Part III Listening Comprehension

　　Passage 1

　　Donna Fredrick’s served with the Peace Corps for two years in Brazil. She joined the Peace Corps after she graduated from the college because she wanted to do something to help other people. She had been brought up on a farm, so the Peace Corps assigned her to an agricultural project. Before she went to Brazil, she studied Portuguese for three months. She also learnt a great deal about its history and culture. During her two years with the Peace Corps, Donna lived in a village in northeast Brazil. That part of Brazil is very dry and farming is often difficult there. Donna helped the people of the village to organise an irrigation project, and she also advised them on planting crops that didn’t require much water. When Donna returned to the States, she couldn’t settle down. She tried several jobs, but they seemed very boring to her. She couldn’t get Brazil out of her mind. Finally, one day she got on a plane and went back to Brazil. She wasn’t sure what she’s going to do. She just wanted to be there. After a few weeks, Donna found a job as an English teacher, teaching five classes a day. Like most of the teachers, she doesn’t make much money. She shares a small apartment with another teacher. And she makes a little extra money by sending stories to newspapers in the States. Eventually she wants to quit teaching and work as a full-time journalist.

　　Question 16

　　Why did Donna join the Peace Corps after she graduated from college?

　　Question 17

　　What was Donna assigned to do in Brazil?

　　Question 18

　　Why did Donna go back to Brazil once again?

　　Question 19

　　How did Donna make extra money to support herself?

　　答案：

　　16. A She had a desire to help others.

　　17. B Work on an agricultural project.

　　18. D She could not get the country out of her mind.

　　19. B By writing stories for American newspaper.

　　【点评】

　　本篇短文主要讲述了Donna Fredrick的职业发展，大学毕业之后加入和平队（the Peace Corps），参加农业项目，两年的时间她住在巴西的东北部，开展灌溉项目，帮助当地居民种植无需很多水的农作物。回到美国之后尝试了几个工作，但仍心心念念巴西。最终回到巴西任英语老师，同时兼职给美国报纸写文章，来赚取额外的生活费。最后Donna想辞去教师工作专心做全职记者。

　　本篇文章基本上没有生僻的词汇，以叙述为主；不知道Peace Corps的意思不会影响做题，只需将其定义为一个组织名，中间涉及的Brazil，Portuguese也都是大家较熟悉的单词。四个题目都是考查考生对事实细节的抓取能力。