2023年9月上海中级口译考试真题录音及原文答案.doc

2023年9月上海中级口译考试真题录音及原文答案

SECTION 1 LISTENING TEST 45 minutes

Part A Spot Dictation

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it. Fill in each of the blanks with the word or words you have heard on the tape. Write your answer in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Remember you will hear the passage ONLY ONCE.

Now the location of your college. Some colleges are in the centre of huge cities, some in the suburb. And some are surrounded by fields and woods. Where your college is located will be important to your extra-curricular life. The advantage of an urban college is that there are many exciting things to do off campus. Compared to a rural campus, there are more movies, plays, churches, restaurants, discos, museums and music. There is probably good public transportation. You are near airports, trains and several highways, making weekend or vacation trips to other places much easier. All of these mean that off campus excitement is easy to reach and doesn't require a lot of planning. This can be an important part of a college education and of your growth. But this easily available entertainment can also tempt you away from your books. The disadvantages of an urban college can be expense and a lack of peace and quiet. Off campus living in the city is almost always more expensive. Even if you live at school, you will still eat and shop off campus often, probably, more than you would at a rural campus. Many of those wonderful, cultural events cost money and are hard to pass up. If you are moving to the city from the country, be prepared for unexpected expenses. and advantage of a rural college is the relax and often beautiful setting. Rural colleges may have much more peaceful and cleaner air. And campus activities will probably be more important in your extra-curricular life. This doesn’t mean that nothing happens on campus in small towns. Things do. But they are more likely to be connected with school. Rural colleges are often near good spots for outdoor activities, mountains, lakes and beaches. If you have any interest in outdoor activities, this is a good place to learn more. The disadvantages of the rural college can be isolation, boredom and the difficulty of adjusting to a more relaxed life if you come from a big city, life at a small rural college can become very in groan.

Part B Listening Comprehension

I. Statements

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear several short statements. These statements will be spoken ONLY ONCE, and you will not find them written on the paper; so you must listen carefully. When you hear a statement, read the answer choices and decide which one is closest in meaning to the statement you have heard. Then write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

1. Why bother to call Jack and tell him about our plan? You will see him at lunch.

2. Since you said you totally agreed with Tom’s views, you ought to have stood up for him in the argument at the meeting yesterday afternoon.

3. At the rate of its being used, the copier is not going to make it thought the rest of the year, though it is supposes to be good for 5 years.

4. The latest inflation figure was issued today: The current inflation rate is 3.5 %. That’s 1% up on last year.

5. There is a great deal of concern today about the problem of scientific illiteracy and shortcomings in the teachings of science. More funds are needed in this respect.

6. It’s smart to dress warm while it’s cold outside. But colds are caused by viruses and not cold weather. Washing your hands is a good way to avoid catching many viruses.

7. It’s a very nurturing environment. The general manager has encouraged me to push my abilities and grow. And I am honored the company keeps renewing my contract.

8. In team sports such as volleyball, team work is much more than just hitting the ball over the net. The same is ture of business dealings in a company.

9. From champs to chumps. Just 3 years ago their products were on the business week list of the world’s most valuable brands in history. And now they are history.

10. Since you bought 85 chairs last month, naturally this time we can offer you a discount of 10% for this model at our lowest price of 45 dollars each.

II. Talks and Conversations

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear several short talks and conversations. After each of these, you will hear a few questions. Listen carefully because you will hear the talk or conversation and questions ONLY ONCE. When you hear a question, read the four answer choices and choose the best answer to that question. Then write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

Questions 11~14

W: Jack, tell me about yourself.
M: I was born in LA. But my family is from China. My father came to the US to study. He got a PHD in computer science. And he stayed on as a professor at a college in California.
W: Is your mother from China, too?
M: No, my mom is from here. She’s Asian-American. Her folks came to the US during the 19th century. In fact, one of her great-grandfathers actually helped to build the first railroad across the United States in the 1860s. What about you?
W: Well, I’m a third-generation Mexican-American. My grandparents were born in Vera Cruz. And they immigrated to this country a long time ago. We still have a lot of relatives in Mexico.
M: Do you keep in touch with them?
W: We visit whenever we can.
M: By the way, how’s your Spanish?
W: It’s pretty good. We speak it at home most of the time. Do you speak Chinese?
M: Yeah, I’m quite fluent. And I’m now learning to write it. I think someday I might be back in China and take up my career there.

