W: You know there's nothing wrong with the poster itself, it just doesn't go with the colors in the cafeteria.
Q: What do we learn about the poster from the conversation?
【解析】选[C]。女士所说的there's nothing wrong with the poster itself表明她和男士都认为自助餐厅里贴的海报不好看。另外，理解男士话中的讽刺语气("art work"和"bright idea")对解答该题也有很大帮助。go with the colors意为"颜色搭配协调"。
Conversation One
M: Doctor Thomas? This is Keith Bradley from The Daily News. I'd like to ask you some questions about the new official standard weight that you purchased.
W: I'd be happy to help you. What would you like to know?
M: First of all, how is the standard weight used?
W: Well, the people in our department use it to check the scales all over the country. The Department of Weights and Measures - we're a government agency - it's our responsibility to see that all the scales measure a kilogram accurately. So this is the weight we use to adjust the scales.
M: How did you check the scales before?
W: 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 - it absorbed too much moisture.
M: Oh, so when the weather was humid, it weighed more. And when it was dry, it weighed less.
W: 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.
M: How much did it cost?
W: About forty-five thousand dollars.
M: Forty-five thousand dollars! For a one kilogram weight! That's more expensive than gold. Is it really worth that much?
W: I'm sure it is. Industries depend on our government agency to monitor the accuracy of scales, so that when they buy and sell their products there's one standard. Think of the drug industry, for example: those companies rely on high accuracy scales to manufacture and package medicine.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
19. What is the conversation mainly about?
【解析】选[A]。选项都是一些总结性的词句表明该题可能就对话的主旨或大意提问。由对话开头就提到的some questions about the new official standard weight that you purchased可判断该对话是围绕"新的标准测重砝码"展开的，故选[A]。[B]和[C]都是针对对话中it was made of poor quality metal that was too porous - it absorbed too much moisture设的干扰项。[D]在对话中没有涉及。
20. How is the weight used?
【解析】选[B]。选项表明该题可能考查某一个事物的用途或作用。[C]中的atmosphere与选项中多次提到的scale，metal，weight等词关系不大，故可初步排除。由对话中Dr. Thomas的回答... use it to check the scales all over the country可直接得出答案是[B]。[D]是根据对话中的higher quality metal设的干扰项。
21. What does Doctor Thomas probably think about the cost of the new weight?
【解析】选[D]。选项表明该题是就某物是否值许多钱提问。[A] 和[C]的观点完全相反，[B]持中立态度，[D]说"该事物拥有的重要功能来说是很合理的"，看问题全面、客观，这样的选项往往是答案。当对话中女士对该工具是否值那么多钱提出疑问时，Dr. Thomas的回答是I'm sure it is，而后又举了药品工业的例子说明标准测量砝码的重要功能，故[D]正确。
