听力原文: Not many couples stay married for 50 years. Even fewer do so for 75 years. It's almost impossible for a couple to be married for 85 years. But that's exactly what Henry and Maggie Thurston did.
Henry was born on a farm in Iowa in 1857. At the age of 18 he went to Chicago to attend the university. There he met Maggie who had come from Cleveland to study art. She was one year younger.
This was a true case of love at first sight. They got married in 1876, less than six months after they met. In 1877 their first son, Jack, was born. By 1885 they had five children, including their third son, Lou, who became a well-known writer. From 1900 to 1915 Henry and Maggie became grandparents thirty one times.
On February 14th, 1961, they celebrated their 85th wedding anniversary. The day they had chosen for their wedding day had become Valentine's Day. Over one hundred newsmen came to report on the event. The couple was seen on national TV. Most amazing of all, though, was the fact that over 1,500 relatives were also present. The youngest was a three-week-old baby girl. Henry and Maggie were old. He was 104 and she was 103.
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A. Maths.
B. Physics.
C. An.
D. Chemistry.
Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage 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.
听力原文: Australia, the last continent to be "discovered", was sighted by Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships in the 17th century. No colonies followed at that time, however, as these nations were less interested in colonizing than in exploring. As in the early history of the United States, it was the English who established the permanent settlements in Australia.
The history and geography of these two former British colonies have other things in common as well.
Australia and the United States are about equal in size, and barren western portions of the two bear a close physical resemblance. It was the eastern coast of Australia and America that the English first settled, and both colonies soon began to expand to the west. However, this westward expansion occurred more because the colonists were searching for better land than because the population was increasing. Settlement of the western part of both countries quickened after gold was discovered in America in 1849 and in Australia two years later.
Although the parallels in the development of these two countries are striking, there are some sharp contrasts as well. The United States gained its independence from the English by revolution, whereas Australia was granted its independence without having to go to war.
Australia, unlike the United States, was originally colonized by English convicts, and its economy was rooted in wheat growing and sheep raising. By 1922, for example, Australia had fifteen times more sheep than it had people, or almost half as many sheep as there are people today in the United States. Yet, in spite of these and other major differences, Australia and the United States have more in common with each other than either one has with most of the rest of the world.
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A. The Dutch.
B. The Portuguese.
C. The Spanish.
D. The English.