[00:12.38]MODEL TEST 8
[00:15.31]Section A
[00:17.63]Directions:
[00:19.28]In this section,
[00:20.71]you will hear 8 short conversations
[00:23.33]and 2 long conversations.
[00:25.78]At the end of each conversation,
[00:28.18]one or more questions will be
[00:30.38]asked about what was said.
[00:32.56]Both the conversation
[00:34.30]and the questions
[00:35.35]will be spoken only once.
[00:37.72]After each question
[00:39.59]there will be a pause.
[00:41.48]During the pause,
[00:42.97]you must read the four choices
[00:45.07]marked A), B), C) and D),
[00:49.03]and decide which is the best answer.
[00:51.95]Then mark the corresponding letter
[00:54.82]on Answer Sheet 2
[00:57.04]with a single line
[00:58.31]through the center.
[00:59.91]Now let's begin with
[01:02.28]the 8 short conversations.
[01:05.36]11. W: Why have you come here, Bill?
[01:08.42]It is very late.
[01:10.08]I heard the clock had already
[01:11.86]stricken eleven a few minutes ago.
[01:14.22]M: I came to see you, Helen.
[01:16.17]I heard you were very ill,
[01:18.24]and I could not sleep
[01:20.12]until I had spoken to you.
[01:21.91]Q: Why did the man come
[01:23.27]to see the woman?
[01:39.62]12. W: Councilor Manion,
[01:42.94]what do you think of
[01:44.48]the increasingly heavy traffic
[01:46.39]in the town?
[01:47.63]Surely it would be a good idea
[01:50.03]if the traffic in the town
[01:51.64]were banned altogether.
[01:53.11]M: I wouldn’t go along
[01:54.38]with you there.
[01:56.16]Q: What’s the most likely relationship
[01:58.48]between the two speakers?
[02:15.19]13. M: Would you like to
[02:18.74]come out for a drink, Jane?
[02:20.40]W: Thank you,
[02:21.21]but could I let you know
[02:22.48]in a few minutes?
[02:23.68]I’m not sure if
[02:24.47]I’ve finished my work for today.
[02:26.55]Q: Where does this conversation
[02:29.07]most probably take place?
[02:45.96]14. M: Now that you’ve been to
[02:50.10]so many countries,
[02:51.53]you must be able to speak
[02:52.87]several different languages.
[02:54.39]W: I wish I could,
[02:56.06]but to be honest with you,
[02:57.72]I’ve only learnt to
[02:59.09]speak Spanish and Italian.
[03:01.45]Q: What did the woman say about
[03:04.22]her knowledge of foreign languages?
[03:21.52]15. W: It was a real bargain.
[03:26.32]That used tape recorder is
[03:28.41]in good condition and cost me
[03:30.61]only 50 dollars,
[03:32.35]barely one third
[03:33.79]the price of a new one.
[03:35.70]M: You don’t say!
[03:37.33]I can’t believe it.
[03:38.99]Q: What is the price of
[03:40.59]a new tape recorder of the same model?
[03:58.32]16. W: Wow! I thought that the change of
[04:04.06]the chef at our school restaurant
[04:06.34]might mean better food.
[04:08.39]M: I told you that
[04:09.70]you were being too optimistic.
[04:11.56]Sometimes it was salty or hard.
[04:15.50]Q: What did the woman think of
[04:17.53]the food at the school restaurant?
[04:33.70]17. W: Dr. Richards of Anatole Sports
[04:40.09]wants you to confirm his appointment
[04:42.04]on the 28th in the morning.
[04:44.10]M: Yes, that’s okay.
[04:46.03]Can you help me wire him?
[04:48.24]Q: What does the man
[04:49.54]ask the woman to do?
[05:05.99]18. W: I suppose you heard about
[05:10.15]that chunk of concrete falling onto a car
[05:13.32]in South Street yesterday,
[05:15.31]didn’t you, Ted? I saw the car,
[05:17.61]it was a complete wreck.
[05:20.32]M: Yes, I saw it in the paper.
[05:22.82]From a 250 feet high building,
[05:25.58]wasn’t it?
[05:26.87]Q: What happened to the car?
[05:43.92]Now you will hear the
[05:46.63]two long conversations.
[05:49.30]Conversation One
[05:52.54]W: Jerry, How have you been?
[05:54.12]M: Good. But I’m surprised
[05:56.55]to see you on the city bus.
[05:58.33]Is your car broken?
