M: I’m terribly sorry. I had planned to go, but I had to take care of an emergency. I tried calling him many times but couldn’t reach him. Q: Why didn’t the man go to the party? Conversation 2

M: I haven’t seen you around for quite a while. What have you been doing?

W: I’ve been reading Shakespeare’s great play Hamlet. My literature professor required me to present a unique review about Hamlet for my term paper. Q: What has the woman been preparing for? Conversation 3

W: Which do you prefer, classical music or pop music?

M: Neither. Have you ever seen me listening to music at all? You know, I don’t have an ear for music.

Q: What does the man say about music? Conversation 4

M: I’m taking the minimum credits to graduate. Making friends, traveling, partying – these are what matter most to me right now.

W: I’m not here to make friends or go to parties. I’m doing part-time jobs to save money to start my own company once I graduate.

Q: What are the two speakers talking about? Conversation 5

W: Tom, have you read the notice on the school website? I’ve won the scholarship for next term. M: No surprise to me. You have earned it. While others are at parties, you are in the library. Q: What does the man mean? Long conversation Scripts

M: After such a tiring week, I can’t wait to have a rest and relax a little this weekend.

W: Me too, Mr. Simpson. So what are you doing this weekend? Looks like it’ll be nice weather for sailing.

M: Yes, Mary, I hope it stays this sunny. I’m going out to the beach and spending all weekend surfing.

W: You, sir? Surfing?

M: Haha, I bet you think I’m too old for surfing! I’ve been surfing since I was 11, and it’s still my favorite activity. The cool blue waves, the smell of the sea, just take me back to when I was a teenager free from care. I forget all my troubles. By Sunday night, I fall into a deep sleep, sore and tired, without a care in the world.

W: That’s really nice. I’m going to the beach, too. I love relaxing in the warm sun, watching my niece and nephew play in the sand and jump in the waves. They’ll tire themselves out building sand castles, collecting seashells, and trying to bury each other in the sand.

M: Oh, I remember building sand castles with my brothers ... such great fun. How old are little Timmy and Monica now?

W: Tim’s five and Monica’s three. M: Wow, kids grow up so fast!

Q1: Why is surfing the man’s favorite activity? Q2: What is the woman going to do this weekend?

Q3: What does the woman love doing?

Q4: What does the man remember doing with his brothers? Passage 1 Scripts

People in Britain enjoy various leisure activities including watching TV, seeing friends and

relatives, listening to music, shopping, listening to the radio, gardening, doing sports, reading, and so on. The latest data from a survey show that in 2010, 89 percent of all adults watched television in their free time. Spending time with family and friends was the second most popular activity at 84 percent, listening to music came next at 76 percent, and shopping was fourth at 71 percent. Truly, the most common leisure activity in the UK has been watching television. The average viewing time is 25 hours per person per week. Many television programs are about wildlife,

animals, holidays, cooking and gardening. All these things are much valued by British people. The second most popular activity in Britain is visiting or entertaining friends or relatives. Actually, in the survey, those aged 25 to 34 reported spending time with friends and family as their top activity.

Besides, many British people like to listen to music. Among those aged 16 to 24 spending time listening to music was selected as their top activity.

Younger people tend to have different hobbies from old people. According to the survey,

comparing the 16 to 24 age group with those aged 55 and over, the activities which were reported less frequently as age increased were listening to music; surfing the Internet and emailing; doing sports and exercise; going out to pubs, clubs or bars; and going out to the cinema. For example, people aged 16 to 24 spent more than 3 hours a day using a computer while those aged 55 and over spent only 1 hour and 12 minutes. Again comparing the youngest and oldest age groups, the activities which were reported more frequently as age increased were reading and gardening. Q1: According to the survey, what percentage of British adults watched TV in their free time? Q2: Which age group would be the most likely to visit their friends and relatives?

Q3: What does the speaker say about listening to music as a leisure activity for British people? Q4: According to the survey, how are leisure activities related to age? Passage 2

Scripts and answers

People joke that no one in Los Angeles reads; everyone watches TV, rents videos, or goes to the movies. The most popular reading materials are 1) comic books, movie magazines, and TV guides. City libraries have only 10 percent of the 2) traffic that car washes have. But how do you explain this? A yearly book festival in west Los Angeles is 3) constantly “sold out” year after year.

People wait half an hour for a parking space to become 4) available.

This outdoor festival, supported by a newspaper, takes place every April for one weekend.

This year, about 70,000 people 5) took part in the festival on Saturday and 75,000 on Sunday. The festival 6) attracted 280 exhibitors. There were about 90 talks given by authors, with an 7) audience question-and-answer period following each talk. A food court sold all kinds of local foods, from hotdogs to ice drinks. Except for a $7 parking fee, the festival was 8) free of charge. Even so, some people take their own sandwiches and drinks to avoid the high prices of the food court.

The idea for holding the festival in Los Angles was 9) put forward years ago, but nobody

knew if it would succeed. Although book festivals were already popular in other US cities, would people in this city 10) embrace one? “Fortunately, they do,” said one of the festival founders.