问答题
There are six questions in this section. For each question, you will be given a short time to prepare your response. When the preparation time is up, answer the question as completely as possible in the time indicated for that question. You should record your responses so that you can review them later and compare them with the answer key and scoring rubrics.
There are six questions in this section. For each question, you will be given a short time to prepare your response. When the preparation time is up, answer the question as completely as possible in the time indicated for that question. You should record your responses so that you can review them later and compare them with the answer key and scoring rubrics.
问答题
You will now be asked to speak about a familiar topic. Give yourself 15 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself speaking for 45 seconds.
Listen to Track 53.
Talk about a photograph or painting you have seen that was memorable. Explain what you liked or disliked about it.
【正确答案】There are many ways you could answer this particular question. You could talk about a particular artist's painting or photograph, a family photograph, or even a friend's painting. You might start by giving a brief description of the photograph or painting and talk briefly about its subject matter or important features. You then will need to give at least one well-developed reason why you like or dislike the photograph or painting. You do not want to spend too much time describing the photograph and run out of time to explain why you like it.
Your response should be intelligible, should demonstrate effective use of grammar and vocabulary, and should be well developed and coherent. Your response is scored using the Independent Speaking Rubric (see Appendix A).
【答案解析】[解析]
Narrator
Talk about a photograph or painting you have seen that was memorable. Explain what you liked or disliked about it.
Narrator
Talk about a photograph or painting you have seen that was memorable. Explain what you liked or disliked about it.
问答题
You will now be asked to give your opinion about a familiar topic. Give yourself 15 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself speaking for 45 seconds.
Listen to Track 54.
Some people have one career throughout their lives. Other people do different kinds of work at different points in their lives. Which do you think is better? Explain why.
【正确答案】To respond to this particular question, you should clearly state what your opinion is: do you think it is better to have one career or do different kinds of work? You should then give reasons to support your opinion. If you think that it is better to have one career, you could say that if you have a career that you love, there is no reason to change. Many people enjoy doing one thing that they are very good at. You may then talk about other advantages, such as money or the possibility to advance over time. You may give a more specific example to help you explain. For example, you could say that a doctor has gone to school for a long time and it takes a long time to learn to be a good doctor, so in this case changing careers would not make sense.
If you think it is better to do different kinds of work, you would develop your opinion in a similar way. You could say that doing one job for your whole life would not be interesting, and that as technology progresses, many new fields to work in become available. You might then provide specific information about new fields, such as those connected to new computer technology.
It is important to understand that there is no "correct" answer to this question. Whichever option you prefer, your answer should be supported with examples. It is important to make sure that you state your opinion and develop your response with good examples and relevant details.
Your response should be intelligible, should demonstrate effective use of grammar and vocabulary, and should be well developed and coherent. Your response is scored using the Independent Speaking Rubric (see Appendix A).
【答案解析】[解析]
Narrator
Some people have one career throughout their lives. Other people do different kinds of work at different points in their lives. Which do you think is better? Explain why.
Narrator
Some people have one career throughout their lives. Other people do different kinds of work at different points in their lives. Which do you think is better? Explain why.
问答题
You will now read a short passage and listen to a conversation on the
same topic. You will then be asked a question about them. After you hear the
question, give yourself 30 seconds to prepare your response. Then record
yourself speaking for 60 seconds.
Listen to Track 55.
Currently, all of the seminar classes in the history department are three hours long. I would like to propose that history seminars be shortened to two hours. I make this proposal for two reasons. First, most students just cannot concentrate for three hours straight. I myself have taken these three-hour seminars and found them tiring and sometimes boring. Also, when a seminar lasts that long, people stop concentrating and stop learning, so the third hour of a three-hour seminar is a waste of everyone's time. Two-hour seminars would be much more efficient.
Sincerely,
Tim Lawson
Listen to Track 56.
Listen to Track 55.
History Seminars Should Be
Shorter
Currently, all of the seminar classes in the history department are three hours long. I would like to propose that history seminars be shortened to two hours. I make this proposal for two reasons. First, most students just cannot concentrate for three hours straight. I myself have taken these three-hour seminars and found them tiring and sometimes boring. Also, when a seminar lasts that long, people stop concentrating and stop learning, so the third hour of a three-hour seminar is a waste of everyone's time. Two-hour seminars would be much more efficient.
