?Compound Dictation

Directions:?In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 1 to 7 with the exact word(s) you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 8 to 10 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact word(s) you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.

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Passage One

Getting old is something that happens to all of us, and like taxes it is sadly?inevitable. That doesn't mean that everyone has to like getting old, and?to varying degrees we might find this idea hard to swallow. However, worries about aging can go to extremes and become a?fear?and a distraction that needs to be dealt with. So if you find yourself very scared of getting old, how can you go about?overcoming?this fear and viewing aging in a more natural?and healthy manner?

In any case, it is crucial?to recognize how your fear develops. Psychologists generally believe the fear of?aging is in?essence?a common fear of death. If you are scared of getting old, you may be a person who easily has? adverse?reactions to?stimuli associated with death, for example, the sight of someone aging painfully or a picture of skulls. If this is the case, you should face the unpleasant?scene or memory with a sensible?mind so that you can understand the fear better and lessen its?impact.

Meanwhile, it is important to focus on not only the negative?aspects of getting old, but also the positive. You should recognize that many people actually reach old age?gracefully, and they go on to lead great lives full of?exploration, adventure?and personal achievement.

Furthermore, there are in fact many reasons to look forward to getting old. For instance, when you are older, you will gain more respect from your peers, and you become more contented with?life. At the same time, you will be able to have real freedom from the burden?of work, of education, or of others being dependent?on you. You now have a chance to slow down and enjoy life.

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Passage Two

Camping holidays have become extremely popular among young people. Camping as a distinctive?way of spending a holiday has so much to offer. You enjoy absolute freedom. You are?bound?by none of the headaches of advance hotel booking or driving round and round a city at midnight looking for a?lodging?room. There are no cold hotel breakfasts, no bad-mannered staff?to tip. For a ridiculously?small sum of money, you can have really great fun and enjoy comforts which few hotels could provide.

Modern camping sites? are well-equipped with?hot and cold running water and even shops and dance floors. Low-cost holidays make camping an attractive proposal. But above all, you enjoy amazing?mobility. If you don't like a place, or if it is too crowded, you can simply?get up and look for a new location.?Conversely, you can stay as long as you like. You're the boss, after all.

It's so?thrilling??to arrive at a camp site, put up your tent and start getting a meal ready. You are active all the time and you are always close to nature. Imagine yourself beside some clear stream?with mountains in the background,?taking delight?in the fresh air and the peace of the scenery. Camping provides you with a real change from everyday living. You get up earlier and go to bed earlier. You have a? tremendous?opportunity to meet people of various?nationalities and to share with them?your pleasures of being in nature. For a few precious?weeks in the year, you really adopt a completely different way of life. And that's the essence?of true recreation and real enjoyment.

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Passage Three

Media reports say China now ranks the third in the world in terms of the number of plastic surgeries, behind the US and Brazil. More than 3.4 million plastic surgeries were carried out in China in 2010, generating?revenues?of about 48 billion US dollars.

With the rapid development, more teenagers or middle school students also come to seek cosmetic surgery,?particularly?during the summer and winter vacations. Some have their parents with them, and some do not.

Most public hospitals won't accept a minor asking for cosmetic surgery if the teenager does not have his or her parents'? consent?to?the procedure. However, some medical?organizations do perform it on minors without parental?approval.

It is advised that children under 18 should be disqualified from??plastic surgery, as they are not physically?ready for image-changing operations. Lots of teenagers are endangered?by cosmetic surgery due to rising medical accidents in this industry.

Statistics have shown that the plastic surgery industry is one of the industries that are confronted?with the most complaints in China. Over the past 10 years, more than 200,000 consumers complained that their facial looks had been? impaired. Despite this, plastic surgery is still popular. As was indicated by an online survey, 71 percent of the respondents?said today's social?aesthetic?values have led to a fascination?with plastic surgery. Many people believe that one's looks are just another service that can be bought for a price.

Judging people by their appearance?is a common practice in many countries. Some people keep the faith?that a pretty face can extend their?competitive??edge. Even if potential?dangers remain, they are often overshadowed by the probable dramatic?increase of wealth stemming from changes of appearance.