Questions:
11. What does the man’s father do for a living?
12. What does the man say about his mother?
13. According to the woman, why can she speak very good Spanish?
14. What is the man doing now?

Questions 15~18

Most of us use oil in some way. And it is difficult to imagine the modern world without oil. But oil is not easy to find and get out of the earth, as it is trapped deep down in the ground. We must first study the rocks carefully. When we think that the rocks in a certain place may contain oil, we will build a metal tower in the location, either on the land or on the sea. This metal tower is called a derrick. The derrick is equipped with oil-drilling machinery. The machine will cut a narrow hole down into the ground. Meanwhile, a steel pipe is pushed down to stop the sides from falling and to keep out water. At last, if we have judged correctly, the oil would rush up the pipe with great force. This is basically how an oil well is set up. Oil, as we can see, is obtained more easily than coal. For coal, very often, we must dig it from a mine and have it sent out to the ground surface. But for oil, it rushes up a pipe. If an oil well is made near the middle of the oil field, then natural gas can be obtained. In parts of the world, such gas is often sent through pipes to distant towns and cities, so that it can be used like coal gas in houses and factories.

Questions:
15. Why is it difficult to find oil?
16. What is a derrick?
17. Why does the speaker say that oil is obtained more easily than coal?
18. According to the speaker, what can be obtained when an oil well is made near the middle of the oil field?

Questions 19~22

W: Good evening, Mr. Smith. It’s nice to meet you and your boy in such nice and cozy weather. Is John going to school this year?
M: Yes. We are thinking of sending him to a private boarding school instead of the local state school.
W: Really? Well, I wouldn’t dream of sending my little boy away to some strange institution for month on end every year. It will break my heart every time.
M: I don’t think so. I would say that a boarding school education is good for children because it teaches them to have confidence in themselves. In a boarding school, they can learn to be more independent of themselves and less dependent on their parents.
W: But not every child can afford to go to a private school. My nephew only went to his local state school and he’s just been awarded a scholarship to study classics at Cambridge.
M: Anyway, the private school is more animative and open-minded in teaching children to learn. You will get the value of your money, and this is worthwhile.
W: Still, I don’t know what I’ll do with my little boy next year. I don’t want him to go to that big new school. The children of all the common people in the area go there.
M: Well, they are closing all the other schools. If you don’t like the new state school, you’ll just have to pay to send him to a private school, won’t you?

Questions:
19. According to the man, what is good about a private boarding school?
20. Why does the woman mention her nephew in the conversation?
21. Which of the following can be concluded from the conversation?
22. What is the woman worried about?

Questions 23~26

Earthquakes are violent, destructive and unpredictable. The overall history of earthquakes leads to one general rule. The more time that has passed since an earthquake, the bigger the chance one will strike. Scientists therefore use information about past earthquakes to guess probabilities about future earthquakes.

For example, they say that within the next 30 years, there is a 60 percent probability that an earthquake will hit somewhere in southern California. But exactly where or when is a mystery. In at least one case, an earthquake in northern china has been predicted by paying attention to clues from nature.

In china, earthquakes have been studied for nearly 4,000 years. And there are records of more than 9,000 earthquakes, going back to the year 1831BC. The official earthquake records of the state of California only go back to 1950. In their long hard look earthquakes, the Chinese have observed many things. Before an earthquake, animals start to act strangely. The ground changed in shape, and earth’s magnetic fields get stronger in the earthquake area. The water in wild bubbles up, and then returns to its normal level. Also, a series of small earthquakes can mean that a big quake is on its way. The Chinese use these clues in 1974 to make the first successful prediction of an earthquake. The United States geological survey, on the other hand, has never predicted a major earthquake.

