Q: What do we learn from the conversation?

18. W: This picnic should beat the last one we went to, doesn’t it?

M: Oh, yeah, we had to spend the whole time inside. Good thing, the weather was cooperative this time.

What do we learn about the speakers from the conversation?

Long Conversation

Conversation One

M: When I say I live in Sweden, people always want to know about the seasons.

W: The seasons?

M: Yeah, you know how cold it is in winter? What is it like when the days are so short?

W: So what is it like?

M: Well, it is cold ,very cold in winter. Sometimes it is cold as 26 degrees below centigrade. And of course when you go out, you’ll wrap up warm. But inside in the houses it’s always very warm, much warmer than at home. Swedish people always complain that when they visit England, the houses are cold even in the good winter.

W: And what about the darkness?

M: Well, yeah, around Christmas time there’s only one hour of daylight, so you really looks forward to the spring. It is sometimes a bit depressing. But you see the summers are amazing, from May to July in the North of Sweden the sun never sets. It’s still light in the midnight. You can walk in the mountains and read a newspaper.

W: Oh, yeah, the land of the midnight sun.

M: Yeah, that’s right, but it’s wonderful. You won’t stay up all night. And the Swedes makes most of it often they started work earlier in summer and then leave at about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, so that they can really enjoy the long summer evenings. They’d like to work hard, but play hard, too. I think Londoners work longer hours, but I’m not sure this is a good thing.

Q19: What do we learn about the man from the conversation?

Q20: What do Swedish people complain about when they visit England in winter?

Q21: How does the man describe the short hour of daylight around Christmas in Sweden?

Q21: What does the man say about the Swedish people?

Conversation Two

W: What kind of training does one need to go into this type of job?

M: That’s a very good question. I don’t think there is any, specifically.

W: For example, in your case, what was your educational background?

M: Well, I did a degree in French at Nottingham. After that, I did careers work in secondary schools like the careers guidance people. Here is in the university. Then I went into local government because I found I was more interested in the administrative side. Then progressed on to universities. So there wasn’t any plan and there was no specific training. There are plenty of training courses in management techniques and committee work which you can attend now.

W: But in the first place, you did a French degree.

M: In my time, there wasn’t a degree you could do for administration. I think most of the administrators I’ve come across have degrees and all sorts of things.

W: Well, I know in my case, I did an English literature degree and I didn’t really expect to end up doing what I am doing now.

M: Quite.

W: But you are local to Nottingham, actually? Is there any reason why you went to Nottingham University?

M: No, no, I come from the north of England, from west Yorkshire. Nottingham was one of the universities I put on my list. And I like the look of it. The campus is just beautiful.

W: Yes, indeed. Let’s see. Were you from the industrial part of Yorkshire?

M: Yes, from the Woolen District.

Q23. What was the man’s major at university?

Q24: What was the man’s job in secondary schools?

Q25: What attracted the man to Nottingham University?

Section B

Passage One

While Gail Obcamp, an American artist was giving a speech on the art of Japanese brush painting to an audience that included visitors from Japan, she was confused to see that many of her Japanese listeners have their eyes closed. Were they tuned off because an American had the nerve to instruct Japanese in their own art form or they deliberately tried to signal their rejection of her? Obcamp later found out that her listeners were not being disrespectful. Japanese listeners sometimes closed their eyes to enhance concentration. Her listeners were showing their respect for her by chewing on her words. Some day you may be either a speaker or a listener in a situation involving people from other countries or members of minority group in North America. Learning how different cultures signal respect can help you avoid misunderstandings. Here are some examples. In the deaf culture of North America, many listeners show applause not by clapping their hands but by waving them in the air. In some cultures, both overseas and in some minority groups in North America, listeners are considered disrespectful if they look directly at the speaker. Respect is shown by looking in the general direction but avoiding direct eye contact. In some countries, whistling by listeners is a sign of approval while in other courtiers it is a form of insult.

Questions:

26, What did Obcamp’s speech focus on?

27, Why do Japanese listeners sometimes close their eyes while listening to a speech?

28, What does the speaker try to explain?

Passage Two

Chris is in charge of purchasing and maintaining equipment in his Division at Taxlong Company. He is soon going to have an eva luation interview with his supervisor and the personnel director to discuss the work he has done in the past year. Salary, promotion and plans for the coming year will also be discussed at the meeting. Chris has made several changes for his Division in the past year. First, he bought new equipment for one of the departments. He has been particularly happy about the new equipment because many of the employees have told him how much it has helped them. Along with improving the equipment, Chris began a program to train employees to use equipment better and do simple maintenance themselves. The training saved time for the employees and money for the company. Unfortunately, one serious problem developed during the year. Two employees the Chris hired w