2015年6月英语四级听力模拟练习(2)

　　The Federal Bureau of Investigation is gatheringinformation about the two men who opened fireoutside an event last weekend in Garland, Texas. Asecurity officer shot and killed the gunmen. Theofficer was wounded in the attack.

　　The shooting took place near a building where aprivate group was holding a contest. The groupoffered a $10,000 prize for the best depiction ofIslam's Prophet Mohammad. For Muslims, any imageor representation of the prophet is considereddisrespectful.

　　The event was the idea of a group called the American Freedom Defense Initiative, also knownas Stop the Islamization of America.

　　Police investigators searched the area where the shooting took place through the night and intothe morning. Joe Harn is with the police department in Garland, Texas. He said police know whathappened on Sunday.

　　"Two men exited the dark-colored sedan. Both of them had assault rifles, came around theback of the car and started shooting at the police car. The police officer in that car beganreturning fire and struck both men, taking them down."

　　Police used a robot to examine the suspects' car for explosives. They did not find any.

　　Later, investigators identified one of the dead men as 31-year-old Elton Simpson. He was bornin the United States. As a young man, he accepted Islam. Police say he shared an apartmentwith Nadir Soofi, the other gunman, in Phoenix, Arizona.

　　Court documents say that Elton Simpson had been under investigation since 2006. They say hewas tried and jailed in 2010 for lying to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He wassuspected of wanting to join Islamic extremists in Somalia.

　　Federal agents and police searched the men's apartment home in Phoenix. Before carrying outthe attack, Simpson is said to have provided details of his plans on the social media siteTwitter.

　　The shooting has extended the debate about freedom of speech. Organizers of the contestdescribed it as a free speech event.

　　Debate about freedom of speech

　　Pamela Geller was the lead organizer of the event in Garland. She compared the attack to themurder of 12 people earlier this year at Paris offices of the French weekly Charlie Hebdo.

　　Her group has created public debate over its opinions of Muslims in America. Her supporterssay she speaks the truth about a topic people are too fearful to discuss. Her critics, however,call her a bigot. Oren Segal is with the Anti-Defamation League. The group describes itself onits website as dedicated to stopping the defamation of the Jewish people and to securejustice and fair treatment to all.

　　Mr. Segal said Ms. Geller "is one of the leading American anti-Muslim bigots, consistentlyvilifying Muslims and the Islamic faith under the guise of course of fighting radical Islamists." Hesaid that she does not recognize a difference between Islamic extremists and all Muslims.

　　Ms. Geller answered criticism against her in an email to VOA.

　　She wrote that, "It is not bigotry to stand up for the freedom of speech and the freedom ofexpression against those who would violently suppress it," she wrote. "The ADL apparentlyprefers submission in the face of violent threats to standing up for the liberty and dignity ofthe individual."

　　The non-profit Southern Poverty Law Center has also condemned Ms. Geller's group.

　　In 2010, the American Freedom Defense Initiative campaigned against a proposed Islamiccommunity center near the former World Trade Center towers in New York City. Terrorists withties to al-Qaida destroyed the towers in 2001. The community center was never built.

　　On Tuesday, the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack Sunday. Therewas no immediate comment from U.S. officials on the group's claim.

　　2015年6月英语四级考试即将拉开帷幕，最后阶段掌握听力技巧必不可少。有时听力失分问题却并不出在听力本身，在听力之外也有很多细节会影响听力部分的得分，比如以下三点。

　　第一，注意单词的正确拼写。

　　改革前的复合式听写题目要求听写的三个句子虽长，但句中会出现很多考生较为熟悉、拼写非常简单的词。而且，即使考生不能将句子中的所有单词拼写正确，阅卷老师也可能会酌情给分。但改革后的单词及短语听写则对单词的正确拼写提出了更高的要求，考生必须将每个单词都拼写正确才能得分。不仅如此，考生还必须用所听到的录音原文中的单词或短语填空，而不可以替换成与之意思相同或相近的单词或短语。所以，改革后的试题要求考生平时更加注意单词和短语的拼写，尤其是一些容易拼写错的单词，如environment、government (两个词中的“n”常被考生遗漏)、embarrass (考生常漏写其中的一个“r”和“s”)等。为了掌握更多的词汇，考生在平时练习时每次做完听力题之后，要好好地阅读录音原文。除了确保所填的单词及短语都拼写正确外，考生还应该看看原文中是否还有自己不会拼写的单词，有的话可以摘抄下来并加以记忆，以防下次考试会考到。

　　第二，注重语法知识的积累。

　　考生在考试时因心情紧张或耳机接收效果不好等原因，很可能会听不到单词的尾音(如词尾的“-s”“-ed”“-ly”或“-ing”等)，结果在填写答案时少写一两个字母。为避免这样的失误，考生在听写结束后一定要将全文通读一遍，根据语法知识判断所填的单词或短语的词性及形式是否正确。如果空格处填入的是名词，考生要判断应填入名词的单数形式还是复数形式;如果空格处可填入形容词和副词，考生要根据语法知识判断最终哪个词性合适;如果填入的是动词，考生要根据时态、语态、人称、数以及前后搭配来确定动词的形式。以样题第32题为例，根据语法知识，考生可以确定此空格处应填入一个副词，用于修饰空格前面的动词use.由此，考生即使没有听清录音中说的是appropriate还是appropriately，也能根据语法知识判断出此处应填入appropriately.又如，样题中的第27、29、33和34题需填入的动词或动词性短语直接出现在介词后，或出现在介词后用“and”连接的两个动名词短语中，此时考生应判断出空格处填入的动词要使用“-ing”形式。短语部分考查动词性短语的概率比较高，因此考生需加强动词短语方面的学习和记忆。

　　第三，掌握单词的标准发音。

　　考生在平时背单词时一定要注意学习单词的标准发音。有些考生英语基础还算不错，但每次听力部分的得分总是不高，原因就是他们的发音不标准。试想，如果考生的发音不标准，又怎么能听懂听力材料中播放的标准发音呢?所以，要想在听力部分得高分，考生必须要掌握单词的标准发音。考生平时在完成听力练习后，可对照着原文再多听几遍录音并进行跟读。这样不仅可以帮助考生纠正发音，还可以培养考生的语感。

　　综上所述，要考好听力，拼写、语法和发音样样都要注意，听力不只是考验你的耳朵，祝大家考试顺利!