Unit One Colorful Life on Campus
Ⅰ. Pre-listening Activities
Part 1 略
Part 2 a part-time job (an on-campus job); clubs; other organizations ■ Script：
If you are attending college on a tight budget, you will most likely want a part-time job to ease your daily living expenses. Living on campus makes access to an on-campus job much easier as you will be only minutes away from your job. You don’t have to worry about driving to a job and days when there is bad weather. You will make that extra bit of cash while meeting and interacting new people.
Living on campus will give you the ability to take part in many clubs and organizations. This can include organizations that focus on education, cultural diversity, gender issues, recreational activities, spiritual activities, political clubs, sports activities, and much more. As well, the convenience of living on campus makes it more likely that you will participate in clubs and other organizations. Most colleges also have various college sports teams that one can try out for. Campus life is a unique experience that one should take full advantage of before they actually get out in the work world where they will have their whole lives to be fully independent.
Ⅱ. Listening Tasks
Task 1 Understanding News Reports
News Item One 1. C 2. D News Item Two 1. B 2. D News Item Three 1. B 2. B 3. C
■ Script
News Item One
Questions 1 and 2 will be based on the following news item.
An estimated 80 percent of American adults think music lessons improve children’s ability to learn or their performance in school. They say that the satisfaction for learning to play a new song helps a child express creativity.
Researchers at Harvard University, however, have found that there’s one thing musical training does not do. They say it does not make children more intelligent.
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Samuel Mehr is a graduate student at Harvard’s School of Education. He said it is wrong to think that learning to play a musical instrument improves a child’s intellectual development.
He says the evidence comes from studies that measured the mental ability of two groups of 4-year-olds and their parents. One group attended music class, and the other went to a class that places importance on the visual arts—arts that can be seen. The result is that they found no evidence for any advantage on any of these tests for the kids participating in these music classes. Questions:
1. What have the researchers at Harvard University found?
2. Who participated in the studies conducted by Samuel Mehr?
News Item Two
Questions 1 and 2 will be based on the following news item.
American colleges face what some people are calling a “perfect storm” of problems: college costs are rising, and there are not enough jobs for all those completing study programs. Yet employers say they cannot find enough workers with technical skills.
One solution may be found in the growing number and quality of online classes, such classes might revolutionize colleges the way the Internet has already changed music, publishing, sales, and other businesses.
“This is pretty amazing.” That is David Evans of the University of Virginia. He is teaching a Computer Science class on the Internet.
Many top universities now offer online classes; they teach everything from computer programming to the science of cooking. Many classes are at little or no cost, they are restructured more often than traditional college programs. Questions:
1. Which of the following is not mentioned as the problems American colleges face? 2. What do we learn about online classes from the news report?
News Item Three
Questions 1 to 3 will be based on the following news item.
Nigeria has one of the world’s highest rates of people who cannot read or write, but a government agency is taking steps to help more than 400,000 Nigerians in Kano state become literate.
Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike reported on the situation last September. The minister said the number of illiterate Nigerian adults has increased by 10 million over the past 20 years, the current total is 35 million; the nation also has more than 10 million children who are not in school.
To improve that situation, Kano’s educational agency has joined with Education for All (EFA), a project of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Working together, they have launched more than 8,074 adult literacy classes in 44 local government councils. The effort is expected to reach about 403,700 people. Success would mean a 90 percent adult literacy level by 2015. Questions:
1. What is the news report mainly about?
2. How many illiterate adults were there in Nigeria 20 years ago?
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3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the news?
Task 2 Understanding Long Conversations
Conversation One
1. B 2. A 3. A 4. D 5. B
Conversation Two
1. B 2. C 3. D 4. A
■ Script
Conversation One
M: You should have seen the line at the housing office. It took me an hour to make my dormitory
deposit for next year. Have you made yours yet? W: No, I’m not sure I’m going to.
M: There’s not much time left. The deadline’s May 1st. That is just two weeks from now. Are you
short of cash? W: No, I’m Okay.
M: You’d better hurry up if you want a dorm room next September. There aren’t enough rooms for
every one, and first year students have priority. W: Well, I’ve been thinking about living off campus.
M: Have you got any idea of how much that would cost? There is the rent, utilities, and you’d
probably need a car.
W: I know it would be more expensive. I think I can handle it though. The dorm is just so noisy
that I can’t get anything done. Maybe my grades would be better if I had some peace and quiet in a place of my own.
M: You should study in the library the way I do. Think of the money you’d save. W: I’ve got to think it over some more. There’s still two weeks left in April. Questions 1 to 5 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. What are the two speakers discussing about? 2. Where do the two speakers live now?
3. Why does the woman want to live off campus? 4. Where does the man usually study?
5. According to the woman, how much time does she still have to decide where to live?
Conversation Two
W: Guess what came in the mail today? M: What?
W: My acceptance letter to Yale!
M: Wow! Congratulations! When do classes start?
W: Freshman orientation is the last week of August, but I want to go two weeks before that to get settled in.
M: You’re so lucky! Do you have to do many things before you leave?
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W: Yes. I’ll be very busy! I have to get a visa, buy a plane ticket, and pack my things. But first, I want to register for classes. M: When can you do that?
W: Well, they sent me their prospectus, so I can start looking now. Do you want to help me decide which classes to take? M: Sure. What can you choose from?
W: Well, I have to take all the foundation courses, plus a few from my major. M: What is your major?
W: I hope to major in English literature, but the admissions counselor told me that many people change their major many times in their first year, so we will see. M: What are the fundamental courses?
W: In order to graduate, every student must take a certain amount of classes in history, math, English, philosophy, science and art.
M: Interesting. That’s very different from the Chinese education system. W: Yes, it is. It is also very different from the British education system. M: Really?
W: Oh, sure. In Britain, students don’t have to take the foundation courses. M: Why not?
W: Maybe because they think they know everything already! Ha!
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 1. When will the woman go to Yale to get settled in? 2. What does the woman plan to do before she leaves?
3. Which of the following courses is not included in the foundation courses? 4. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the conversation?
Task 3 Understanding Passages Passage One
Listening for general comprehension 1. A 2. C
Listening for specific information 1. A 2. D 3. B 4. C 5. D
■ Script
Listening for general comprehension
Your student ID can be a very powerful tool when it comes to retail shopping. Think about all of the things you have bought in college. Was one of them a computer? Have you gone to see a movie lately? All of these things, and many more, become more affordable by simply presenting your student ID when you get to the register.
Apple is a company bursting into the lives of college students everywhere through its numerous electronic devices. When you go to buy a computer and some other items as well, Apple will take money off the bill if you just tell them that you are a college student. They even make it so that you can shop with your student discount right on their website; all you have to do is find
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