Sincerely,
Tim Lawson
Listen to Track 56.
【正确答案】To respond to this particular question, you should state the woman's opinion of the letter writer's proposal to shorten history seminars to two hours. In this case, the woman disagrees with the letter writer's proposal.
After stating that the woman disagrees with the proposal, you should convey the two main reasons she gives for holding that opinion. You will need to connect information from the conversation to the reading in order for the response to be complete. The woman says that the first reason given for shortening history seminars—that students cannot concentrate for three hours—isn't valid. She says that Tim, the letter writer, is not a typical student and that he stays up late at night, and sometimes even sleeps in class.
Your response should also convey the woman's second reason for not agreeing with the letter writer's proposal. The letter writer thinks that the third hour of the seminar is a waste of time because people don't learn anything. The woman thinks, however, that the last hour is when the discussions are the most interesting and that it is the most important part of the seminar.
Your response should be intelligible, should demonstrate effective use of grammar and vocabulary, and should be well developed and coherent. Your response is scored using the Integrated Speaking Rubric (see Appendix A).
【答案解析】[解析]
TRACK 55 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Now read a letter that a student has written to the university newspaper. You have 50 seconds to read the letter. Begin reading now.
TRACK 56 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Now listen to two students discussing the letter.
Female student
I totally disagree with Tim's proposal.
Male student
Why?
Female student
Well, look. Tim's my friend, but he's not your typical student. He stays up late partying every night—weeknights too.
Male student
If he parties every night, no wonder he can't pay attention.
Female student
Yes, and most students aren't like that. They come to class prepared and rested, and they can concentrate.
Male student
So you're saying the problem is really Tim.
Female student
Yes. He was in one of my classes last year and whenever I looked at him, he was actually sleeping.
Male student
I guess if he's sleeping, he can't really know what's happening, what other people in class are doing.
Female student
Right. And you want to know what does happen in that last hour of seminar? In a lot of seminars that I've been in, that's when things get interesting.
Male student
Really?
Female student
Yes. That's usually when students get really involved in the discussion and start exchanging important ideas. And if the history department actually did what Tim suggests, well, if they did that, what would happen is you'd lose what might be the most worthwhile part of a seminar.
Narrator
The woman expresses her opinion about the proposal described in the letter. Briefly summarize the proposal. Then state her opinion about the proposal and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.
TRACK 55 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Now read a letter that a student has written to the university newspaper. You have 50 seconds to read the letter. Begin reading now.
TRACK 56 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Now listen to two students discussing the letter.
Female student
I totally disagree with Tim's proposal.
Male student
Why?
Female student
Well, look. Tim's my friend, but he's not your typical student. He stays up late partying every night—weeknights too.
Male student
If he parties every night, no wonder he can't pay attention.
Female student
Yes, and most students aren't like that. They come to class prepared and rested, and they can concentrate.
Male student
So you're saying the problem is really Tim.
Female student
Yes. He was in one of my classes last year and whenever I looked at him, he was actually sleeping.
Male student
I guess if he's sleeping, he can't really know what's happening, what other people in class are doing.
Female student
Right. And you want to know what does happen in that last hour of seminar? In a lot of seminars that I've been in, that's when things get interesting.
Male student
Really?
Female student
Yes. That's usually when students get really involved in the discussion and start exchanging important ideas. And if the history department actually did what Tim suggests, well, if they did that, what would happen is you'd lose what might be the most worthwhile part of a seminar.
Narrator
The woman expresses her opinion about the proposal described in the letter. Briefly summarize the proposal. Then state her opinion about the proposal and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.
问答题
You will now read a short passage and listen to a lecture on the same
topic. You will then be asked a question about them. After you hear the
question, give yourself 30 seconds to prepare your response. Then record
yourself speaking for 60 seconds.
Listen to Track 57.
Explicit Memories and Implicit Memories
In everyday life, when people speak of memory, they are almost always speaking about what psychologists would call explicit memories. An explicit memory is a conscious or intentional recollection, usually of facts, names, events, or other things that a person can state or declare. There is another kind of memory that is not conscious. Memories of this kind are called implicit memories. An individual can have an experience that he or she cannot consciously recall yet still display reactions that indicate the experience has been somehow recorded in his or her brain.
