2010年英语专业八级考试真题听力原文本C
Question 6 is based on the following news. At the end of the news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the question.
"Japan will start an aggressive push to market abroad its mobile technology, especially the nation's popular wallet-phone. " A government official said Tuesday. Although Japan boasts some of [19:37.10]the most sophisticated cell-phones in the world, the nation has failed to make its handsets, wireless technology and mobile services hits outside of Japan. Among the wireless innovations Japan hopes to paddle is the wallet-phone. The technology relies on a tiny computer chip imbedded in each cell-phone which communicates with a reader-device at stores, train stations and vending machines for cashless payments. This tiny computer chip was developed by Japanese Electronics and Entertainment Company—Sony Corporation.
Questions 7 and 8 are based on the following news.
Zimbabwe's inflation rate has soared in the past three months and is now at 11.2 million percent, the highest in the world, according to the country's central statistical office. Official figures dated Monday show inflation has surged from the rate of 2.2 million percent recorded in May, despite the government's price controls. The country's finance minister confirmed the new figure in an interview but said the rising inflation rate was not confined in Zimbabwe alone. In February, the price of a loaf of bread in the country was less than 200,000 in Zimbabwe dollars. On Monday, that same loaf of bread cost 1.6 trillion Zimbabwe dollars. Analysts have said that this Zimbabwean government official inflation rate figures are conservative. Last week, one of Zimbabwe's leading banks, Kingdom Bank, said the country's inflation rate was now more than 20 million percent. The locally-owned bank predicted tougher times ahead for Zimbabwe in the absence of donor support in falling investment in an economy that has been in free fall for almost a decade.
Questions 9 and 10 are based on the following news.At the end of the news item, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
"A large fire erupted Tuesday in Egypt's parliament and five people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation," official said. There was no official word on the cause of the blaze which ravaged a 19th century palace where parliament's upper house located. Dozens of fire tracks were at the scene. While firefighters focused on one corner of the building, the blaze burned heavier on the second corner, spreading to the second floor. Two helicopters scooped water from the nearby Nile River in small buckets and dumped it onto the blaze. Evacuated employees said authorities told them they had ruled out terrorism and that an electrical short-circuit had likely sparked the fire. "Those hospitalized included parliament employees and firefighters," said Ahmad Salah, the fire operation supervisor. The extent of damage was not immediately known. Egypt requires some fire safety measures in buildings, including fire extinguishes. But in general, the rules are not straightly enforced.