翻译：

As the source of aluminum is almost inexhaustible, we can expect that more and more uses will be found for this versatile metal. (Passage Two)

Directions:

In thissection,you will hear two long conversations.At the end of each conversation, you will hear some questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

1、 A. The collection of precious metals.

B. A standard measuring weight unit.

C. The value of precious metals.

D. A new metric system of measurement.

2、 A. Checking the accuracy of scales.

B. Calculating the density ofmetals.

C.Observing humidity of atmosphere.

D.Measuring amounts of rainfall.

3、 A. It has been rusty. B. It was not scientific.

C. It was of low quality. D. It was out of date.

4、 A. It is very cheap. B. It is difficult to say.

C. It is too expensive. D. It is reasonable.

Questions 5 to 8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

5、 A. She is busy writing a biological article.

B. She is busy with a program about endangered species.

C. She is busy reading some books on economics.

D. She is busy with two research papers.

6、 A. Some species are impossible to conserve.

B. People are less conscious of saving endangered species.

C. Funds are difficult to get to conserve endangered species.

D. It is difficult to determine which animals are endangered.

7、 A. The relatives of the tailed toad have been extinct.

B. The varieties of the tailed toad are helpful to the research ofevolution.

C.If the tailed toad is well conserved,many other species will be better saved.

D.If the tailed toad was extinct,some myth about evolution would lose.

8、 A. The man is busy preparing the research paper.

B. The woman should hand two papers in on the same day.

C. The man is reading a hook only about biology.

D. The woman is glad to make a decision on which animal to save.

If the old maxim that the customer is always right still has meaning, then the airlines that ply the world’s busiest air route between London and Paris have a flight on their hands.

The Eurostar train service linking the UK and French capitals via the Channel Tunnel is winning customers in increasing numbers. In late May, it carried its one millionth passenger, having run only a limited service between London, Paris and Brussels since November 1994, starting with two trains a day in each direction to Paris and Brussels. By 1997, the company believes that it will be carrying ten million passengers a year, and continue to grow from there.

From July, Eurostar steps its service to nine trains each way between London and Paris, and five between London and Brussels. Each train carries almost 800 passengers, 210 of them in first class.

The airlines estimate that they will initially lose around 15%-20% of their London-Paris traffic to the railways once Eurostar starts a full service later this year (1995), with 15 trains a day each way. A similar service will start to Brussels. The damage will be limited, however, the airlines believe, with passenger numbers returning to previous levels within two to three years.

In the short term, the damage caused by the 1 million people-levels traveling between London and Paris and Brussels on Eurostar trains means that some air services are already suffering. Some of the major carriers say that their passenger numbers are down by less than 5% and point to their rivals-Particularly Air France-as having suffered the problems. On the Brussels route, the railway company had less success, and the airlines report anything from around a 5% drop to no visible decline in traffic.

The airlines’ optimism on returning traffic levels is based on historical precedent. British Midland, for example, points to its experience on Heathrow Leeds Bradford service which saw passenger numbers fold by 15% when British Rail electrified and modernized the railway line between London and Yorkshire. Two years later, travel had risen between the two destinations to the point where the airline was carrying record numbers of passengers.

1.British airlines confide in the fact that__.

A.they are more powerful than other European airlines.

B.their total loss won’t go beyond a drop of 5% passengers.

C.their traffic levels will return in 2-3 years.

D.traveling by rail can never catch up with traveling by air.

2.The author’s attitude towards the drop of passengers may be described as__.

A.worried.B.delightedC.puzzled.D.unrivaled.

3.In the passage, British Rail (Para 6) is mentioned to__.

A.provide a comparison with Eurostar.

B.support the airlines’ optimism.

C.prove the inevitable drop of air passengers.

D.call for electrification and modernization of the railway.

4.The railway’s Brussels route is brought forth to show that__.

A.the Eurostar train service is not doing good business.

B.the airlines can well compete with the railway.

C.the Eurostar train service only caused little damage.

D.only some airlines, such as Air France, are suffering.

5.The passage is taken from the first of an essay, from which we may well predict that in the following part the author is going to__.

A.praise the airlines’ clear-mindedness.

B.warn the airlines of high-speed rail services.

C.propose a reduction of London/Paris flights.

D.advise the airlines to follow British Midland as their model.

Passage 4

Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage:

The new global satellite communications systems will offer three kinds service, which may overlap in many different kinds of receivers.

VOICE. Satellite telephones will be able to make calls from anywhere on the Earth to anywhere else. That could make them especially useful to remote, third world villages (some of which already use stationary satellite telephones), explorers and disaster-relief teams. Today’s mobile telephones depend on earth-bound transmitters, where technical standards vary from country to country. So business travelers cannot use their mobile phones on international trips. Satellite telephones would make that possible.

MESSAGING. Satellite massagers have the same global coverage as satellite telephones, but carry text alone, which could be useful for those with laptop computers. Equipped with a small screen like today’s papers, satellite massagers will also receive short messages.

TRACKING. Voice and messaging systems will also tell their users where they are to within a few hundred meters. Combined with the messaging service, the location service could help rescue teams to find stranded adventurers, the police to find stolen cars, exporters to follow the progress of cargoes, and haulage companies to check that drivers are not detouring the pub. America’s military Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite will provide better positioning information to anyone who has a receiver for their signals, but GPS does not carry messages, so such a receiver cannot be used on its own for tracking or rescue. By the mid-1990s, GPS receivers will be able to tell people where they are to within 70 meters anywhere in the world, and to within a meter or so in areas where the service is supplemented by ground-based transmitter.

16. Global satellite communications systems will be useful to .

A. laptop computer users

B. remote villages

C. disaster-relief teams

D. all above

17. Satellite telephone will make .

A. business travelers use mobile phones on international trips

B. possible calls from anywhere on earth to anywhere else

C. explorers happy

D. all above

18. Which of the following is true?

A. The positioning precision of the voice system is better than that of GPS.

B. The positioning precision of GPS is Better than that of the voice system.

C. The positioning precision of the messaging system is better than of GPS.

D. The positioning precision of voice system is better than that of the messaging system.

19. What can we say about the new global satellite communications systems?

A. They are widely used.

B. They are very helpful.

C. They are costly.

D. Both A and B.

20. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?

A. Global Satellite Communications

B. New Voice and Messaging System

C. New Generation Satellite

D. Always in Touch

翻译训练：

酒和饮酒文化在中国的历史中占据着重要地位。从宋代开始，白酒(whiteliquor)成为中国人饮用的主要酒类。中国白酒制作工艺复杂，原料丰富多样，是世界著名的六大蒸馏酒(distilledliquor)之一。中国有很多优秀的白酒品牌，受到不同人群的喜爱。在当代社会，饮酒文化得到了前所未有的丰富和发展。不同地区和场合的饮酒习俗和礼仪已成为中国人日常生活中重要的部分。在几千年的文明史中，酒几乎渗透到社会生活中的各个领域，如文学创作、饮食保健等。