大學英語6級考試聽力直通249分 08

[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.