Listen to Track 58.
Listen to Track 57.
Explicit Memories and Implicit Memories
In everyday life, when people speak of memory, they are almost always speaking about what psychologists would call explicit memories. An explicit memory is a conscious or intentional recollection, usually of facts, names, events, or other things that a person can state or declare. There is another kind of memory that is not conscious. Memories of this kind are called implicit memories. An individual can have an experience that he or she cannot consciously recall yet still display reactions that indicate the experience has been somehow recorded in his or her brain.
Listen to Track 58.
【正确答案】To respond to this particular question you should first explain the idea of implicit memory as it was presented in the reading. An implicit memory is not conscious and cannot be recalled, but it is recorded in our brains. You may choose to contrast this with explicit memory, which is consciously recalled, but do not spend too much time at this stage. You must give yourself enough time to discuss the professor's example.
You should then use the example given by the professor to explain implicit memory. In the example, implicit memory is demonstrated when a person drives by a billboard and sees an advertisement for a car called "Panther" but has no recollection of the billboard. Then later, the same person recalls the word "Panther" when asked to name an animal that starts with the letter "P," even though "pig" is a more common animal that begins with "p." This shows that the billboard has had an effect on the person's memory; this is an illustration of implicit memory.
You do not need to repeat all of the details from the reading and the lecture, but instead integrate points from both to answer the question completely.
Your response should be intelligible, should demonstrate effective use of grammar and vocabulary, and should be well developed and coherent. Your response is scored using the Integrated Speaking Rubric (see Appendix A).
【答案解析】[解析]
TRACK 57 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
You have 45 seconds to read a passage from a psychology textbook. Begin reading now.
TRACK 58 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Now listen to part of a lecture on this topic in a psychology class.
Professor
OK, the first kind of memory, we're all very familiar with this, right? You probably remember what you had for dinner last night. You have a conscious memory of last night's dinner, so, um, if I ask you "What did you eat last night?" you could tell me.
But these other kind of memories—implicit memories. They work differently.
Let's take an example from the world of advertising. When you're driving along a highway, you see plenty of billboards—you know, roadside advertisements. You certainly don't remember them all. But they still affect you. Marketing researchers have shown... well, to be specific, let's say there's a billboard on the highway advertising a car called "the Panther." The ad shows a big picture of the car. And above the car in huge letters is the name of the car: "Panther." A lot of people drive by the billboard. But... ask those drivers later if they saw any advertisements for cars, and, well, they'll think about it, and a lot of them will say no. They honestly don't remember seeing any. They have no conscious memory of the "Panther" billboard. So you ask these same people a different question: You ask, um, OK, ah, you ask them to name an animal starting with the letter P. What do you think they will answer? Do they say "pig"? Pig is the most common animal that starts with the letter P. But they don't say "pig." They say "panther." The billboard had an effect, even though the drivers don't remember ever seeing it.
Narrator
Using the example of the car advertisement, explain what is meant by implicit memory.
TRACK 57 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
You have 45 seconds to read a passage from a psychology textbook. Begin reading now.
TRACK 58 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Now listen to part of a lecture on this topic in a psychology class.
Professor
OK, the first kind of memory, we're all very familiar with this, right? You probably remember what you had for dinner last night. You have a conscious memory of last night's dinner, so, um, if I ask you "What did you eat last night?" you could tell me.
But these other kind of memories—implicit memories. They work differently.
Let's take an example from the world of advertising. When you're driving along a highway, you see plenty of billboards—you know, roadside advertisements. You certainly don't remember them all. But they still affect you. Marketing researchers have shown... well, to be specific, let's say there's a billboard on the highway advertising a car called "the Panther." The ad shows a big picture of the car. And above the car in huge letters is the name of the car: "Panther." A lot of people drive by the billboard. But... ask those drivers later if they saw any advertisements for cars, and, well, they'll think about it, and a lot of them will say no. They honestly don't remember seeing any. They have no conscious memory of the "Panther" billboard. So you ask these same people a different question: You ask, um, OK, ah, you ask them to name an animal starting with the letter P. What do you think they will answer? Do they say "pig"? Pig is the most common animal that starts with the letter P. But they don't say "pig." They say "panther." The billboard had an effect, even though the drivers don't remember ever seeing it.
