[ 2204听力 ] 五

[ 第五次课 对话1 ]

Narrator 
Listen to a conversation between a student and her Ecology professor

(woman) Hi, professor, did you want to talk about my paper? I didn’t get a grade.

(man) Ah, yes, I think you might have done the wrong assignment.

        assignment  n. 分配;(分派的)工作，任务;

(woman) But, I followed the instruction on the syllabus.

        syllabus  n. 教学大纲

(man) Yes, but this week’s assignment was to read any recent article about forest management and then write an opinion paper about it, a short essay. You submitted a ten-page research paper about the current state of logging, how and why trees are being cut down in the rainforest of South America. It’s a good paper, but the point of this assignment was to show you could give and support your opinion on a current issue. Looks like you looked ahead to next week.

        essay  n. 散文;

        looked ahead  展望未来

(woman) Oh, no, so, can I still write the opinion paper?

        still  adv. 还;还是;

(man) I think you should. Have you written an opinion paper before?

(woman) Oh, sure, in high school, but, I’m a little unsure about writing my opinion now that I’m at the university.

(man) I understand. Sometimes it’s difficult to state your opinion when you’re surrounded by experts. But, keep in mind, your classmates are in the same situation as you. They also know that it’s not an easy task to express opinion clearly and confidently. It takes practice. That’s why I’ve given all of you this assignment.

        state  n. 状态;状况;国家;州;邦;政府; vt.陈述;说明;声明;规定;公布

        expert  n. 专家;行家;能手

        keep in mind  牢记;放在心上

(woman) So, do you think I should work with what I’ve already done and change it to an opinion paper? Or start from scratch?

        start from scratch  v. 白手起家;从起跑线开始，从头开始

(man) Well, you mentioned in your paper that logging has damaged the ecosystem of many forests in South America, however, it also provides a lot of jobs for the people who lived there. Do you have an opinion about that? In your opinion, does the benefit of additional jobs outweigh the consequences, the environmental damage, that’s been done?

        benefit  n. 利益;益处;优势;

        additional  adj. 附加的;额外的;外加的

        outweigh  vt. 胜过;大于;超过;重于

(woman) Well, I can see the points of each side of the situation. While doing my research, I came across an article about selective logging. That’s when just a small number of trees in an area are cleared, you know, instead of cutting down all of them. It’s supposed to be the best of both worlds, better for the environment, while still providing jobs.

        came across  遇到；出现于；偶然发现；碰到

(man) Sounds interesting.

(woman) Yeah, I mean, it’s supposed to be better, but cutting down trees, even just a few, still has huge negative consequences for the environment. So, it’s not really better.

        suppose  v. (根据所知)认为，推断，料想;假定;

(man) Well, it looks like you’ve picked a side. Really, an opinion paper’s not so different from a research paper. You need to have some familiarity with the topic and, most importantly, you cannot express your point of view without providing supporting facts based on actual studies.

(woman) It’s not just reporting what you think.

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1. What are the speakers mainly discussing?

A)    Why the professor changed the instructions for an assignment

B)    How the student can correct an error she made

C)    A possible topic for the student’s research paper

D)    The format of an opinion paper that the student recently wrote

2. What does the professor say about the student’s classmates?

A)    Many of them did not understand the instructions for an assignment.

B)    They need practice doing research.

C)    Some of them are good writers.

D)    They all find it challenging to write opinion papers.

3. Why does the professor ask the student her opinion about logging in South America?

A)    To suggest a way for the student to approach an assignment

B)    To point out a common misconception about logging

C)    To encourage the student to give a presentation to the class

D)    To find out if the student is familiar with the topic

4. What is the student’s opinion about selective logging?

A)    It is the best way to keep jobs in the local community.

B)    It provides more economic benefits than other types of logging.

C)    It can be as harmful to the environment as other types of logging.

D)    It is beneficial only for South American rain forests.

5. What does the professor emphasize about opinion papers?

A)    The opinions they contain should be supported by research.

B)    The opinions they contain should be original.

C)    They usually include multiple points of view on an issue.

D)    They can be developed into research papers.

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[ 第五次课 对话2 ]

Narrator
Listen to a conversation between a student and a manager of the university bookstore

(man) Hi, how can I help you?

(woman) Well, I was here yesterday and picked up these books. Turns out I got the wrong ones. Here’s the receipt.

(man) No problem, I can give you a refund. I see you’re studying English Literature. I did too when I was a student.

(woman) Really? Where did you go to school?
(man) Here, graduated, uh, let’s see. It’s several years ago now.

(woman) So then, you must have taken Introduction to Shakespeare, I mean, it is a required course. I’m signed up for it and I really don’t know what to expect.

(man) Oh, I loved it, but it really depends on how much you like Shakespeare, and who’s teaching it. I remember spending a lot of time doing research, though.

(woman) Believe it or not, I actually enjoy doing research, so that’s not a problem.

(man) Well, must be easier now that the library’s open till midnight every night. I remember when they closed it at ten, not great if you’ve got off work at nine.

(woman) Yeah, I’ll bet. Oh, and also, I’m having a little trouble figuring out where copy of Brave New World might be. It’s for my Twentieth Century Novels class, but it’s not on the shelf of the rest of the books for that class.

(man) Sure, let me check our computer and see if it’s come in yet. Sometimes books take a little longer to arrive than professors hope. Which section number?

(woman) It’s section 7.

(man) Um hum, and that’s with Professor Jones?

(woman) Yeah

(man) Well, according to our records, Professor Jones did order that book, and, yep, it arrived two days ago. This is really strange. We ordered plenty of copies, so they shouldn’t’ve sold out. Wait. I bet I know what happened. There’s the problem. For some reason, we put them in the classic fiction section of the bookstore instead with the books for your class. Sorry about that. I’ll make sure they get moved today.

(woman) Well, I can understand why they were put there. Brave New World is a classic. You know, in high school, some of my friends joined an after-school book club and they read that book along with some other classics, but I guess I was just too busy with other after-school activities to join the club. Now I feel like I really missed out on something. Anyway, I was really glad to hear that we’re reading Brave New World in class here. I’m looking forward to taking other English classes and reading some of the other classics I’ve never found time to read.

(man) Yeah, but, you know, I’ve noticed that English professors often don’t choose those books, the classic ones you’d they’d have students read. They seem to go for the ones you’d barely heard of. I’m not sure why that is.

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1. Why does the woman go to speak with the man? [choose two answers]

To get help finding a book she needs for her class

To ask for a recommendation for a book to use in her research

To return books she bought by mistake

To find out what books she needs for her English class

2. What does the man imply when he talks about the library?

It has the book the woman needs for her Shakespeare class.

It was a good place to work part time when he was a student.

It has a better selection of books now than when he was a student.

It now has hours that are convenient for doing research.

3. What does the man say about the classic fiction section of the bookstore?

He has read many of the books located there.

Books for many of the literature courses have been shelved there.

The books the woman is looking for can be found there.

It can be hard to find that section of the bookstore.

4. What is the woman’s attitude toward her assignment to read the book Brave New World?

She is worried that she will not have time to read it.

She is glad that she has read it before.

She is pleased to be finally reading it.

She is concerned that the subject matter will be difficult to understand.

5. What has the man noticed about the reading requirements for many English courses?

The professors often assign too much reading.

The books assigned are often not what students would expect.

Many of the books assigned are books students read in high school.

The professors often assign the classics.