TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2016)-GRADE FOUR-PART ⅠDICTATIONListen to the following passage.Altogether the passage will be read to you four times. During the first reading,which will be done at normal speed,listen and try to understand the meaning.For the second and third readings,the passage will be read sentence by sentence,or phrase by phrase,with intervals of 15 seconds.The last reading will be done at normal speed againand during this timeyou should check your work.You will then be given 1 minuteto check through your work once more.Please write the whole passage on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Now listen to the passage.Think Positive and Feel PositiveAre you confidentor insecure in a difficult situation? /Do you react positively or negatively? /The answer may depend in parton whom you’re around. /A study foundthat negative thinking can be contagious in some cases. /For example, the researchers studied 103 college roommates. / They measured each roommate’s tendencytowards negative thinking. /It was found that thinking patterns can be contagious. / Students with a negative thinking roommatebecame more depressed themselves, /and students with more positive thinking roommates /were more likely to become more positive as well.The second and third readings.You should begin writing now.Are you confidentor insecure in a difficult situation? /Are you confidentor insecure in a difficult situation? /Do you react positively or negatively? /Do you react positively or negatively? /The answer may depend in parton whom you’re around. /The answer may depend in parton whom you’re around. /A study foundthat negative thinking can be contagious in some cases. /A study foundthat negative thinking can be contagious in some cases. /For example, the researchers studied 103 college roommates. / For example, the researchers studied 103 college roommates. / They measure d each roommate’s tendencytowards negative thinking. /They measured each roommate’s tendencytowards negative thinking. /It was found that thinking patterns can be contagious. /It was found that thinking patterns can be contagious. / Students with a negative thinking roommatebecame more depressed themselves, /Students with a negative thinking roommatebecame more depressed themselves, /and students with more positive thinking roommates /and students with more positive thinking roommates /were more likely to become more positive as well.were more likely to become more positive as well.The last reading.Are you confidentor insecure in a difficult situation? /Do you react positively or negatively? /The answer may depend in parton whom you’re around. /A study foundthat negative thinking can be contagious in some cases. /For example, the researchers studied 103 college roommates. / They measured each roommate’s tendencytowards negative thinking. /It was found that thinking patterns can be contagious. / Students with a negative thinking roommatebecame more depressed themselves, /and students with more positive thinking roommates /were more likely to become more positive as well.Now, you have one minute to check through your work.This is the end of Part I Dictation.PART ⅡLISTENING COMPREHENSIONSECTION A TALKIn this section you will hear a talk.You will hear the talk ONCE ONLY.While listening,you may look at the task on ANSWER SHEET ONEand write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure what you fill inis both grammatically and semantically acceptable.You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task. Now listen to the talk.When it is over,you will be given TWO minutes to check your work.What Is Grit?Good afternoon, everyone.Today, I would like to talk about my research project concerning the key to success.I would like to start my topic with my own story.When I was 27 years old,I left for a demanding job-teaching seventh graders mathin the New York City public schools.And like any teacher,I made quizzes and tests.I gave out homework assignments.When the work came back,I calculated grades.What struck me was thatI.Q. was not the only differencebetween my best and my worst students.Some of my strongest performersdid not have super I.Q. scores.Some of my smartest kids weren’t doing so well.Then, I felt very interestedin knowing the reason why the students’ math performance is not that closely related to their I.Q. scores.I started studying kids and adultsin all kinds of challenging settings,and in every study my question was,who is successful here and why.My research team and Iwent to West Point Military Academy.We tried to predictwhich students would stay in military trainingand which would drop out.We went to the National Spelling Contestand tried to predictwhich children would advance furthest in competition.We worked with private companies,asking which of these salespeople is going to keep their jobs,and who’s going to earn the most money.We went to many places and finally,one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn’t social intelligence.It wasn’t good looks, physical health,and it wasn’t I.Q. It was grit.What is grit?Well, grit is passion and perseverancefor very long-term goals.Grit is sticking with your future,day in, day out,not just for the week,not just for the month, but for years,and working really hard to make future a reality.Grit is living your life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.A few years ago,I started studying grit in the Chicago public schools.I asked thousands of high school juniorsto take grit questionnaires,and then waited around more than a yearto see who would graduate.It turned out thatgrittier kids were significantly more likely to graduate,even when I matched them on every characteristic I could measure, things like family income, test scores, and so on.To me, the most shocking thing about grit is how little we know, how little science knows, about building it.Every day, parents and teachers ask me,“How do I build grit in kid s?How do I keep them motivated for the long run?”Our data shows very clearlythat there are many talented individualswho simply do not follow through on their commitment.In fact, in our data,grit is usually unrelated to measures of talent.So fa r, the best idea I’ve heard about building grit in kidsis something called “growth mindset.”Growth mindset is the beliefthat the