國家教委考試中心97年在廣東省進行聯考英語聽力測試試點，此舉引起了全國中學英語教師的極大關註。 本文擬對NMET97聽力試題作一評介。(試題附後)
一、NMET97聽力試題介紹
廣東省在今年的NMET中增加了聽力測試，但今年成績不計入總分，僅作參考。98年以10%計入總分，99年 以20%計入總分。今年廣東省英語聯考時間是2小時30分，聽力在NMET筆試前進行，共30分鍾。 聽力測試結束 後發筆試試卷，考生繼續進行筆試。
聽力試題由四段簡單的對話和兩段短文組成，共809個單詞， 要求考生根據聽到的內容回答試卷上的問題 。每一段文字讀兩遍，每個問題給考生25秒鍾時間回答，錄音速度適中，考生能夠適應。
整個試卷的題目安排體現了從易到難，循序漸進的原則。對話和短文，對話在前，因為對話更接近生活， 句子結構和用詞相對容易。在對話中，第一段和第四段對話之間又呈梯形排列。第一段對話的內容、長度和要 求回答問題的難度都不及第四段對話。
短文要求考生能聽懂一段連貫的表達，其內容和現實生活相關，但語言結構和辭彙比對話稍難。其中第五 段短文共有258 個辭彙，佔聽力試卷辭彙量的四分之一;第六段短文接近于新聞稿。
二、NMET97聽力試題評價
國家教委在廣東進行加試聽力的試驗，其目的就是對聯考進行改革，使聯考能更好地反作用于中學英語教 學，更有利于大學選拔人才，逐步解決我國英語教學耗時長，效率低的現狀。今年聯考結束後，教師們普遍反 映，聽力試題的命題是成功的。成功之處就在于命題者能依據當代套用語言學的研究成果，著眼于聯考命題的 整體改革，把測試考生語言運用能力作為測試的目標，沒有在辨音、辨句或簡單的交際問答裏兜圈子(這是學 生在學習英語的起始階段應解決的問題);而是圍繞培養學生在聽的過程中獲取信息的能力設定試題。命題者 選擇了聽覺輸入最常見的兩種形式：對話和敘述;並圍繞日常話題(如學習，求助等)，使內容貼近考生生活 實際。這樣做既符合中學英語教學大綱的要求，也符合社會生活和繼續學習對考生英語聽能的要求。
三、NMET97聽力試題給我們的啓示
試題提示我們，中學英語教學一定要在培養學生運用英語的能力上下功夫，英語教學既要給學生講必要的 語言知識，更要強調培養學生用英語進行交際的能力。交際能力並不僅限于聽說能力(目前中學英語界的一個 認識誤區就是“交際能力=聽說能力”)，它也包括讀寫能力。
試題也提示我們，聯考英語試題和英語的各類水準測試都要進行改革。聯考是教學的“指揮棒”。它對中 學英語教學的反撥作用目前還沒有別的手段可以代替。聯考增加了聽力測試，部分省市的高中畢業會考增加了 聽力測試，全國各地的中考都增加了聽力測試，這是中學英語考試改革的重要一步。我們認為，在有聽力測試 的情況下，原來流行的書面考查語音的試題已無繼續的必要。在教學中，我們應該要求學生註意發音，但通過 大量的書面試題測試語音並不能解決學生的語音問題;以前這樣做是為了引導教師註意語音和口語教學。
四、NMET聽力試題與NMET復試的關系
廣東省報考外語專業的考生要參加NMET復試。其他省市稱這種復試為口試。復試內容包括聽力測試(佔55 %)，語言測試(佔15%)和口試(佔30%);也就是說，報考外語專業的考生參加NMET97聽力測試後，還要 參加NMET97復試的聽力測試。
這裏，筆者簡介一下廣東省NMET復試的三種題型：
1.聽力：聽力有三道大題。第一大題是聽力理解。題型和NMET聽力試題一樣，由六段對話和講話組成，共 20個問題，涉及購機票，捷運經歷，太空旅行，求職，婦女地位等內容。每段對話或講話僅播一遍，每小題答 題時間為20秒，語速較快。
第二大題是語音聽辨。其中第1小題是辨音， 要求考生從所給四個不同的單詞或虛構單詞中，選出聽到的 那一個，念一遍，每小題答題時間為10秒。第2小題是辨片語， 要求考生從所給四個不同的短語中選出聽到的 那一個，念一遍，每小題答題時間為12秒。
第三大題是分辨句子重音與句子的意義。舉例如下：
下面你可以聽到五組小對話，試卷上印出了每組對話中的第二句原話，後跟A，B，C，D四個句子，請註意 聽對話的重音，並據此指出A，B，C，D四個句中哪個在意思上與原句最接近。每組對話念一遍， 每題給15秒鍾 回答時間。
錄音：—I go sailing every day in summer.