Questions:
23. What is the general rule about the occurrence of an earthquake?
24. According to the speaker, which area is likely to be hit by an earthquake within the next 30 years?
25. How long have the Chinese studied earthquakes?
26. Which of the following is not a clue that is used by the Chinese to predict an earthquake?

Questions 27~30

Man: How did you like the fireworks last night?
Woman: I really didn’t enjoy them too much. There was such a big crowd that we couldn’t get very close.
Man: I thought you were going early.
Woman: We did. But even though we got there on 7 o’clock, the park was already jammed. It was so crowed that we had a hard time finding a place even to stand.
Man: That’s too bad because the fireworks were really spectacular.
Woman: What did you do? How did you manage to get a good view?
Man: We went early. We decided to have a picnic dinner in the park, so we’d be sure to get there early enough to find a good spot.
Woman: I guess that’s what I should do next Fourth of July.
Man: We found a place on top of some rocks where nobody could get in front of us.
Woman: Wasn’t it pretty hot? The temperature was up in the 80s yesterday.
Man: It was nice and cool where we were because there were a lot of trees right behind us. So we had some shade to sit in.
Woman: What did you do about going home? I’ve never been pushed and shoved so much in my whole life.
Man: Well, they rent extra buses until midnight, so we didn’t have any problem.
Woman: I think you were lucky.
Man: It wasn’t luck. It was good planning. You have to come with us next year.
Woman: I don’t know whether I want to try it again next year. Even though I like fireworks, I don’t like big crowds.
Man: Well, next year is still a long time away and next weekend we are going to the beach, a whole bunch of us. Would you like to come with us?
Woman: Yes, thank you, I would. And maybe I can find how you go about planning things.

Questions:
27. According to the woman, why couldn’t she enjoy the fireworks?
28. What did the man do to ensure a good view of the fireworks?
29. How did the man explain the success for their park trip?
30. What did the man do at the end of conversation?

Part C Listening and Translation

I. Sentence Translation

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 5 sentences in English. You will hear the sentences ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each sentence, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

1. 原文：We know that language use is the life-long process, so is the foreign language learning. There is no shortcut in learning a foreign language.

译文：众所周知，语言旳使用是终身旳，外语学习也是如此。 学习外语是没有捷径可走旳。

2. 原文：I’m afraid we’ll have to change our appointment for Friday morning. Something unexpected came up and I’m sorry for the inconvenience this might cause you.

译文：出于意外， 我们恐怕要更改周五早上旳预约。对此给您导致不便，我表达十分抱歉。

3. 原文：After some discussions, we have reached a compromise on the key point, and we’ll come down to details of the contract at our next meeting tomorrow afternoon.

译文：通过几番讨论后， 我们在关键问题上作出让步并达到一致，协议旳详细细节将于明天下午旳会议上讨论。

4. 原文：A famous educationalist once said: Nobody is completely ignorant. Nobody knows everything. All of us lack knowledge of something. That is why we continue to learn.

译文：一位著名旳教育家曾说过：“无人无知，无人全知。我们所有人都缺乏某方面旳知识。因此我们要不停学习。”

5. 原文：Today, I am pleased to announce that our government will dramatically expand the number of our students who study in China to 50,000 in the next 10 years.

译文：今天，我很快乐地宣布，在未来旳23年内，我们政府将大幅度增长赴中留学生至5万人。

II. Passage Translation

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 2 passages in English. You will hear the passages ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each passage, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. You may take notes while you are listening.

1. Man is closely connected to the environment. Our environment provides us with fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink, and various vegetables to eat. However, our environment is faced with many dangers. It is seriously polluted by chemical wastes from factories and garbage in cities. Trees are being cut down. Large areas of forests are being destroyed. And various animals are being hunted and killed. As a result, many kinds of plants and animals are disappearing from the earth.