[05:59.87]W: No. I’ve just been thinking
[06:01.56]a lot about the environment lately.
[06:04.26]And I find the air will be
[06:05.97]a lot cleaner if we
[06:07.52]all use public transportation
[06:09.61]when we could.
[06:11.22]M: I’m sure you are right.
[06:12.55]But the diesel
[06:13.91]bus isn’t exactly pollution free.
[06:16.23]W: We were just talking about
[06:18.12]that in my environmental engineering class.
[06:21.07]M: What could people do?
[06:22.71]Install pollution filters in all their buses?
[06:25.90]W: They could,
[06:26.88]but those filters make the engines work harder
[06:30.21]and really cut down
[06:31.65]on the fuel efficiency. Instead
[06:34.34]they found a way to make their engines
[06:36.62]more efficient.
[06:37.79]M: How?
[06:38.90]W: Well, there is a material
[06:40.45]that’s a really good insulator.
[06:43.03]And a thin coat of it gets sprayed
[06:45.57]on the certain part of the engine.
[06:47.62]M: An insulator.
[06:48.85]W: Yeah. What it does is reflecting back
[06:52.25]the heat of burning fuel.
[06:54.08]So the fuel will burn much hotter
[06:56.42]and burn up more completely.
[06:59.03]M: So a lot less unburned fuel
[07:01.25]comes out to pollute the air.
[07:02.88]W: And the bus will need less fuel.
[07:04.84]So saving on fuel cost.
[07:07.16]M: Sounds like people should all go out
[07:09.63]and get some this stuff
[07:10.30]to spray their car engines.
[07:11.96]W: Well, it’s not really that easy.
[07:14.25]You see, normally,
[07:15.66]the materials are fine powder.
[07:18.01]To melt it so you can spray
[07:20.07]a coat of it on the engine parts,
[07:22.08]you first have to
[07:23.30]heat it over 10 000 degrees
[07:26.34]and then ..., well,
[07:28.03]you get the idea.
[07:29.34]It’s not something you
[07:30.77]or I will be able to do ourselves.
[07:33.71]Questions 19 to 21 are based
[07:37.04]on the conversation you have just heard.
[07:39.62]19. What is the conversation mainly about?
[07:59.44]20. Why did the woman
[08:02.92]decide to take the city bus?
[08:20.22]21. What can we learn about
[08:24.76]the new material?
[08:40.90]Conversation Two
[08:43.54]M: Hi, Lucy, what do you think of
[08:46.31]our Children’s Literature class?
[08:48.40]W: It looks pretty good.
[08:52.87]I was surprised to see you here.
[08:55.36]Are you also majoring
[08:56.82]in elementary education?
[08:58.71]M: No, I’m not,
[09:00.07]but as a psychology major,
[09:02.46]I can use this to fulfill
[09:04.01]the requirement in developmental psychology.
[09:06.47]W: Have you finished your
[09:07.98]first assignment yet?
[09:09.08]Our teacher said we should hand
[09:10.92]in the assignment on Tuesday.
[09:12.91]Ah, that’s tomorrow.
[09:14.95]M: Not yet.
[09:16.21]I just bought the books today.
[09:18.10]How about you?
[09:19.47]W: I started this afternoon.
[09:21.11]It’s great fun reading those wonderful
[09:24.15]children’s stories by Dr. Thews.
[09:26.64]M: Dr. Thews?
[09:27.97]I don’t remember seeing his name
[09:29.88]on the reading list.
[09:30.93]W: His full name is Theodore Thews Gaisle.
[09:33.85]That’s how it’s listed in the bibliography.
[09:36.41]Dr. Thews is his pen-name.
[09:38.87]M: I love reading those stories as a child.
[09:41.24]It’ll be interesting to read them
[09:43.61]now from a different perspective.
[09:45.24]I guess it’ll give me a good idea
[09:46.94]on how children think.
[09:48.45]W: Those stories are also great
[09:50.30]for classroom use.
[09:51.76]M: How is that?
[09:52.92]W: Well, take a typical Dr. Thews’ book
[09:55.77]like The Cat in the Hat.
[09:57.89]It has a controlled vocabulary
[10:00.10]of only 200 words.
[10:02.26]M: So that means the children
[10:03.96]get lots of practice
[10:05.34]in using a small number of words
[10:07.13]over and over.
