GUIDE TO LISTENING 5MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE. AND YOUR BIBLIOGR...

Section 2 Guide to Listening 5

more than twenty-five. And your bibliography should con-

[CD 1 Track 4]

tain at least ten reference sources.

Narrator:

For the Listening exercises in The Complete

Student:

Will you be assigning the topic, or . . .

Guide, the directions will not be read aloud on the tape.

Professor:

I’m leaving the choice of topic up to you. Of

Therefore, you must read the directions for each exercise

course, it should be related to something we’ve discussed

and make sure you understand them before you start the

in class.

Audio Program.

Student:

I, I’m interested in writing about earthquakes . . .

Exercise 9.1

Professor:

Hmm. Earthquakes . . . well, I don’t know, Brenda

AUDIO

S

CRIPT

. . . that sounds like much too broad a topic for a short

Narrator:

Listen to a conversation between a student and a

research paper.

librarian.

Student:

Oh, well, I’m planning to choose . . . I plan to get

Student:

Hi, I’m in Professor Quinn’s Political Science class.

more specific than that. I want to write about using ani-

She, uh, in class today she said that she’d put a journal on

mals to predict earthquakes.

reserve . . . We’re supposed to read an article from that

Professor:

Really? Well, once scientists wondered if maybe

journal.

. . . if perhaps there was some connection between strange

Librarian:

Okay, well, you’re in the right place. This is the

behavior in animals and earthquakes . . . and that maybe

reserve desk.

animals . . . that you could use them to predict earth-

Student:

Oh, good—I’ve never checked out reserve materi-

quakes. But there have been a lot of studies on this subject,

als before. So what do I need? Do I need a library card, or

you know, and so far, none of them have shown anything

. . . what do I have to do to . . .

promising . . .

Librarian:

You have your student ID card with you, right?

Student:

But I thought there was this . . . I saw this show on

Student:

Umm, I think I do . . . I mean, I think it’s in my

television about earthquakes, and it said that in, uh, China,

backpack here . . .

I think it was, they did predict an earthquake because of

Librarian:

Okay, well, all you really need to do is leave your

the way animals were acting.

student ID here with me, sign this form and the journal is

Professor:

Oh, right, you’re thinking of the Haecheng earth-

all yours—for—let me see—for two hours anyway.

quake about thirty years ago. Well, that’s true. There were

Student:

Two hours? That’s all the time I get?

snakes coming out of the ground in the middle of winter

Librarian:

Well, when instructors put materials on reserve,

when they should have been hibernating . . . and suppos-

they set a time limit on how long you can use them . . . you

edly horses and other animals were acting frightened. And

know, just so all the students in your class can get a chance

there were other signs, too, not just from animals. So the

to read them.

government ordered an evacuation of the area, and in fact,

Student:

I don’t know how long the article is, but . . . I guess

there was an earthquake, so thousands of lives were proba-

I can finish it in two hours.

bly saved.

Librarian:

And, one more thing, you, uh, you’ll have to read

Student:

Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking of . . . that’s what I

the article in the library. You’re not allowed to check reserve

saw on television.

material out of the library, or to take it out of the building.

Professor:

The problem is, that, unfortunately, no one’s

Student:

Oh, well, then, . . . maybe I should, uh, maybe I

been able to duplicate that kind of result . . . in China or

should go back to my dorm and get some dinner . . . before

anywhere. There have been lots of earthquakes since then

I sit down and read this.

that haven’t been predicted, and there have been a couple

Librarian:

That’s fine, but . . . I can’t guarantee the article

of false alarms when cities were evacuated for no reason . . .

will be available right away when you come back . . . some

and like I said, none of the studies that have been done

other student from your class might be using it.

have shown that animals are any better at predicting earth-

Student:

Well, I dunno, I . . . I guess I’ll just have to take my

quakes than people are.

chances . . .

Student:

So that’s . . . so you don’t think that’s a very good

Narrator:

Now get ready to answer the question. You may

idea for a topic, then, I suppose . . .

use your notes to help you.

Professor:

I didn’t say that . . . just because this theory

Narrator:

Question 1: What is the main topic of this

hasn’t been proved doesn’t mean you couldn’t write a per-

conversation?

fectly good paper about this topic . . . on the notion that

animals can predict earthquakes. Why not? It could be

Narrator:

Listen to a conversation between two students.

pretty interesting. But to do a good job, you . . . you’ll need

Student A:

Tina, hey, how are you?

to look at some serious studies in the scientific journals,

Student B:

Hi, Michael. Hey, how was your summer

not just some pop-science articles in newspapers or . . .

vacation?

and you can’t get your information from television shows.

Student A:

Oh, not too bad—mostly I was working. How

Student:

You really think it might make a good paper? Well,

about you? I, uh, I kinda remember you saying that

then, I think if I can get enough information from the

. . . weren’t you going to Europe? How was that?

library or the Internet . . .

Student B:

Oh, that fell through. I was going to travel with

Professor:

Okay, why don’t you see what you can find? Oh, I

my roommate, and she changed her mind about going, so

forgot to mention . . . you’ll need to write up a formal pro-

. . . well, my parents own a furniture store, and so instead, I

posal for your paper, and work up a preliminary bibliogra-

was going to work there. But then . . . well, you know

phy, and hand it in to me a week from tomorrow. I’ll need

Professor Grant?

to approve it before you get started. Now, if you’ll excuse

Student A:

Oh, uh, from the archaeology department? Sure

me, Brenda, I’ve got to get to that faculty meeting.

. . . well, I’ve heard of her, anyway.

