单选题 In this section you will hear several conversations. Listen to the conversations carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
单选题 What is the conversation mainly about?
  • A. The way of caring for precious metals.
  • B. A standard unit for measuring weight.
  • C. The value of precious metals.
  • D. Using the metric weight system.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[听力原文] W: Dr. Thomas? This is Keet Bradley from the daily news. {{U}}I'd like to ask you some questions about the new official standard weight that you purchased.{{/U}} M: I'd be happy to help you. What would you like to know? W: First of all, {{U}}how was the standard weight used?{{/U}} M: Well, the people in our department of Weights and Measures use it to check the scales all over the country. It's our responsibility to see that all the scales measure a kilogram accurately so this is the way we use to adjust the scales. W: How did you check the scales before? M: {{U}}We have an old standard weight that we used to use. It had to be replaced because it was imprecise. You see it was made of poor quality metal that was too porous.{{/U}} It absorbed too much moisture. W: Oh. So when the weather was humid it weighed more and when it was dry it weighed less. M: Exactly. And that variation can affect the standards of the whole country. So our department had the new weight made out of higher quality metal. W: How much did it cost? M: About 45 thousand dollars. W: 45,000 dollars? For one kilogram weight? {{U}}That's more expensive than gold! Is it really worth that much?{{/U}} M: {{U}}I'm sure it is.{{/U}} Industries depend on our department to monitor the accuracy of scales so that when they buy and sell their products there is one standard. Think of the drug industry, for example, those companies rely on high accuracy scales to manufacture and package medicine.
单选题 Why was it necessary to replace the old standard weight?
  • A. It easily got rusty.
  • B. It was frangible.
  • C. It was made of low quality metal.
  • D. The standard for measuring had changed.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】
单选题 What does Dr. Thomas probably think about the cost of the new weight?
  • A. It is lower than he expected.
  • B. It is difficult to make a comment on it.
  • C. It is reasonable for an object with such an important function.
  • D. It is too high for such a light weight.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】