—I go fishing every day in summer.
答卷：I go fishing every day in summer.
A.It is in summer that I go fishing every day.
B.It is fishing that I go every day.
C.I like fishing so much that I go every day.
D.I am the one who goes fishing every day.(答案為B)
2.語言觀察：語言觀察有三道大題。舉例如下：
A )請在下列每對句子中指出：第一句的劃線部分在句法結構上相當于第二句的哪一個部分。
The soldiers caught the spy.
──
He likes to play football with his classmates.
─ ──── ────────
A B C
───────────────────
D(答案為D)
B)下列句子中的劃線部分都是虛構的詞，請在A，B，C，D 中選擇它可能的意義。
A tolen is a body in space that goes around a star.
───
A.大氣 B.光環 C.火箭 D.行星(答案為D)
C)下列句子的劃線部分都是最普通的英語單詞， 合起來的意思你不一定知道。請從上下文及單詞本身詞 義猜出這部分的意思。
I saw the light in your room was still on at midnight
yesterday.When did you knock off?
─────A.休息 B.鎖門 C.工作 D.起床(答案為A)
3.口試(題略)
(NMET97)聽力部分
Ⅰ.聽力理解(共20小題，每小題1分;滿分20分)
你將從錄音上聽到若幹段小對話或講話，每一段放兩遍，請根據每段話的內容回答一個或數個問題，問題 及選擇答案均印在下面。每個問題給你25秒鍾回答時間。
例：Man: I wonder why the office is still not open.
Woman:But it"s not yet eight. In fact, it"s only a
quarter to eight.
At what time does the office open?
A.At 8:30. B.At 8:15. C.At 8:00. D.At 7:45.
答案是C。
第一段對話，回答第1題
1.The dialogue took place______.
A.in a hotel B.in a store
C.in a restaurant D.in the street
第二段對話，回答第2—5題
2.What is the topic of the dialogue?
A.The weather B.Life in the country
C.A weekend D.Travelling with friends
3.Where did Alice spend the nights in the country?
A.In a farmer"s house. B.In the open.
C.At a friend"s home. D.At a hotel.
4.What was the weather like in the country?
A.It was fine.
B.It was OK,but rained once.
C.It was terrible.
D.It rained every day except for one day.
5.How long did it take Alice to come back from the country?
A.Half an hour. B.Four hours.
C.Nine hours. D.Twelve hours.
第三段對話，回答第6—9題
6.Where are the two speakers?
A.In the woman speaker"s office.
B.In the woman speaker"s house.
C.In a classroom.
D.In a hospital.
7.The man came into the room because he ____.
A.worked there himself
B.wanted to talk to Kate
C.had to see the woman doctor
D.wanted Jane to type a letter for him
8.What was Jane doing on the day when the dialogue tookplace?
A.She was taking a rest.
B.She was taking an exam.
C.She was preparing for an exam.
D.She was studying in night school.
9.What will Kate do next year?
A.Go to Japan. B.Change her job.
C.Go to night school. D.Buy an expensive car.
第四段對話，回答第10—13題
10.Why did the woman want to talk to the man?
A.She was interested in foreigners.
B.She planned to write about the evening school.
C.She wanted to be able to teach English better.
D.She tried to help newcomers to her country.
11.When did the conversation(對話)take place?
A.In the morning. B.At noon.
C.In the afternoon. D.In the evening.
12.Talking about his English the man thought that he waspoor in ______.
A.speaking B.writing C.grammar D.reading
13.After the conversation(對話)the man was going to _____.
A.see his uncle B.have classes
C.work in the shop D.meet his brother
第五段講話，回答第14—18題
14.When did the speaker get up every day in the past?
A.At 5:00. B.At 5:30.
C.At 6:00. D.At 6:30.
15.Early every morning the speaker had to _______.
A.clean the bathroom
B.feed the chickens
C.help his sister get dressed
D.carry water for the family
16.The speaker and his sister did not go to school bybus because ________.
A.their parents thought walking was good for them
B.there was no bus running in that direction
C.the school was quite near
D.their family was poor
17.On Sundays the speaker used to ____.
A.play in the street
B.stay at home all day
C.go to church three times
D.go shopping with his parents
18.We can infer from the speech that the speaker ____.
A.is a teacher
B.lives on a farm
C.wishes he were young again
D.thinks children were happier in the past
第六段講話，回答第19—20題
19.What happened the day before?
