future.
29. What can make a country rely on solar power all the year?
A. Having a large land of its own.
B. Having a small population.
C. Being developed in all respects.
D. Being located near the equator.
30. What does the underlined word “alleviate” in paragraph 3 mean?
A. Ease. B. Stress. C. Accept. D. Arrange.
31. What can we learn from Tong’s words in the last paragraph?
A. People can solve increasing energy demand in the future like Europe.
B. Most countries in Europe have a lot of solar resources to make electricity.
C. Countries like Spain, Italy and Greece have plenty wind resources.
D. Europe has done a good job in producing net-zero carbon electricity.
D
Over the past decades, experts have done a considerable amount of research to explore different ways to encourage children’s learning. Especially, there has been a common focus on how physical activity, separated from the learning activities, can improve children’s learning. However, there has been less of a focus aimed at the potential of integrating (合并) physical activity into the learning activities.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen conducted the Basketball Mathematics study at five Danish primary and elementary schools. The main purpose of it was to develop a learning activity that integrates basketball and mathematics and examine how it might affect children’s motivation for mathematics.
756 children from 40 different classes participated in the project, where about half of them — once a week for six weeks — had Basketball Mathematics during gym class, while the other half played basketball without mathematics.
“During classes with Basketball Mathematics, the children had to collect numbers and perform calculations associated with various basketball exercises. An example could be counting how many times they could sink a basket from three meters away vs at a one-meter distance, and adding up the numbers. Both the math and basketball elements could be adjusted to suit the children’s levels, as well as being adjusted for whether it was addition, multiplication or some other operations that needed to be practiced,” explains Linn Damsgaard, a leading researcher.
The results showed that children’s motivation for math integrated with basketball was 16% higher compared to classroom math learning. Children also experienced a 14% increase in self-determination compared with classroom teaching. Meanwhile Basketball Mathematics improved their math confidence.
“We are planning to do research to examine whether the Basketball Mathematics model can strengthen performance in mathematics. Once we have the final results, we hope that they will inspire school teachers and principals to prioritize (优先处理) more physical activity and movement in such subjects. Eventually, we hope to succeed in putting these tools into school system and teacher education,” says Associate Professor Jacob Wienecke.
32. What is the purpose of paragraph 1?
A. To show the advantage of the study. B. To explain the reason for the study.
C. To conduct a review of past research. D. To introduce a way to raise math grades.
33. What can we learn about the study?
A. Kids couldn’t enjoy basketball in the process.
B. Kids were divided into 40 groups.
C. It required kids to do math after playing basketball.
D. It tailored activities to different kids.
34. What effect does basketball have on the participants?
A. More motivation for exercise. B. More confidence in basketball.
C. A gain in desire to learn math. D. A rise in determination to learn.
35. How does Jacob Wienecke expect the study to help educators?
A. Make math learning easier. B. Inspire students’ math confidence.
C. Build physical activity into teaching. D. Notice the benefits of physical exercise.

第二节(共5小题;每小题2.5分，满分12.5分)
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
You have been told more than once to gain greater confidence and believe your best days may still lie ahead. Now I tell you some secrets of improving confidence.
When you look good, you feel good. So take pride in your appearance. Make it a point to practice good hygiene (卫生), and get dressed each morning like you are going to work.
36 Then you’ll find that your opinion of yourself becomes more positive.
Activities like learning to paint or play an instrument, studying a foreign language, and taking dance lessons or writing classes help inspire the natural desire to learn and master a new skill.
37 But it shows you can still accomplish new things and find enjoyment in them. This also reminds you that it’s okay to make mistakes, so you can improve and grow, which helps build self-confidence.
38 Find a fitness challenge that you need to overcome, create a plan, and then work to meet that goal. Any form of exercise is beneficial for both physical and mental health. Regular exercise also helps you build confidence, while setting a challenge with mini-goals along the way lets you experience the wonderful feeling of accomplishment.
It’s not easy to go out and interact with people as you age. 39 Lack of confidence can make socializing a challenge, so it is a good idea to volunteer. Choose something you enjoy that also provides personal interaction and gives you a chance to use your available skills.
Help from your friends and teachers allows you to work through barriers that affect confidence. Never be afraid to seek help when you need it. 40
A. Face new challenges bravely.
B. Challenge yourself physically.
C. Being a beginner again is tough.
D. It’s always a good thing to help each other.
E. Make efforts to improve your appearance.
F. You will improve your confidence instantly.
G. And this is even harder when you feel less confident.

第三部分 语言运用 （共三节，满分30分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Five years ago, I left my job to work on a ship. My friends said that working on a ship would _____41_____my career, but I was willing to take the risk.