[10:08.48]W: Exactly. In fact,
[10:10.30]The Cat in the Hat was written primarily
[10:13.09]to show how a controlled vocabulary
[10:15.36]reader could also find reading
[10:17.57]to be interesting and fun.
[10:19.95]M: Well, it sounds like all
[10:21.37]these courses are also going
[10:22.53]to be interesting and fun.
[10:23.88]I think I’ll get started
[10:25.06]on this reading list tonight.
[10:26.68]Questions 22 to 25 are based on
[10:30.79]the conversation you have just heard.
[10:33.80]22. What was the man’s major field of study?
[10:53.95]23. Why would the man
[10:57.78]read children’s stories?
[11:14.62]24. When did the conversation
[11:19.04]probably take place?
[11:35.74]25. What could be inferred
[11:40.03]about The Cat in the Hat?
[11:57.09]Section B
[12:01.10]Directions:
[12:02.52]In this section,
[12:03.92]you will hear 3 short passages.
[12:07.12]At the end of each passage,
[12:09.35]you will hear some questions.
[12:11.54]Both the passage
[12:12.99]and the questions will be
[12:14.85]spoken only once.
[12:17.46]After you hear a question,
[12:19.09]you must choose the best answer
[12:21.32]from the four choices
[12:23.19]marked A), B), C) and D).
[12:27.02]Then mark the corresponding letter
[12:29.99]on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line
[12:33.64]through the center.
[12:35.15]Passage One
[12:37.02]Margaret Mitchell,
[12:38.49]the renowned American novelist,
[12:40.59]is the author of the enormously popular novel
[12:43.17]Gone With the Wind.
[12:44.75]She grew up in Atlanta, Georigia.
[12:47.40]When her mother died in 1919,
[12:50.32]she returned home from college.
[12:52.35]Between 1922 and 1926 she was a writer
[12:56.98]and reporter for the Atlanta Journal.
[12:59.10]After an ankle injury in 1926
[13:02.35]she left the paper and,
[13:04.41]for the next 10 years,
[13:05.81]worked slowly on a romantic novel
[13:08.70]about the Civil War and Reconstruction
[13:11.13]as seen from a Southern point of view.
[13:13.51]The novel featured Scarlet O. Hara,
[13:15.99]a strong-willed heroine.
[13:17.55]From her family Mitchell
[13:19.73]has absorbed the history of the South,
[13:21.72]the tragedy of the war,
[13:23.18]and the romance of the Lost Cause.
[13:26.11]She worked at her novel
[13:27.76]in a scattered manner,
[13:28.87]composing episodes
[13:30.51]and later fitting them together
[13:32.03]into sequences.
[13:33.13]She did not think of publication at first,
[13:35.81]and for six years after the book
[13:37.94]was finished the novel wasn’t exposed
[13:40.27]to the public. But in 1935 Mitchell
[13:43.43]was persuaded to submit her manuscript
[13:45.44]for publication. It appeared in 1936
[13:48.79]as Gone With the Wind.
[13:50.64]Within six months 1 000 000 copies
[13:53.03]had been sold; 50 000 copies were sold
[13:56.17]in one day. It went on to sell more copies
[13:59.31]than any other novel in U. S.
[14:00.97]publishing history,
[14:02.35]with sales passing 12 million by 1965,
[14:05.94]and was eventually translated into
[14:08.58]25 languages and sold in 40 countries.
[14:12.34]It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.
[14:16.60]The book was soon adapted into a film,
[14:18.85]starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.
[14:21.65]The film won nine major Oscars
[14:23.98]and within two decades ranked
[14:26.55]as the top moneymaking film of all time.
[14:29.01]Mitchell, who never started another book,
[14:31.65]died after an automobile accident in 1949.
[14:35.68]Questions 26 to 28 are based on
[14:39.99]the passage you have just heard.
[14:42.42]26. Why did Margaret Mitchell
[14:46.60]leave the Atlanta Journal?
[15:03.62]27. How many copies of Gone With the Wind
[15:09.03]had been sold within six months
[15:11.78]after it appeared in 1936?
[15:28.90]28. How many major Oscars did the film
[15:34.59]Gone With the Wind win?
[15:51.93]Passage Two
[15:54.05]Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on Jan 29, 1954,
[16:00.45]in a farmer family. Oprah’s parents
[16:03.72]separated when she was young,
[16:05.48]leaving her to be raised
[16:07.28]by her strict grandmother.
[16:09.19]To amuse herself, Oprah began speaking
[16:11.94]and play acting at a very early age.
