Conversation One

　　W: Gosh! Have you seen this Richard?

　　M: Seeing what?

　　W: In the paper, it says there’s a man going round pretending he’s from the electricity board. He’s been calling at people’s homes, saying he’s come to check that all their appliances are safe. Then he gets around them to make him a cup of tea and while they are out of the room, he steals their money, handbag, whatever and makes off with it.

　　M: But you know Jane, it’s partly their own fault. You should never let anyone like that in unless you are expecting them.

　　W: It’s all very well to say that, but someone comes to the door and says electricity or gas, and you automatically think they are ok, especially if they flash a card to you.

　　M: Does this man have an I. D. then?

　　W: Yes, that’s just it! It seems he used to work for the electricity board at one time. According to the paper, the police are warning people, especially pensioners not to admit anyone unless they have an appointment. It’s a bit sad. One old lady told them she’d just been to the post office to draw her pension when he called. She said he must have followed her home. He stole the whole lot.

　　M: But what does he look like? Surely they must have a description.

　　W: Oh, yes, they have. Let’s see. In his thirties, tall, bushy dark hair, slight northern accent, sounds a bit like you actually.

　　Q19. What does the woman want the man to read in the newspaper? (A theft case)

　　Q20. How did the man mentioned in the newspaper try to win further trust from the victims?

　　(Flashing his I.D. to them)

　　Q21. What is the warning from the police?( not to admit anyone unless they have an appointment)

　　Q22. What does the woman speaker tell us about the old lady?(Her pension has been stolen by the man)

　　Conversation Two

　　M: Miss Jones, could you tell me more about your first job with hotel marketing concepts?

　　W: Yes certainly. I was a marketing consultant, responsible for marketing ten UK hotels. They were all luxury hotels in the leisure sector, all of a very high standard.

　　M: Which markets were you responsible for?

　　W: For Europe and Japan.

　　M: I see from your resume that you speak Japanese. Have you ever been to Japan?

　　W: Yes, I have. I spent a month in Japan in 2006. I met all the key people in the tourist industry, the big tour operators and tourist organizations. As I speak Japanese, I had a very big advantage.

　　M: Yes, of course. Have you had any contact with Japan in your present job?

　　W: Yes, I’ve had a lot. The truth is I have become very popular with the Japanese, both for holidays and for business conferences. In fact, the market for all types of luxury holidays for the Japanese has increased a lot recently.

　　M: Really, I’m interested to hear more about that, but first, tell me, have you ever traveled on a luxury train? The Orient Express, for example.

　　W: No I haven’t, but I have traveled on a glacier express to Switzerland and I traveled across China by train about 8 years ago. I love train travel. That’s why I’m very interested in this job.

　　Q23. What did the woman do in her first job?(marketing consultant)

　　Q24. What gave the woman an advantage during her business trip in Japan?(She can speak Japanese)

　　Q25. Why is the woman applying for the new job? (She loves train travel.)

　　长对话评析

　　今年长对话长度与往年相当,其中一篇属于社会话题中的犯罪;另一篇是很典型的面试英语.

　　从第一篇来看,话题和词汇都是以前四级考试中出现的高频词,例如paper, appliance, pension等.认真做过真题的同学应该不会觉得陌生.从四个问题来看也确实问到了文章四个不同的内容点, 这与我们事先预测的, 话题转换就会出现答案不谋而和.

　　第二篇长对话又是很典型的商务英语场景, 这一类型我们曾多次强调, 提醒同学准备. 从内容上来看, 除了有关marketing consultant这种工作种类外, 还有许多旅游词汇,相信对大家来说并不会很难.

　　总的来看,今年长对话的难度还是与历次考试相当, 虽然有个别bushy这类对考生来讲并不熟悉的词,但都没影响对于全文的理解.