广西考生必看，英语专业四级、八级考试成绩这样查询

During the traditional wedding ceremony, the

CD＃6bridal couple promises each other lifelong 【M1】______

devotion. Yet, about one out of four American

marriages ends in divorce. Since 1940, the

divorce rate has more than doubled, and

experts predict that, of all marriages that

occured in the 1970s, about【M10】% will end in 【M2】______

divorce. The USA is one of the highest divorce 【M3】______

rates in the world, perhaps even the highest.

What goes wrong? That fact that divorce is so

common in the United States does not mean that

Americans consider marriage a casual, unimportant

relationship. Just opposite is true. Americans 【M4】______

expect a great deal from marriage. They seek physical

, emotional, and intellectual compatibility.

They want to be loved deep and understood. It 【M5】______

is because Americans expect so much from

marriage that so many get divorce. They prefer 【M6】______

no marriage at all to a marriage without love

and understanding. Which typical American

optimist, they end one marriage in the 【M7】______

hope of that the next will be happier. With 【M8】______

no fault divorce laws in many states, it is

easier than never to get a divorce. Some American 【M9】______

women stay in unhappy marriages because they

do not have the education or job experience

to support themselves and their children.

But most American women believe that, ff necessary,

they can make it lonely without a 【M10】______

husband. All things considered, Americans

have little reason to continue an unhappy

marriage.

【M1】

The author's intention is to get us to ______.

A．rethink educational strategies

B．approve of current trends

C．think about what constitutes communication

D．reassure parents

The twentieth century saw great change. In your opinion, what is one change that should be remembered about the twentieth century? Write an essay of about 400 words to state your opinion.

In the first part of your essay you should present your thesis statement, and in the second part you should support the thesis statement with appropriate details. In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or a summary.

You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.

Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.

SECTION A MINI-LECTURE

Directions: In this section you sill hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note-taking.

听力原文： Good morning, everyone. First about your second assignment. I'd like to remind you that your second assignment should be in by next Fri day. You can either put it in my pigeon hole, or leave it with the Department's secretary. Now, let's get down to the lecture.

Today, the lecture is on credit, er, or to be more specific, on credit cards. I'm sure you must have heard of some credit cards, like the VI SA card, which is an internationally used card, or the Great Wall card issued by the Bank of China, In order to give a better understanding, we'll discuss it in some detail.

Many businesses, such as department stores, restaurants, hotels and airline companies, use a credit system for selling their products and services. In a credit system, the seller agrees to sell something to the buyer without immediately receiving cash. He receives the goods or ser vices immediately and promises to pay for them later. This buy-now-pay later credit system is quite old.

There are two types of credit cards. One type is issued directly by a store to a customer. Many large department stores issue credit cards to their customers. The store credit card can be used to make purchases only at a particular store. For example, if you have a credit card from Store A, then you can only buy things in that store. Other stores would not accept it. The other kind of credit card is issued by a credit company. Credit cards from credit companies can be used to buy things almost anywhere. If you have a major credit card, you can buy airplane tickets, stay at hotels and eat at restaurant with it. Most large credit companies are connected to large banks. So if you want a credit card from a credit company, you generally have to make an application at a bank. After an applicant receives a credit card, he or she can make purchases using the

card.

The credit company sends the customer a statement of purchases at the end of each month. Generally the customer has to pay 25--50% of their credit hill every month. The customer pays directly to the credit company and the credit company pays to the store or hotel or restaurant.

There are some advantages and some disadvantages to using credit cards. The biggest advantage for the consumer is expressed by the phrase "buy now, pay later". This means that the consumer can purchase what he wants when he wants it. There is no need to save up money in advance. Another advantage of having a credit card is that it protects the owner, ff a credit card is lost or stolen, the owner only has to call the credit company and the credit company will stop the credit card number. No one else can use it. So the owner doesn't have to worry about losing the card. Another advantage of the credit card system is that the consumer receives a record of his or her purchases. Every month the credit customer receives a bill. The bill has a list of all purchases from that month. This makes it easier to remember when and where purchases are made. And another advantage is that credit cards can be used when something unexpected happens. Many kinds of professional people—plumbers, taxidrivers, doctors and dentists—will accept credit cards in an emergency. This is very important if you don't have any cash with you.

However, having said all that, using credit cards has one major disadvantage. That is, consumers tend to overspend their money. They spend more than they make. If a consumer buys a lot of th