Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you willhear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After youhear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) andD). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
In today’s personality stakes, nothing is more highly valued than a sense of humor. Weseek it out in others and are proud to claim it in ourselves, perhaps even more than good looksor intelligence. If someone has a great sense of humor, we reason, it means that they arehappy, socially confident and have a healthy perspective on life.
This attitude would have surprised the ancient Greeks, who believed humor to beessentially aggressive. And in fact, our admiration for the comically gifted is relatively new,and not very well-founded, says Rod Martin, a psychologist at the University of WesternOntario. Being funny isn’t necessarily an indicator of good social skills and well-being, hisresearch has shown. It may just as likely be a sign of personality flaws.
He has found that humor is a double-edged sword. It can forge better relationships andhelp you cope with life, or it can be corrosive, eating away at self-esteem and irritating others. “It’s a form of communication, like speech, and we all use it differently,” says Martin. We usebonding humor to enhance our social connections, but we also may employ it as a way ofexcluding or rejecting an outsider.
Though humor is essentially social, how you use it says a lot about your sense of self.Those who use self-defeating humor, making fun of themselves for the enjoyment of others,tend to maintain that hostility toward themselves even when alone. Similarly, those who areable to view the world with amused tolerance are often equally forgiving of their ownshortcomings.
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
9. How do people today view humor according to the speaker?
10. What did the ancient Greeks think of humor?
11. What has psychologist Rod Martin found about humor?
Passage Two (female voice)
And now, if you’ll walk this way, ladies and gentlemen, the next room we’re going to see isthe room in which the family used to hold their formal dinner parties and even occasionallyentertain heads of state and royalty. However, they managed to keep this room friendly andintimate and I think you’ll agree it has a very informal atmosphere, quite unlike some grandhouses you visit. The curtains were never drawn, even at night, so guests got a view of the lakeand fountains outside, which were lit up at night. A very attractive sight.
As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, the guests were seated very informally around thisoval table, which would add to the relaxed atmosphere. The table dates from the eighteenthcentury and is made of Spanish oak. It’s rather remarkable for the fact that although it isextremely big, it’s supported by just six rather slim legs. However, it seems to have survivedlike that for two hundred years, so it’s probably going to last a bit longer. The chairs which gowith the table are not a complete set—there were originally six of them. They are interesting forthe fact that they are very plain and undecorated for the time, with only one plain central panelat the back and no arm-rests. I myself find them rather uncomfortable to sit in for very long,but people were used to more discomfort in the past.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, if you’d like to follow me into the Great Hall …
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
12. What do we learn about the speaker?
13. What does the speaker say about the room they are visiting?
14. What is said about the oval table in the room?
15. What does the speaker say about the chairs?