Narrator
Using the example of the car advertisement, explain what is meant by implicit memory.
问答题
You will now listen to part of a conversation. You will then be asked a
question about it. After you hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to
prepare your response. Then record yourself speaking for 60 seconds.
Listen to Track 59.
Listen to Track 59.
【正确答案】To respond to this particular question you should briefly describe the problem. It is enough to say that the study group hasn't been studying much because they have become friends and joke around a lot.
Next, you need to choose one of the two solutions and explain why you think that solution is best. The two solutions in this conversation are: (1) meet on a day other than Fridays, or (2) have somebody be the leader, who would set an agenda and make sure work gets done. It does not matter which of the two proposed solutions you choose, since there is no "right" solution or "wrong" solution. You should choose the solution that you think is best and support your choice with reasons why you think it is best. The reasons you give can include information provided by the speakers as well as your own experiences.
For example, if you believe the first solution is preferable, you could speak about the disadvantages of the second solution; you might say that having a leader would change the way the group works, and that some people might not agree with this idea. Adding a leader could create more problems than it solves, and it might be too much responsibility for the student. Therefore, changing the day of the meetings is the better solution. If you believe the second solution is preferable, you might say that organization is what the group needs, and that the woman would get good experience from being the leader of the group. These are just examples of possible responses; remember, this type of question can be answered in many different ways.
Your response should be intelligible, should demonstrate effective use of grammar and vocabulary, and should be well developed and coherent. Your response is scored using the Integrated Speaking Rubric (see Appendix A).
【答案解析】[解析]
Narrator
Now listen to a conversation between a professor and a student.
Professor
Hi, Sara. To what do I owe the pleasure of this office visit?
Student
It's my study group, Professor Wilson. We're not getting much studying done, and, you know, none of us did very well on your last quiz.
Professor
Hmm. What's the problem?
Student
Well, we've all become good friends and we joke around a lot instead of studying.
Professor
Hmm... Sara, let me ask you this: when do you meet?
Student
Every Friday afternoon.
Professor
Have you thought about changing to another day? By the time Friday afternoon rolls around, all of you are probably exhausted and all you want to do is relax and unwind. It's hard to stay focused at the very end of the week.
Student
Good point, although things have gotten so out of hand, that I'm not sure changing days would help. And we'd lose one or two people if we changed days. Friday afternoon's the only time everyone's available. But it's worth considering.
Professor
OK, but just a second... another possibility is... Does your group have a leader?
Student
No...
Professor
Well, if you had a leader that would help enormously—someone to set an agenda in advance, e-mail it to everyone before the meeting, and then make sure, when you meet, that you stay focused on your goals. And since you seem to be concerned enough about the problem to have come see me, I think that someone might be you.
Student
I guess I could take on that role. But it sounds like work.
Professor
You don't have to do it for the whole semester, Sara. You can start it off, and then perhaps someone else can take over.
Narrator
Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which of the two solutions from the conversation you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
Narrator
Now listen to a conversation between a professor and a student.
Professor
Hi, Sara. To what do I owe the pleasure of this office visit?
Student
It's my study group, Professor Wilson. We're not getting much studying done, and, you know, none of us did very well on your last quiz.
Professor
Hmm. What's the problem?
Student
Well, we've all become good friends and we joke around a lot instead of studying.
Professor
Hmm... Sara, let me ask you this: when do you meet?
Student
Every Friday afternoon.
Professor
Have you thought about changing to another day? By the time Friday afternoon rolls around, all of you are probably exhausted and all you want to do is relax and unwind. It's hard to stay focused at the very end of the week.
Student
Good point, although things have gotten so out of hand, that I'm not sure changing days would help. And we'd lose one or two people if we changed days. Friday afternoon's the only time everyone's available. But it's worth considering.
Professor
OK, but just a second... another possibility is... Does your group have a leader?
Student
No...
