We’ll be arriving at Branley Castle in about five minutes, but before we get there I’ll give you a little information about the castle and what our visit will include.
So in fact there’s been a castle on this site for over eleven hundred years. The first building was a fort constructed in 914 AD for defence against Danish invaders by King Alfred the Great’s daughter, who ruled England at the time. In the following century, after the Normans conquered England, the land was given to a nobleman called Richard de Vere, and he built a castle there that stayed in the de Vere family for over four hundred years.
However, when Queen Elizabeth I announced that she was going to visit the castle in 1576 it was beginning to look a bit run down, and it was decided that rather than repair the guest rooms, 【Q11】 they’d make a new house for her out of wood next to the main hall. She stayed there for four nights and apparently it was very luxurious, but unfortunately it was destroyed a few years later by fire.
In the seventeenth century the castle belonged to the wealthy Fenys family, who enlarged it and made it more comfortable. However, by 1982 the Fenys family could no longer afford to maintain the castle, even though they received government support, and they put it on the market. It was eventually taken over by 【Q12】 a company who owned a number of amusement parks, but when we get there I think you’ll see that they’ve managed to retain the original atmosphere of the castle.
When you go inside, you’ll find that in the state rooms 【Q13】 there are life-like moving wax models dressed in costumes of different periods in the past, which even carry on conversations together. As well as that, in every room there are booklets giving information about what the room was used for and the history of the objects and furniture it contains.
The castle park’s quite extensive. At one time sheep were kept there, and in the nineteenth century the owners had a little zoo with animals like rabbits and even a baby elephant. Nowadays the old zoo buildings are used for 【Q14】 public displays of painting and sculpture. The park also has some beautiful trees, though the oldest of all, which dated back 800 years, was sadly blown down in 1987.
Now, you’re free to wander around on your own until 4.30, but then at the end of our visit we’ll all meet together at the bottom of the Great Staircase. We’ll then go on to the long gallery, where there’s a wonderful collection of photographs showing the family who owned the castle a hundred years ago having tea and cakes in the conservatory – and we’ll then take you to 【Q15】 the same place, where afternoon tea will be served to you.
Now if you can take a look at your plans you’ll see Branley Castle has four towers, joined together by a high wall, with the river on two sides.
Don’t miss seeing the Great Hall. That’s near the river in the main tower, the biggest one, which was extended and redesigned in the eighteenth century.
If you want to get a good view of the whole castle, you can walk around the walls. 【Q16】 The starting point’s quite near the main entrance – walk straight down the path until you get to the south gate, and it’s just there. Don’t go on to the north gate – there’s no way up from there.
There’ll shortly be a show in which you can see archers displaying their skill with a bow and arrow. The quickest way to get there is to 【Q17】 take the first left after the main entrance and follow the path past the bridge, then you’ll see it in front of you at the end.
If you like animals there’s also a display of hunting birds – falcons and eagles and so on. If you 【Q18】 go from the main entrance in the direction of the south gate, but turn right before you get there instead of going through it, you’ll see it on your right past the first tower.
At 3 pm there’s a short performance of traditional dancing on the 【Q19】 outdoor stage. That’s right at the other side of the castle from the entrance, and over the bridge. It’s about ten minutes’ walk or so.
And finally the shop. It’s actually 【Q20】 inside one of the towers, but the way in is from the outside. Just take the first left after the main entrance, go down the path and take the first right. It’s got some lovely gifts and souvenirs.
Right, so we’re just arriving …
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
听前预测：定位词 Queen Elizabeth I、castle、1576；提示词 Before。
题目解析：此题较容易定位，定位词在文中都是以原词形式出现的。文中提到“when Queen Elizabeth I announced that she was going to visit the castle in 1576”，可知相关信息会在后文出现。随后提到“it was decided that rather than repair the guest rooms, they’d make a new house for her”，前半句说他们没有对客房进行修缮，所以可排除 A 选项；后半句中的 a new house 对应 B 选项中的 a new building，因此 B 选项正确。由后文可知大火发生在 Queen Elizabeth I 到访之后，所以排除 C 选项。
听前预测：定位词 1982；提示词 sold。
题目解析：时间定位词 1982 出现后，文中先解释了 Feny 一家售卖城堡的原因，接着才介绍买主：“It was eventually taken over by a company who owned a number of amusement parks…”，其中 take over 意为“接管”，amusement 对应 C 选项中的 entertainment，因此答案为 C。A 选项中的 government 是在资助 Feny 一家维护城堡；B 选项中的 Fenys family 是城堡当时的拥有者，所以排除这两项。
听前预测：定位词 rooms；提示词 In。
题目解析：此题需要先理解文中的相关句子，然后再通过句意转换进行选择。文中提到 in the state rooms，对应题干中的 In some of the rooms；其后的“there are life-like moving wax models dressed in costumes of different periods in the past, which even carry on conversations together”（有栩栩如生的可移动蜡像穿着过去不同时期的服装，看似在一起交谈），对应 C 选项中的 moving and talking，因此答案为 C。 B 选项中的 dressed 虽然有出现，但是文中并没有说参观者可以与这些人交谈， 而且房间里的是 wax models，并非 actors，故排除；A 选项在文中没有提及。
听前预测：定位词 park；提示词 In。
题目解析：此题有干扰信息，容易误选 C。文中先提到“in the nineteenth century the owners had a little zoo with animals”，但是题目问的是参观者能够在公园里看到什么，而这一句说的是 19 世纪的情况，故可排除 C 选项。之后又提到“Nowadays the old zoo buildings are used for public displays of paintings and sculpture.”，其中 displays 对应 B 选项中的 exhibition，因此答案为 B。最后，文中提到“The park also has some beautiful trees, though the oldest of all, which dated back 800 years, was sadly blown down in 1987.”，可知这棵 800 年前的树已经被吹倒了，所以参观者已经看不到了，故排除 A 选项。
听前预测：定位词 At the end。
题目解析：此题通过时间段定位即可，题中没有明显的提示词。选项中的关键词在文中都有出现，所以需要通过具体的信息来进行判断。文中提到“at the end of our visit we’ll all meet together at the bottom of the Great Staircase”，可知相关信息就出现在该句话之后。首先是“there’s a wonderful collection of photographs showing the family who owned the castle”，其中 photographs 也出现在了 C 选项中，但句意与选项意思不符，所以排除 C 选项。另外，该句是说这些照片上的人是城堡的主人一家，并没有提到游客有机会见到古堡的主人，所以排除 B 选项。最后“… we’ll then take you to the same place, where afternoon tea will be served to you.”，其中 the same place 指代的是前文中的 conservatory，因此答案为 A。