[16:15.34]As a child, her favorite hobby
[16:17.32]was reading.
[16:18.71]She began reading very early,
[16:20.63]and her interest
[16:21.82]in reading eventually developed into
[16:24.03]her lifelong combat against illiteracy.
[16:27.53]Her father encouraged Oprah to read
[16:29.40]and engaged her in discussions.
[16:31.53]He demanded that his daughter
[16:33.67]add five new words to her vocabulary
[16:36.39]before she could have dinner each day.
[16:39.04]Oprah Winfrey won a speech contest
[16:41.33]that guaranteed her a full scholarship
[16:43.84]to the University of Tennessee.
[16:46.17]She also received an invitation to
[16:48.39]the White House Conference on Youth.
[16:50.95]At Tennessee State, Winfrey entered
[16:53.57]and won several beauty contests.
[16:55.96]She was subsequently offered a position
[16:58.19]by the local CBS
[17:00.17]affiliate television station
[17:02.27]while she was still in college.
[17:04.40]After graduation in 1976,
[17:07.23]Winfrey accepted an offer
[17:09.01]from the ABC affiliate in Baltimore.
[17:12.15]She was then assigned to
[17:13.64]an early morning talk show.
[17:15.32]By 1985 her talk show was expanded
[17:18.65]and renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show.
[17:21.26]Winfrey attracted scores of viewers,
[17:24.10]primarily women. A frank interviewer,
[17:26.95]Winfrey was equally honest
[17:28.76]when talking about herself.
[17:30.86]For years, she shared her uphill battle
[17:33.42]with her weight with her fans.
[17:35.36]Not satisfied with her success
[17:37.75]as a TV show host,
[17:39.34]Winfrey also participated
[17:41.40]in movie making
[17:42.73]in the 1980s and wrote a cookbook
[17:45.55]in 1993 that became an immediate bestseller.
[17:50.33]As the most successful woman
[17:52.46]in entertainment in America,
[17:54.50]Oprah Winfrey’s extraordinary accomplishments
[17:57.60]are amazing by any standards.
[18:00.82]Questions 29 to 31 are based
[18:04.50]on the passage you have just heard.
[18:06.56]29. What happened to Oprah Winfrey’s
[18:11.24]parents when she was young?
[18:27.74]30. How did Oprah Winfrey
[18:31.80]get a full scholarship to
[18:33.46]the University of Tennessee?
[18:50.26]31. What are most of
[18:53.97]Oprah Winfrey’s viewers?
[19:11.06]Passage Three
[19:12.51]Good evening.
[19:13.76]Welcome to the first meeting
[19:15.67]of our spring cycling season.
[19:17.83]It’s pleasure to see so many
[19:19.56]new faces here. I certainly hope
[19:21.73]that most of you will soon feel right
[19:23.57]at home with our group and that
[19:25.28]bicycling will become a regular hobby
[19:27.31]for you and a part of
[19:28.87]your physical fitness routine.
[19:30.71]Some of you may not realize
[19:32.34]that the state of New Jersey offers
[19:34.23]ample opportunities for bicyclists
[19:36.31]of all abilities. We have rolling
[19:38.73]countryside, miles of beaches,
[19:41.22]lovely hills and valleys and thousands
[19:44.07]of miles of little-used roads.
[19:46.28]Beginners will find the shore
[19:48.58]and area south of Princeton suitable for
[19:50.86]their needs while expert riders will discover
[19:53.85]that the steep trails to the region
[19:55.71]around High Point offer a challenge
[19:57.73]to their skill and stamina.
[19:59.83]In addition, New Jersey is rich
[20:02.19]in places of historical interest.
[20:03.94]Most are carefully preserved.
[20:06.43]All have been meticulously restored.
[20:09.14]We organize tours to a variety
[20:11.66]of places nearly every weekend.
[20:13.60]Next, Saturday’s tour will be
[20:16.05]a relatively easy one,
[20:17.30]from Rutgers University to
[20:18.93]the Gate Way National Park.
[20:21.05]Interested cyclists should meet
[20:23.36]at eight a. m. in the parking lot
[20:25.26]at the corner of Hamilton Street
[20:26.80]and College Avenue in New Brunswick.
[20:29.26]The minimum time
[20:30.59]for this tour is about six hours.
[20:32.19]We will use a “buddy system”
[20:34.61]throughout the ride.