Professor
Well, if you had a leader that would help enormously—someone to set an agenda in advance, e-mail it to everyone before the meeting, and then make sure, when you meet, that you stay focused on your goals. And since you seem to be concerned enough about the problem to have come see me, I think that someone might be you.
Student
I guess I could take on that role. But it sounds like work.
Professor
You don't have to do it for the whole semester, Sara. You can start it off, and then perhaps someone else can take over.
Narrator
Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which of the two solutions from the conversation you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
问答题
You will now listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked a
question about it. After you hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to
prepare your response. Then record yourself speaking for 60 seconds.
Listen to Track 60.
Listen to Track 60.
【正确答案】This particular question requires you to summarize the contents of a lecture you hear. In your response, you should talk about the two different kinds of attention that the professor describes.
The order in which you discuss the two types of attention is not important as long as you discuss both types fully and make clear what is different about them. The professor says that active attention is voluntary; it occurs when people force themselves to pay attention to something. A boring lecture about frogs will require students to pay active attention, but they will not be able to maintain their attention for long.
You would then talk about passive attention. Passive attention is involuntary and requires no effort to maintain, unlike active attention, which does require effort; it occurs when people are naturally interested in the material. If a teacher pulls out a live frog, the students become more interested and passive attention is maintained.
You should budget your time so that you are able to include a good summary of both types of attention and talk about both examples of the frog lecture.
Your response should be intelligible, should demonstrate effective use of grammar and vocabulary, and should be well developed and coherent. Your response is scored using the Integrated Speaking Rubric (see Appendix A).
【答案解析】[解析]
Narrator
Now listen to part of a talk in an education class.
Professor
One of the hardest parts of teaching is keeping your students' attention. Now, the key to doing this is understanding the concept of attention.
Basically, there are two types of attention. The first type is active. Active attention is voluntary—it's when you intentionally make yourself focus on something. And since it requires effort, it's hard to keep up for a long time. OK, so, um, let's say you're teaching a... a biology class. And today's topic is frogs. All right, you're standing at the front of the room and lecturing: "A frog is a type of animal known as an amphibian..." Well, this isn't necessarily going to keep the students' interest. But most of them will force themselves to pay active attention to your lecture... but it's only a matter of time before they get distracted.
Now, the other type of attention is passive attention—when it's involuntary. Passive attention requires no effort, because it happens naturally. If something's really interesting, students don't have to force themselves to pay attention to it—they do it without even thinking about it. So back to our biology lecture. You start talking about frogs, and then you pull a live frog out of your briefcase. You're describing it while you hold it up... show the students how long its legs are and how they're used for jumping, for example. Then maybe you even let the frog jump around a bit on the desk or the floor. In this case, by doing something unexpected... something more engaging, you can tap into their passive attention. And it can last much longer than active attention; as long as the frog's still there, your students will be interested.
Narrator
Using points and examples from the talk, explain the difference between active and passive attention.
Narrator
Now listen to part of a talk in an education class.
Professor
One of the hardest parts of teaching is keeping your students' attention. Now, the key to doing this is understanding the concept of attention.
Basically, there are two types of attention. The first type is active. Active attention is voluntary—it's when you intentionally make yourself focus on something. And since it requires effort, it's hard to keep up for a long time. OK, so, um, let's say you're teaching a... a biology class. And today's topic is frogs. All right, you're standing at the front of the room and lecturing: "A frog is a type of animal known as an amphibian..." Well, this isn't necessarily going to keep the students' interest. But most of them will force themselves to pay active attention to your lecture... but it's only a matter of time before they get distracted.
Now, the other type of attention is passive attention—when it's involuntary. Passive attention requires no effort, because it happens naturally. If something's really interesting, students don't have to force themselves to pay attention to it—they do it without even thinking about it. So back to our biology lecture. You start talking about frogs, and then you pull a live frog out of your briefcase. You're describing it while you hold it up... show the students how long its legs are and how they're used for jumping, for example. Then maybe you even let the frog jump around a bit on the desk or the floor. In this case, by doing something unexpected... something more engaging, you can tap into their passive attention. And it can last much longer than active attention; as long as the frog's still there, your students will be interested.
Narrator
Using points and examples from the talk, explain the difference between active and passive attention.