____42____ for the adventure, I boarded a ship with 2,000 passengers and crew. To my ____43____, the ship was well equipped. That first voyage was a learning experience. There was so much new information to 44 . Even remembering which uniform to wear each day was a 45 . The most confusing thing was that I often forgot to 46 my clock when the ship crossed time zones.
As a doctor, I was 47 for the 600 crew. The ship’s medical center was ____48____ a floating emergency room, and we didn’t have a team of specialists for a second 49 . With long hours’ work, it required a strong will.
As many of the passengers were elderly, heart attacks could 50 anywhere and emergency evacuations (疏散) were difficult to arrange. I remember one such patient, who was taken off the ship halfway. After a(n) 51 ride in an old ambulance, I was relieved that the patient arrived at a hospital safely.
Thankfully, the job had several unexpected benefits to me. I 52 the passenger facilities and I even 53 as a tour guide on trips ashore.
Now, I understand being a doctor on a ship is not a job － it’s a way of 54 . I lose my career ambition, 55 I know what happiness is in my life.
41. A. block B. build C. ruin D. improve
42. A. Hungry B. Skillful C. Suitable D. Thankful
43. A. anger B. disappointment C. scare D. relief
44. A. take in B. figure out C. give up D. pass on
45. A. lesson B. risk C. challenge D. choice
46. A. watch B. repair C. check D. set
47. A. powerful B. responsible C. helpful D. grateful
48. A. probably B. especially C. certainly D. actually
49. A. examination B. argument C. opinion D. movement
50. A. happen B. break C. stop D. disappear
51. A. amazing B. boring C. exciting D. scaring
52. A. cleaned B. enjoyed C. fixed D. protected
53. A. volunteered B. travelled C. refused D. returned
54. A. confidence B. life C. experience D. business
55. A. though B. unless C. but D. or
第二节 （共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分）
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Technology is amazing when it keeps people connected but it comes at a price. Staring down at your phone or computer for long periods of time 56 (put) great tension (紧张) on your neck. You might feel pain in your neck and shoulders. When 57 (leave) untreated, it leads to what is called “tech neck”.
58 (fortunate), there are a few simple steps to help you. 59 (begin) with, limit the amount of time you spend on your phone or computer. Develop the habit of taking 60___________ three-minute break every 15-20 minutes when you use your phone or computer. Do neck exercises meanwhile.
It is equally important to use proper 61 (equip) for computer work. Having an adjustable chair is 62 _(benefit). It helps you maintain the good posture and provides adequate support for your neck while you are sitting. It is also recommended 63 you buy neck support pillows and neck collars. They may help relieve your pain and allow your neck to recover slowly over time.
If your tech neck problems keep worsening, then it is time to seek help from a qualified health professional. As a general rule, the sooner you seek treatment, the 64 (likely) it is that you will succeed 65 treating the problem.

第四部分 写作(共两节，满分40分)
第一节 书面表达 (满分15分)
假定你是李华，你校英文报现正在招聘编辑，负责撰写中国传统文化板块的文章。请你写封信，申请该职位。内容包括：
1 .写信目的；
2.优势、特长。
注意:
1.词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear sir/madam,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your sincerely,
Li Hua

第二节 读后续写（满分25分）
阅读下面材料，根据所给情节和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
Sally had trouble speaking in social situations. I’m a registered nurse and I love kids and dogs. I wanted to use Bella to bring her joy, comfort and confidence the way only a dog can.
That morning in January, her teacher led us to a room by the school office. “Sally hasn’t spoken outside her home in the last two years,” she told me. “Her parents have taken her to doctors, but nothing has worked.” A little girl stood shyly just inside the doorway. Her eyes brightened when noticing my dog.
“This is Isabella Rose. I call her Bella,” I said. “Would you like to pet her? She doesn’t know anyone here and she’d like to meet you. She does tricks. Would you like to see?”
Sally nodded. I motioned with my hand. Bella lay down and then rolled over. Sally’s eyes cheered up. “She’ll do it for you too,” I said. “I can teach you.”
I showed Sally the hand signals for various commands. She was a natural with Bella. Soon Sally was able to take Bella at her pace all on her own. I could see her standing taller, more sure of herself each time we met.