[20:35.79]Each new rider should team up
[20:37.65]with a more experienced rider.
[20:39.64]If the buddies looked after each other,
[20:41.97]we can be sure that
[20:43.23]no one will be left behind
[20:44.39]on the back roads.
[20:45.58]You can pick up a map of Saturday’s tour
[20:48.27]at the information table
[20:49.68]before you leave this evening.
[20:51.01]Questions 32 to 35 are based on
[20:55.51]the passage you have just heard.
[20:57.65]32. What is the passage
[21:01.64]mainly talk about?
[21:17.96]33. According to the speaker,
[21:22.43]what makes New Jersey
[21:24.07]a good place to bicycle?
[21:40.71]34. What will some of
[21:44.47]the listeners probably do on Saturday?
[22:02.07]35. What is the purpose
[22:06.19]of the “buddy system”?
[22:22.98]Section C
[22:24.97]Directions: In this section,
[22:28.12]you will hear a passage
[22:29.94]three times.
[22:31.69]When the passage is read
[22:33.11]for the first time,
[22:34.43]you should listen carefully
[22:36.29]for its general idea.
[22:38.37]When the passage is read
[22:39.68]for the second time,
[22:40.95]you are required to fill
[22:42.49]in the blanks numbered
[22:44.69]from 36 to 43
[22:47.27]with the exact words
[22:49.34]you have just heard.
[22:51.06]For blanks numbered
[22:52.37]from 44 to 46
[22:54.77]you are required to fill
[22:56.48]in the missing information.
[22:58.35]For these blanks,
[23:00.33]you can either use the exact words
[23:02.50]you have just heard
[23:03.74]or write down the main points
[23:06.29]in your own words.
[23:07.92]Finally, when the passage
[23:09.87]is read for the third time,
[23:11.66]you should check
[23:12.94]what you have written.
[23:14.46]Now listen to the passage.
[23:18.15]If you listen to American music,
[23:21.82]watch American television or read magazines,
[23:25.01]you will probably
[23:26.19]agree that the most popular
[23:28.05]subject of these forms
[23:29.86]of entertainment is love.
[23:31.93]Romantic love always finds an audience
[23:35.24]in the United States.
[23:36.87]Falling in love,
[23:38.62]solving the problems of love,
[23:40.32]and achieving the happy ending—
[23:42.62]the big wedding are subjects
[23:44.66]of interest to the adult as well
[23:46.75]as the teenage public.
[23:48.53]Millions of Americans
[23:50.37]celebrate Valentine’s Day
[23:52.68]with special cards and gifts
[23:54.89]that announce their love
[23:56.60]to their mates, their friends,
[23:58.71]their coworkers, and their families.
[24:01.99]Popular songs tell us that
[24:03.71]“all the world love a lover”.
[24:05.84]A popular saying is “Love conquers all”.
[24:09.42]Numerous columns in magazines
[24:11.67]and newspapers offer advice
[24:13.64]to the lovelorn, those
[24:15.41]with difficulties of heart.
[24:17.38]To most Americans, romantic love
[24:19.74]is central to a happy life.
[24:22.31]Not only do Americans believe
[24:24.18]in romantic love but they also
[24:26.13]believe that it is
[24:27.35]the best basis for marriage.
[24:29.50]Despite the high divorce rate
[24:31.86]in the United States,
[24:33.32]young men and women continue
[24:35.88]to marry on the basis of romantic love.
[24:40.10]Americans consider marriage
[24:41.91]a private arrangement between
[24:43.84]the two people involved.
[24:45.87]Young Americans feel free to
[24:47.94]choose their own marriage partners
[24:49.97]from any social, economic,
[24:51.93]or religious background.
[24:53.66]The man or woman may have strong ties
[24:55.99]with parents, brothers,
[24:57.51]or sisters, but when he
[24:59.72]or she falls in love,
[25:01.38]the strongest feelings
[25:03.28]are supposed to be for the loved one.
[25:05.98]When an American couple marries,
[25:08.37]they generally plan to live apart
[25:11.12]from both sets of parents
[25:13.37]and build their own
[25:14.65]independent family structure.
[25:17.68]Now the passage will be read again.
[25:20.03]If you listen to American music,
[25:23.28]watch American television or read magazines,
[25:26.24]you will probably
[25:27.50]agree that the most popular
[25:29.36]subject of these forms
[25:31.14]of entertainment is love.