A.Some thieves stole paintings from a museum.
B.Some stolen paintings were sold at a very high price.
C.The stolen paintings were returned at six in themorning.
D.The police found the stolen paintings with the help ofthe guard.
20.How much were the paintings worth?
A.About a million pounds.
B.More than a million pounds.
C.About twenty-five thousand pounds.
D.More than two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.
錄音材料
第一段對話，回答第1題
M: Hello,this is room 205. What time is dinner,please?
W: The main restaurant opens at 7 in the evening and closesat 10.Our coffee shop is open 24 hours a day.
M: And what time is it now, please?
W: It"s 6 p.m.
M: Thank you.
第二段對話，回答第2—5題
M: Morning Alice. Did you enjoy your holiday in the country?
W: Yes,thanks. We had a great time. And some friends wentwith us.
M: Where did you stay? In a hotel?
W: No.We camped in the mountains, near Snowdon.We cookedall our meals on an open fire and a te outside.
M: Sounds wonderful. Was the weather good?
W: The sun shone nearly every day and it didn"t rain once.
M: Did you like the people there?
W: Yes,they were great.We met some farmers and had tea intheir houses.
M: When did you get back? Last night?
W: No.You might think we were mad.We came back this morning.I got up at 4:30,left at 5 and a rrived here at 9.I"m so tired.What about you? Did you have a good weekend?
M: Yes,but I didn"t do much.I just stayed in. The weatherwas terrible.
第三段對話，回答第6—9題
(A knock at the door)
W: Come in,please.
M: Hello,Kate.Where is Jane?I want her to type this letterfor me.
W: I am afraid she can"t.She isn"t working today.
M: Oh,why?Is she ill?
W: No. She is studying for an exam.
M: An exam.Is she going to school?
W: Yes, she is. She is learning Japanese in night school.
M: I see. Are you going to night school,too?
W: No,I"m not,not this year.But I"m thinking about taking acourse next year.
M: That"s a good idea.Is it expensive?
W: No, not very.Anyway,it"s worth the money.
第四段對話，回答第10—13題
W: Excuse me.I"m a student of this school during the day.I"m writing a report for the sch ool newspaper.It"s aboutthe evening school.Can I ask you a few questions?
M: OK.There are about ten minutes before my classes begin.
W: Thanks.Well, where are you from?And when did you cometo this country?
M: I"m from Russia.I came here with my wife and children lastyear.
W: Did you know any English before you arrived in Washington?
M: Yes,I did.I learned English in the middle school.
W: How are you getting along with your English now?
M: My reading,writing,and grammar are OK, but I have someproblems talking to Americans.It s eems that they don"t liketo talk to people like me.
W: I"m sorry.I know some Americans don"t try to understandforeigners. That"s too bad. Er...
Well,do you have a job?
M: Yes, I do.I work in a shop.
W: Where do you live?
M: We still stay with my uncle in Bell Street. He has a bighouse.And my brother is coming to
join us soon.
W: You mean he"s coming here from Russia.
M: That"s right.
W: I see. Well,I have finished my questions. Thank you verymuch for your help.
M: You are welcome.
第五段講話，回答第14—18題
Now,you want to know about life in the past. Right? I cantell you.When I was a boy,things w ere different.I had to getup at six every morning. That was not very bad insummer, but i n winter it was cold.And we didn"t have any hotwater in the house. We had to wash in cold wate r. We didn"thave a bathroom. My dad had some chickens. I had to feed themevery morning and t hen I had to walk to school with my littlesister. It was two miles to school and two miles back
in theevening. But it always seemed longer in the morning when wewere going to school. Th ere was a bus, but we didn"t have themoney. And we had to go to bed at seven o"clock every nig ht.We couldn"t watch TV because there wasn"t any. On Sundays wehad to go to church three times
— morning, afternoon andevening. And we couldn"t play ourside on Sundays. But itwas n"t all bad. We had some good times. We could go out andour parents didn"t have to worry abou t us. There weren"t somany cars on the roads then, so the streets were safe to playin. And t here were not many robbers and thieves in those days. We had to work hard and we weren"t able t o buy all thosethings in the shops today. Life was hard, but it was simpleand people were happier. I don"t think I like to be youngtoday.
第六段講話，回答第19—20題
Last night thieves broke into the City Museum and stolepaintings worth over a quarter of a million pounds. The break-in happened around twelve o"clock at night but was notdiscove red until six in the morning. At present it is notknown how the thieves got into the buildi ng though a guard ofthe museum is helping the police with their questions.