One morning, when she was working with Bella, I heard a tiny voice, barely a whisper: “Good dog.” Sally didn’t take her eyes off Bella, but I wanted to jump for joy. Sally spoke a little more each week, only to Bella at first, but then to me. Later, she started giving voice commands with her hand signals and her confidence rose. Still, she hadn’t spoken in her classroom.
“Could you bring Bella to my class and show the other kids her tricks?” Sally asked me one day. An idea struck me. “Why don’t you do it?” I said. “I know you can. You’re as good with Bella as I am.” Now, Sally stood nervously in front of her kindergarten class, with Bella sitting calmly by her side. Her classmates focused on Sally, waiting for her to speak.
注意： 1. 续写词数应为 150 左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
But not a word came out. _____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
The next week, Sally told me she wanted to try again, looking up at me with determination.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
厦门市湖滨片区2022-2023学年高三上学期期中考试
英语参考答案
第一部分 听力
1—5 BACCA 6—10 ABCBA 11—15 CAABC 16—20 CBBCB
阅读【答案】
21-23. ABD
24-27 BDAA
28-31 BDAD
32-35 BDCC
36-40 ECBGD
完形【答案】
41. C 42. A 43. D 44. A 45. C 46. D 47. B 48. D 49. C 50. A 51. D 52. B 53. A 54. B 55. C
语法填空
【解析】
【分析】这是一篇说明文。现在许多人都患有颈椎病，造成的原因主要是手机和电脑等电子产品的过度使用，文章介绍了一些缓解颈部紧张的方法。
【61题详解】
考查主谓一致。此处是句子谓语动词，本文讲述一般事实，故用一般现在时，动名词短语Staring down at your phone or computer for long periods of time作主语看作第三人称单数，故谓语动词用三单现形式，故填puts。
【62题详解】
考查状语从句的省略。分析句子可知，此处是状语从句的省略形式，完整的句子为When it is left untreated, it leads to what is called “tech neck”.，当主从句主语一致，且从句有be时，可省略从句的主语和be，所以省略后的从句是When left untreated, 故填left。
【63题详解】
考查副词。从应填副词作状语，故填Fortunately。
【64题详解】
考查固定短语。此处考查短语to begin with“首先”，故填To begin。
【65题详解】
考查冠词。此处考查短语take a break“休息”，three是辅音音素开头，故填a。
【66题详解】
考查名词。此处应填equip的名词形式作为use的宾语，故填equipment。
【67题详解】
考查副词。从应填benefit的形容词作为表语，故填beneficial。
【68题详解】
考查宾语从句。分析句子可知，此处宾语从句连接词，从句you buy neck support pillows and neck collars成分和意义都完整，应用连接词that，故填that。
【69题详解】
考查形容词比较级。此处考查固定句型“the + 比较级，the + 比较级”意为“越……越……”，故填more likely。
【70题详解】
考查介词。succeed搭配 in.
应用文
Dear sir/madam (称谓)
I am really delighted to learn that a new editor in charge of articles based on traditional Chinese culture (职位) is required, and I feel this position (职位或机会) is specially tailored to me.
To start with, my advantage first lies in the fact that I have a good command of English, which I believe is a basic requirement for this job (优势一) . Furthermore, in my spare time, I prefer to read English newspapers, which contributes to my progress in writing (优势二) . Finally, there is no problem with my knowledge about Chinese culture, as I am crazy about everything to do with Chinese culture. I often talk with my foreign friends and introduce Chinese culture to them (优势三) .
I do hope my enthusiasm and qualification (资质或能力) will win me a favorable consideration from your side. Should you need any details related to my application, feel free to contact me at 123456@df.com (联系方式).
Keenly anticipate your prompt reply.
Your sincerely,
Li Hua
读后续写
【答案】Paragraph 1:
But not a word came out. Sally had been so excited about putting on a dog show for her class. She had been quite familiar with the hand signals and had practiced for weeks. Now her eyes found mine. I nodded encouragingly. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth. Her mouth — then her whole body — seemed to close in on itself in defeat. Sally stood off to the side, head down. I felt awful. Sally returned to her seat, not looking at anyone, not even Bella.
Paragraph 2:
The next week, she told me she wanted to try again, looking up at me with determination. “Are you sure?” I asked. “You don’t want to wait till next year?” “No,” she said. “Today, I can do it.” Then we headed to Sally’s classroom. The kids were sitting in a circle on the floor listening to the teacher. We walked to the front of the room. I shook Sally’s hands and stepped back. For a few seconds, she stood silently, staring at her classmates. Finally she whispered, “This is Isabella Rose.” Then, a little louder with more confidence, “Isabella Rose.”