ability to learn is not fixed,that it can change with your effort.Kids with grit are much more likely to persevere when they fail, because they don’t believe that failure is a permanent condition. So growth mindset is a great idea for building grit.But we need more.And that’s where I’m going to end my talk,because that’s where we are.That’s the work that stands before us.We have to be willing to fail,to be wrong, to start over again with lessons learned.As a conclusion,we need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier.Next time, I would like to share with youmy experience in building up students’ grit.Now, you have TWO minutesto check your work.THIS IS THE END OF SECTION A TALK.SECTION B CONVERSATIONSIn this section you will hear two conversations.At the end of each conversation,five questions will be asked about what was said.Both the conversation and the questionswill be spoken ONCE ONLY.After each question there will be a ten-second pause.During the pause,you should read the four choices of A), B), C) and D),and mark the best answer to each questionon ANSWER SHEET TWO.You have THIRTY seconds to preview the questions.Now listen to the conversations.Conversation OneQuestions 1 to 5 are based on Conversation oneW: Hello, this is Kate Smith.I’m calling from ABC Company.M: Oh, hello, Kate. Great to hear from you.W: You’ve already been toldthat you’ve been shortlisted for interview.M: Oh, yes.W: Well, we are very excited about meeting you.OK. I just want to talk you through the procedure for the day. Someone will meet you when you arrive,and then bring you up to meet myself and Arthur Miller, the CEO. M: OK, sounds good.So will you be the only members of the interview panel there then? W: Yes, it’ll be just me and Arthur who will talk to you.The interview will be in three parts.First of all, we’ll ask you some general questions about yourself and your educational and professional background,and then we’ll move on to specifics.M: Oh, er, specifics?Well, er...what kind of questions will you be asking?W: Wel l, it’ll be very similar to the personal statementyou submitted with your CV.We’ll be expecting you to...to give actual examples of problemsyou’ve faced and solved,and of what you feel are the major successes in your career so far. M: OK, well. Yeah, that sounds great. Can’t wait!W: Then there’ll be a chance for you to ask us any questions-about the job itself, or ABC Company in general.M: Oh, um...OK. I’ll think of something!W: After that, we’d like you to give a short presentationon how you see ABC as a company progressing,and how you see yourself taking us there.M: OK, so will I be expected to give like a formal style presentation? W: It can be as formal or informal as you like.There’ll be a computer and a data projector there availa ble.If you need anything else, just let us know.M: Oh, um...OK, a presentation! I’ll think of something.I haven’t done one of those in a while.W: Is that all clear?M: Yes.W: Great. So, Daniel,I’ll see you at 11 a.m., Thursday next week.M: OK, great. I look forward to meeting you! Thanks, bye.W: Bye.Questions 1 to 5 are based on Conversation One.1. Why does the woman call the man?2. What kind of questions can the man ask in the interview?3. Which is the last part of the interview?4. What migh t be expected from the man’s presentation?5. When is the interview scheduled?This is the end of Conversation OneConversation TwoQuestions 6 to 10 are based on Conversation Two.W: It says a growing number of studentsare making a major holefrom the minute they enter the real worldbecause they are already, some of them,more than 100,000 dollars in debt.With us now is Mark Spenser.He is the senior financial analyst from SBC Bank.Welcome to you.M: Thank you. Nice to be with you.W: Now, I guess there are two kinds of debts,good debt and bad debt. Where does this go?M: Well, student loan debt is traditionally considered good debt, but the problem for many students and their familiesis that the cost of collegeshas been going up at 6 to 8 percent a year,far faster than the income,far faster than the standard of living.That means debt’s taking on a bigger and bigger rolein financing education.W: How much debt is too much debt for...for one student?M: Well, one guideline isthat you look at the first year salaryin your field after graduation,and use that as a barometer, but even then...W: Is that right?M: Well, you are talking big payments even in that instance,for example, 30,000 dollars worth of debt.If you are gonna repay that over 10 years,you are talking more than 300 dollars a month that,in payments every month for 10 years.W: But there is surely more than one wayto get a loan for college.There are government programs.There are so many kinds of grants.What’s...what’s the best advice for peoplewho are looking for these loansto try to keep themselves from going under?M: I understand that loans are just one way of college finance. Take advantage of the other opportunities.Things like a college savings plan let...let you save on a tax advantage basis.So you can put money away in these accountsand withdraw tax-free to pay for that education.W: So, it’s important to start earlyand that really reduces that reliance on debt later.M: Another thing, leave no stone unturned,looking at grants, scholarships, even on-campus jobs.I mean every dollar you get that wayis seen as another dollar you don’t have to borrow later.W: The kinds of jobs that so many students, fresh off students,like to go into, er, charity stuff, volunteer work.This debt is eliminating a lot of that, isn’t it?M: I think that’s the social cost.Really, I mean...you know, when you consider that,you know, people may pass up a rewarding careerin charitable work, or non-profit organizationbecause they have to get a higher salary someplace elseto pay off that debt.W: Yeah, that’s for sure.Mark Spenser, senior financial analyst from SBC Bank.Mark, good you could be here.M: Thank you.Questions 6 to 10 are based on Conversation Two.6. What is the interview mainly about?7. How does the cost of college education change every year?8. What is used to measure student loan debt as a guideline?9. What is the advantage of joining a college savings plan?10. What is the possible social cost of a college loan?This is the end of Conversation Two.THIS IS THE END OF PART ⅡLISTENING COMPREHENSION.。