Student B:

Well, I got a call from her just before the end of

use your notes to help you.

the spring semester. She was planning to do this dig in

Narrator:

Question 1: What is this conversation mainly

Mexico. So she calls me up and asks if I’d like to be a volun-

about?

teer, and you know, I’ve always wanted . . . it’s always been

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6 Section 2 Guide to Listening

Student B:

Yeah, the Sunflower II. Well, it’s not a regular car.

a dream of mine to be an archaeologist, so . . . I jumped at

It’s a solar-powered car.

the chance.

Student A:

So, uh, how was it . . . I mean, was it a good

Student A:

Really? That’s why you call it the Sunflower then.

dig . . .

Oh, wait, are you entering it in that race next month . . .

Student B:

Do you mean, did we find any artifacts? No, it . . .

the . . .

it was supposed to be a very . . . promising site. But it

Student B:

The Solar Derby. Yeah. It’s sponsored by the

turned out to be a complete bust! We didn’t find anything

Engineering Department.

Student A:

I read a little about that in the campus paper. I’m

. . . not even one single piece of broken pottery. Nothing!

sorry, but the idea of racing solar cars . . . it just sounds a

Just sand!

little . . . . weird.

Student A:

Wow, that must have been pretty disappointing.

Student B:

I guess, but there are lots of races for solar-

Student B:

No, not really. Oh, sure, I mean, I would’ve liked

to have made some amazing discovery, but, well, I still

powered cars. One of the most famous ones is in Australia.

They race all the way from the south coast of Australia to

learned a lot about, about archaeological techniques, you

the north coast.

know, and I really enjoyed getting to know the people, the

Student A: But your race . . . it’s not anywhere near that long,

other people on the dig, and it . . . well, it was fun!

right?

Student B:

No, no, our race is only twenty miles long. We

entered the Sunflower I in it last year and . . .

Narrator:

Question 2: What is the main subject of the

Student A:

And did you win?

speakers’ conversation?

Student B:

Uh, well, no . . . . no, we didn’t actually win . . . In

fact, we didn’t even finish last year. We got off to a good

Narrator:

Listen to a conversation between a student and

start but then we had a major breakdown. But since then

an administrator.

we’ve made a lot of improvements to the Sunflower II, and

Administrator:

Yes? Come in.

. . . well, I think we have a pretty good chance this year of

Student:

Umm, Ms. Kirchner?

Administrator:

Yes?

. . . well, if not of winning, of finishing at least in the top

three.

Student:

I’m, uh, Mark Covelli. I live over in Quincy House?

Administrator:

Yes, so what can I do for you, Mark?

Student:

The woman who’s in charge of the cafeteria over at

Quincy, I talked to her this morning, you see, and . . . well,

Narrator:

Question 4: What are these two people mainly

she told me that I would have to talk to you . . .

discussing?

Administrator:

Okay, talk to me about . . . ?

Student:

Okay, well, I’d like to . . . you see, back at the begin-

Student A:

So, Rob, what classes are you taking next

ning of the semester, my parents signed me up for Meal

semester?

Plan 1.You know, the plan where you get three meals a

Student B: Let’s see, uh, I’m taking the second semester of

day . . .

statistics, calculus, German, and . . . oh, I signed up for a

Administrator:

Okay . . .

Student:

So, well, I’ve decided it’s . . . it was kind of a waste

class in the art department, a photography class.

Student A:

Oh? Who with?

of their money because . . . I mean, I almost never eat three

meals there in a day. Three days a week I have early classes

Student B:

Umm, let me think . . . I think her name is . . . I

think it’s Lyons . . .

and I don’t have time to eat breakfast at all, and even on

days when I do eat breakfast there, I just have coffee and

Student A:

Lyons? I don’t think . . . oh, you must mean

some yogurt so . . . well, I could do that in my room.

Professor Lyle, Martha Lyle. She’s my advisor, and I’ve taken

a coupla classes from her. She’s just great. She’s not only a

Administrator:

So what you’re saying is, you’d like to be on

Meal Plan 2?

terrific photographer, but she’s also a, well, just a wonderful

Student:

Yeah, I guess . . . whatever you call the plan where

teacher. She can take one look at what you’re working on

you only eat two meals a day at the dorm . . .

and tell you just what you need to do to take a better pho-

Administrator:

That’s Plan 2. We usually don’t make that

tograph. I mean, I learned so much about photography

from her. And not only about taking color photographs, but

kind of switch in the middle of a semester . . . you know, if I

do approve this, we’d have to make the refund directly to

also black-and-white—which I’d never done before. She

your parents. And it could only be a partial refund . . . since

only takes black-and-white photos herself, you know. So

what kinds of photos did you show her?

you’ve been on Plan 1 for a month already.

Student B:

Whaddya mean?

Student:

Oh sure, I understand that . . . I just, I just hate to

Student A:

When you got permission to take her class, what

waste my parents’ money.

kind of photos did you show her? You had to show her your

portfolio, didn’t you?

Narrator:

Question 3: Why does Mark Covelli want to speak

Student B:

No, I . . . I just registered for her class. The regis-

to Ms. Kirchner?

trar didn’t tell me I needed permission . . .

Student A:

Well, for any of those advanced classes, if you’re

Narrator:

Now get ready to listen to a conversation between

not an art major, or if you haven’t taken any other photog-

two students.

raphy classes, you have to get the professor’s permission,

and usually that involves showing your portfolio.

Student A:

Hey, Larry, how are ya? What’re ya up to this

Student B:

Oh, see, they didn’t tell me that when I

weekend?

Student B:

Oh, my friends and I are going to be working on

registered.

our car, the Sunflower II.

Student A:

Well, I think it says so in the course catalog. But,

Student A:

Wait . . . you have a car called . . . the Sunflower?

you can always sign up for an introductory level photogra-

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