听力材料
Text 1
M: Hey, do you want to go to the gym with me on Saturday?
W: Sure! When I try to go by myself, I always end up at the café eating brunch instead. I have no motivation to work out alone, so I’m glad you asked!
Text 2
W: Good morning, Dr. Cruz.
M: Hello, Mrs. Moore. Who’s your visitor?
W: Oh, this is my daughter, Heather. She’s a writer and her husband’s a teacher.
Text 3
M: What’s wrong, Rachel? You aren’t looking yourself!
W: My mum’s got a job in Liverpool! I’ve finally made friends after years of loneliness here. Now off we go again. Why can’t my mum have a steady job?
Text 4
M: Home at last! That was the last time we had a holiday in the Lake District.
W: It was beautiful! At least it didn’t snow.
M: I would have preferred snow to constant rain. We had never seen the sun there!
Text 5
W: San Francisco General Hospital.
M: Hello. This is an emergency. Can you please send an ambulance?
W: OK, OK. Just try to calm down, sir. And tell me where you are.
M: Right. Uh, we are at La Traviata Restaurant in North Beach.
Text 6
M: I went to the bottle bank (玻璃瓶回收站) today, and guess what, it was completely full!
W: Oh, that’s a shame. Did you have to bring all the glass home again?
M: Yes. There was a sign saying not to leave anything on the ground. I really don’t understand why they can’t empty it more often. What’s the point of having a bottle bank if you can’t put any bottles into it?
W: You’re right. Maybe you should write a letter to a newspaper about that.
Text 7
W: Harry, guess what! I’ve just received an email from Pamela. She and Peter are coming down to see us this weekend.
M: Oh, that’s good news! We haven’t seen them for ages.
W: Yeah. The last time we met them was at our wedding three years ago.
M: Did Pamela mention how long they’ll stay?
W: About one week.
M: Great! I can’t wait to show them around our new house.
W: Me too. We haven’t had any guests since we moved in here. If the weather is fine, we can have a barbecue in the garden.
M: Good idea. I’ll go to the market tomorrow to buy all the things we’ll need.
Text 8
M: Tina, I’m sorry to bother you. But I’m afraid there is a big problem.
W: Oh, what’s up then?
M: You told me last week that you would deal with the faulty desks returned by HDC, one of our local customers.
W: Yes, that’s right. I did send them the replacements for all the desks last Monday.
M: Well, the thing is, did you realize there were two kinds of faulty desks? The customer only received one kind of desks.
W: Oh dear, I didn’t realize there were two kinds. I’ll send them the other kind right away.
M: The problem is that now they want to get their money back.
W: Oh dear, that’s really bad. I’ll phone them now and explain everything. I’m really sorry about this.
M: That’s all right. There’s still time to solve the problem. I think it would be best to visit them and explain the mistake face to face.
W: OK. I’ll make arrangements and visit them as soon as possible. Sorry again!
Text 9
M: How was your trip?
W: Great! I went all over the world. I started out in Germany and then made my way to Spain and France. After Europe, I went to Egypt and Turkey, then over to India and China. From China, I traveled to Thailand and Indonesia, then spent some time in Australia. I was planning on going to South America, but I ran out of money.
M: How long were you gone for? It felt like years.
W: Almost half a year. I was gone for five months. It was amazing, and I learned so much about myself and the world around me.
M: A few years ago, I spent two weeks in England and Ireland, but that’s it. I almost went to Brazil for work last year, but my boss changed his mind. What are you up to now that you’re home?
W: I have to find a place to live. Right now, I’m staying with my parents. I also have to find a job.
M: What kind of job are you looking for?
W: Anything in the food business.
M: I have a friend who works at a nice restaurant. I can introduce you to him.
W: Great!
Text 10
W: Sweetest Day is always the third Saturday in October. This holiday is much more important in some regions than in others (Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo are the biggest Sweetest Day cities). But this holiday is gaining in popularity every year throughout the country. Sweetest Day is celebrated to make someone happy. It is an occasion which offers an opportunity to remember not only the sick, aged, and orphaned, but also friends and relatives. Over 60 years ago, a Cleveland man, believing that the city’s orphans and patients too often felt forgotten, formed in the mind an idea of showing them that they were not. He did this by the distribution of small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he distributed them on a Saturday in October. In the years that followed, other residents began to participate in the event, which came to be called “Sweetest Day”. In time, the Day became an occasion for acknowledging others with a kind act or a small remembrance. Soon the idea began spreading to other cities all over the country.