【正文】 the first time since 1956 that both the hourly and the quarterhourly bells fell silent. Big Ben will celebrate its 150th anniversary （周年紀念日） in a few years. For now, time marches on — quietly — in London. 56. How often do the bells of Big Ben ring out after Big Ben is repaired？ A. Every fifteen minutes. B. Every half an hour. C. Every hour. D. Every two hours. 57. The report was most probably written in _____. A. July B. August C. September D. October 58. The official name of the clock tower is _____. A. Big Ben B. the Great Bell C. Small Ben D. Houses of Parliament 59. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true? A. Big Ben stopped working at midnight on August 11. B. The construction of Big Ben lasted from 1834 to 1859. C. The official name of the clock tower is the Great Bell. D. Big Ben will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2021. B Does this situation seem familiar to you? Your English is progressing well, the grammar is now familiar, the reading prehension is no problem, you are municating quite fluently, but: Listening is STILL a problem! First of all, remember that you are not alone. Listening prehension is probably the most difficult job for almost all learners of English as a foreign language. The most important thing is to listen as often as possible. The first step is to find listening resources. The Inter is really a useful tool for English students. You can download The RealPlayer from . The RealPlayer allows you to use the Inter like a radio station. Once you have begun to listen on a regular basis, you might still be frustrated (懊惱 ) by limited understanding. What should you do? Here is some of the advice I give my students: ● Accept the fact that you are not going to understand everything. ● Stay relaxed when you do not understand — even if you continue not to understand for a long time. ● Do not translate what you hear into your native language. ● Listen for the general idea of the conversation. Don’ t concentrate on detail until you have understood the main ideas. I remember the problems I had in understanding spoken German when I first went to Germany. In the beginning, when I didn’ t understand a word, I insisted on translating it in my mind. This method usually resulted in confusion. Then, after the first six months, I discovered two extremely important facts. Firstly, translating creates a wall between the listener and the speaker. Secondly, most people repeat themselves constantly. By remaining calm, I noticed that — even if I didn’ t pay much attention I could usually understand what the speaker had said. 60. The best way to improve our listening is to _____. A. practice as much as possible B. find as many listening resources as possible C. use the Inter like a radio station D. speak naturally and read as much as possible 61. Which of the following is a good habit when listening? A. Try to understand everything. B. Try to get the main ideas. C. Pay much attention to details. D. Translate each word in your mind. 62. Why did the writer mention his / her experience in Germany? A. To prove the importance of translating. B. To show the problems of speaking a foreign language. C. To tell us the importance of staying calm. D. To point out an ineffective method of listening. 63. The underlined part “ a wall” in the last paragraph refers to “ _____” . A. a munication barrier B. culture shock C. language conflict D. a little misunderstanding C A person’ s nose is important for breathing and smelling. The nose is also used in many popular expressions. Some people are able to “ lead other people by the nose” . For example, if a wife “ leads her husband by the nose” , she makes him do whatever she wants him to do. It is always helpful when people “ keep their nose out of other people’ s business” . They do not interfere （干涉） . The opposite of this is