[25:33.51]Romantic love always finds an audience
[25:36.70]in the United States.
[25:38.26]Falling in love,
[25:39.80]solving the problems of love,
[25:41.64]and achieving the happy ending-
[25:43.85]the big wedding are subjects
[25:46.00]of interest to the adult as well
[25:47.96]as the teenage public.
[25:49.90]Millions of Americans
[25:51.73]celebrate Valentine’s Day
[25:54.04]with special cards and gifts
[25:56.31]that announce their love
[25:57.72]to their mates, their friends,
[26:00.11]their coworkers, and their families.
[26:02.94]Popular songs tell us that
[26:05.02]“all the world love a lover”.
[26:07.19]A popular saying is “Love conquers all”.
[26:10.90]Numerous columns in magazines
[26:12.94]and news papers offer advice
[26:14.93]to the lovelorn, those
[26:16.53]with difficulties of heart.
[26:18.66]To most Americans, romantic love
[26:21.09]is central to a happy life.
[26:23.65]Not only do Americans believe
[26:25.66]in romantic love but they also
[26:27.58]believe that it is
[26:28.71]the best basis for marriage.
[26:31.40]Despite the high divorce rate
[26:33.32]in the United States,
[26:34.75]young men and women continue
[26:37.26]to marry on the basis of romantic love.
[26:40.72]
[27:38.96]Americans consider marriage
[27:43.40]a private arrangement between
[27:46.31]the two people involved.
[27:47.51]Young Americans feel free to
[27:49.45]choose their own marriage partners
[27:51.23]from any social, economic,
[27:53.45]or religious background.
[27:55.49]The man or woman may have strong ties
[27:57.51]with parents, brothers,
[27:58.99]or sisters, but when he
[28:01.18]or she falls in love,
[28:03.02]the strongest feelings
[28:04.74]are supposed to be for the loved one.
[28:07.44]
[29:08.41]When an American couple marries,
[29:10.35]they generally plan to live apart
[29:12.69]from both sets of parents
[29:15.06]and build their own
[29:16.51]independent family structure.
[29:39.22]
[30:18.76]Now the passage will be
[30:20.40]read for the third time.
[30:23.08]If you listen to American music,
[30:25.50]watch American television or read magazines,
[30:28.73]you will probably
[30:29.84]agree that the most popular
[30:31.75]subject of these forms
[30:33.39]of entertainment is love.
[30:35.96]Romantic love always finds an audience
[30:39.07]in the United States.
[30:40.81]Falling in love,
[30:42.15]solving the problems of love,
[30:44.09]and achieving the happy ending-
[30:46.33]the big wedding are subjects
[30:48.38]of interest to the adult as well
[30:50.45]as the teenage public.
[30:52.72]Millions of Americans
[30:54.14]celebrate Valentine’s Day
[30:56.45]with special cards and gifts
[30:58.63]that announce their love
[31:00.10]to their mates, their friends,
[31:02.43]their coworkers, and their families.
[31:05.39]Popular songs tell us that
[31:07.22]“all the world love a lover”.
[31:09.31]A popular saying is “Love conquers all”.
[31:13.31]Numerous columns in magazines
[31:15.39]and news papers offer advice
[31:17.44]to the lovelorn, those
[31:19.09]with difficulties of heart.
[31:20.89]To most Americans, romantic love
[31:23.42]is central to a happy life.
[31:26.01]Not only do Americans believe
[31:27.79]in romantic love but they also
[31:29.96]believe that it is
[31:30.98]the best basis for marriage.
[31:33.66]Despite the high divorce rate
[31:35.67]in the United States,
[31:37.08]young men and women continue
[31:39.62]to marry on the basis of romantic love.
[31:43.29]Americans consider marriage
[31:45.57]a private arrangement between
[31:47.52]the two people involved.
[31:49.95]Young Americans feel free to
[31:51.25]choose their own marriage partners
[31:53.75]from any social, economic,
[31:55.67]or religious background.
[31:57.40]The man or woman may have strong ties
[31:59.58]with parents, brothers,
[32:01.27]or sisters, but when he
[32:03.23]or she falls in love,
[32:05.49]the strongest feelings
[32:07.07]are supposed to be for the loved one.
[32:10.21]When an American couple marries,
[32:12.12]they generally plan to live apart
[32:14.76]from both sets of parents
[32:16.94]and build their own
[32:18.30]independent family structure.
[32:21.15]This is the end of listening comprehension. |