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Passage Four
Are you in New York or planning on visiting the city? Write down this name: Blue Note Jazz Club. Blue Note is one of the??premier?jazz clubs in the world and an important cultural institution?in Greenwich Village, New York City. When it was started in 1981, the owner and founder Danny Bensusan had a vision?to create a jazz club that would treat deserving artists with respect, while?providing customers with?opportunities to see the world's finest jazz musicians in a close, comfortable?setting. Artists who had stopped playing in jazz clubs?decades?before, such as Sarah Vaughn, Lionel Hampton and Ray Brown, soon called Blue Note home. Jazz is undoubtedly?America's music, and while Blue Note? strives?to preserve the history of jazz, the club is a place where progression?and?innovation?are encouraged and practiced on a nightly basis. In addition to the main acts that feature??renowned?jazzists, Blue Note has introduced the Monday Night Series and the bi-weekly Late Night Groove Series, which are?appealing to both musicians and fans.? Over the years, Blue Note has been an economic engine?for Greenwich Village, drawing not only some of the biggest names in jazz but also? talented??newcomers. It has been the meeting point for jazz artists and fans. At Blue Note, there is a unique?intimacy?between the audience?and the musician. Another thing that makes Blue Note so special is that on a given night, anything can happen. It is not uncommon to see?prominent?jazz musicians like Stevie Wonder and Tony Bennett get called up on the stage and improvise (即興演出). After over 30 years of success, Blue Note continues to carry the torch?for jazz into the 21st century in the cultural heart of New York.

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Passage Five

In the late 1950s, the French government paid great attention to the quality of products. It was stressed that workmanship?and quality were more important than quantity?for industrial production, and that it would be strategically??necessary?for the country to produce quality goods for the international market to?compete?with??those produced in other countries. As was agreed, the French economy needed a larger share of the international market to even?up??its import and export trade. Why was it the case? French industrial and agricultural production at that time was still?inadequate??to meet the immediate?demands of its people, let alone long-ranged developments. Essential?imports had stretched the national?credit?to breaking point. Meanwhile, the runaway inflation?was constantly exerting an impact?on the general population through the cost of food. To address these problems, French government increased wages and paid extensive?allowance?and benefits for families. It also provided full-time and even overtime employment. Yet, taken together, these factors only enabled the working class to exist but allowed them no sense of long-term?security. In this discouraging situation, workers were willing to seek employment overseas for higher wages. However, the French government was reluctant?to let workers leave the country because it was worried that the emigration?of workers would?scale?down?the size of its labor force. And in turn, the lack of qualified labor force would affect the quality of industrial goods produced in France. Besides, qualified workers employed abroad would help?multiply?the quantity of high-quality goods produced in foreign countries, which would make it harder for France to compete in the international market.

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Passage Six

These days the media is full of stories of celebrities' private lives: their relationships, clothing, hairstyle and so on. Society seems to have a never-ending?appetite?for?this type of gossip. Nevertheless, there has been heated controversy?over the enormous media coverage of celebrities' lives.

Supporters of the media seem to have strong arguments. One of their claims is that celebrities choose to be publicized, that is, they invite media attention on purpose, despite being aware that this will leave themselves exposed to public attention. Therefore, they have no reason to?feel resentment?toward?the media. In addition, the public has the right to know about the famous since it is their money that supports them, for instance through?purchase?of tickets, DVDs and music downloads. Thus, celebrities have to give up some privacy when choosing to do something that puts them in the spotlight.

However, I strongly feel that celebrities deserve?to be protected from the media. Firstly, celebrities do have the right to privacy, just like any other person. Although they may seek to be known, this doesn't mean that the media is justified to?interfere?in?every detail of their private lives. Secondly, the media may be wrongly utilized to spread untrue and manipulated?news. Reporters are sometimes more interested in selling a story than in investigating something of?genuine?importance. Lastly, the unwelcome attention from the media can cause psychological and physical damage, either to the celebrities themselves, or to the?journalists. In attempting to maintain their image, celebrities may repress?rage, fear or sadness caused by negative?or excessive?media coverage. Sometimes, if they are pushed too far, they may also?be provoked into?aggressive?responses.

On balance, I believe that celebrities have the right to say No to the media when their privacy is subject?to unwanted intrusion (侵擾).