Question

【题目】听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。

【1】Where does Thomas Manning work?

A. In the Guinness Company.

B. At a radio station.

C. In a museum.

【2】Where did the idea of a book of records come from?

A. A bird-shooting trip.

B. A visit to Europe.

C. A television talk show.

【3】When did Sir Hugh’s first book of records appear?

A. In 1875.B. In 1950.C. In 1955.

【4】What are the two speakers going to talk about next?

A. More records of unusual facts.

B. The founder of the company.

C. The oldest person in the world.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】A

【3】C

【4】A

【解析】

【原文】

W: Where can you look if you want to know how tall the tallest person in the world is? Or who the oldest person in the world is? There’s only one place where you’ll find all this information, and that’s in the Guinness Book of Records. This morning, we have someone from the Guinness Company that produced that famous book, Thomas Manning. Welcome to the program, Thomas!

M: Thanks, Sue. It’s a pleasure to be here.

W: Perhaps you could start by telling us where the idea for the book came from.

M: Well, it was first suggested in the early 1950s. Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing director of Guinness, was out shooting birds with some friends. A bird flew away so quickly that no one was able to shoot it. Sir Hugh wondered whether this bird was the fastest bird in Europe. And if it wasn’t the fastest, he wondered what was.

W: So, I suppose he went to the nearest library to look for the information, and he couldn't find it?

M: Yes, that’s exactly what happened. And this made Sir Hugh think there must be other people in the same situation who wanted this kind of information. He thought that, like himself, people would be interested in finding facts about records to satisfy their curiosity.

W: So, the idea for a book of records was born! And when did the first book come out?

M: A few years later, in 1955. So, to answer your first question, the tallest person in the world is 231.7 centimeters tall, and the oldest person is Jeanne L. Calment, who was born in February 1875.

W: There are also some rather strange records, aren’t there, Thomas?

M: Yes, that’s right. Did you know, Sue, that the shortest time it has taken…