The Listening section of the test measures the ability to understand conversations and talks in English. Answer all the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied by the speakers you hear. Do not take notes.
In this part you will see short conversations between two people. Choose the best answer to each question. Answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied by the speakers.
Woman: Pardon me. Do you know what time that this store opens?
Man: I do not, but I believe that it is written on the door.
Narrator: What does the man imply that the woman should do?
Look on the door
Open the door
Ask someone else
Come back later
Woman: I am going to buy Johnny a toy train for his birthday.
Man: Are you sure he’d like one?
Narrator: What does the man imply?
Johnny loves toy trains
Johnny already has too many toy trains
Johnny said he wants a toy train
Johnny may prefer something else
Man: I need some shampoo for my hair.
Woman: All of the shampoo is in the back of the store on the third shelf.
Narrator: What will the man probably do?
Walk out of the store
Buy the shampoo
Come back later
Go to another store
Man: Are you going to go to the University of Texas to get your Doctorate?
Woman: I don’t think so.
Man: Why, have you been accepted to any other schools?
Woman: Yes, I have received news of acceptance from LSU, University of Tennessee, and Harvard.
Narrator: What are the speakers discussing?
The University of Texas
Schools with Doctorate programs
Where the woman will go to school
Who can get accepted to the most schools
Man: I’m really tired on studying for economics every weekend.
Woman: I hear you.
Narrator: What does the woman mean?
She has excellent hearing
She has heard the man talk about this frequently
She understands his point of view
She needs to have her ears checked
Man: We are going to get ice cream. Would you like to come with us?
Woman: I am waiting for a package to be delivered.
Narrator: What does the woman imply?
She does not eat ice cream
She has no money
She does not like packages
She will not be going
Woman: Are you going to go to the ball game?
Man: You bet!
Narrator: What does the man mean?
He will place a wager on the ball game
He will definitely go to the ball game
He likes to gamble
He does not like ball games
Man: That’s a nice car.
Woman: I got it almost four years ago.
Man: It looks brand new.
Woman: Yes, it’s in good shape.
Narrator: What does the woman mean?
The woman needs a new car
She likes to exercise
She has a new car
The car is in good condition
Man: Did you get you movie passes?
Woman: I spoke to your secretary about it, and she took care of it for me.
Narrator: What does the man mean?
The secretary was responsible for getting the movie passes
They are no movie passes
He has the movie passes
The movie passes are in the mail
Man: How do you like living in America?
Woman: I am used to it know.
Narrator: What does the woman mean?
She has always liked living in America
She hates living in America
She is accustomed to living in America
She would rather live in America
Woman: Marie sure likes shopping.
Man: If only she liked doing homework as well!
Narrator: What does the man imply about Marie?
She is very likeable
She does not put much effort into her homework
She goes to the mall everyday
She has a lot of homework
Man: I thought I was supposed to perform the experiment in Room 45.
Woman: No. Ticket 45 is in Room 54.
Narrator: What will the man probably do?
Go to Room 54
Go to Room 45
Buy a ticket
Go home
Man: Did you know that Tracey and Bob are back from their honeymoon to Las Vegas?
Woman: So they did get married after all.
Narrator: What had the woman assumed about Tracey and Bob?
They were still in Las Vegas
They would not get married
They had a spectacular wedding
They hate Las Vegas
Man: Do you usually take a nap?
Woman: I do now and then.
Narrator: What does the woman mean?
She occasionally takes a nap
She always takes a nap
She never takes a nap
She used to take a nap
Man: Can you believe it? I got an A on my Finance exam.
Woman: Way to go!
Narrator: What does the woman mean?
She is asking where to go
She wants him to leave her alone
She is congratulating him
She thinks he is a liar
Man: How did the job interview go?
Woman: I could not have been more pleased.
Narrator: What does the woman mean?
The interview went very well
The woman did not like the interview
The interview was cancelled
The interview went terrible
Man: Do you mind if I turn on some music for a while?
Woman: No, I don’t mind.
In this part you will see several longer conversations and talks. You should answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied by the speakers in the conversation or talks.
Narrator: Listen to a lecture by a biology instructor.
Many people think of gorillas as dangerous killers. One reason for this is that television and movies often show these animals this way. But gorillas are really gentle animals.
The gorilla is a vegetarian. It lives in the African rain forests where it finds the fruits and plants it needs to survive. A large, wild gorilla might eat over 40 pounds of leaves and fruit in one day.
Unfortunately, these peaceful creatures are in danger of becoming extinct. Each year, large areas of the rain forests are being cut down. Because there is less and less food from these forests, the number of wild gorillas is becoming smaller and smaller.
Narrator: Listen to the conversation between two graduate students.
Woman: What did you think about the assignment we were supposed to complete for our statistics class? Man: I haven’t done mine yet. Is it difficult? Woman: Kind of. It was full of problems. Man: Derivative problems? Woman: Not really, More a review of the whole semester. Man: Oh. Woman: It was time consuming. Man: Really? Woman: Yes. I started it at about lunch time and didn’t finish it until supper. Man: I’m surprised at that. Woman: I was too, I did not expect our professor would give us so much. Man: He usually doesn’t. Woman: I know. That is why I was surprised. Man: Well, I do have some free time this afternoon. Do you know when it is due? Woman: Tomorrow. Man: Well, I better get moving.
Narrator: Listen to part of a conversation between a student and a clerk in a college bookstore.
Man: I need to buy an basic English textbook. Woman: Okay. What is the course number? Man: You mean there is more than one Woman: Sure. We offer Poetry, Writing, and Literature. Man: If I take Poetry will we write sonnets? Woman: Not really. The Poetry class is very basic rhyming. Man: Great. That is what I wanted to hear. How much is that one? Woman: It’s twenty-nine dollars, plus a ten-dollar notebook fee. Man: Wait a minute, can’t I just use my own notebook. Woman: Most students prefer the special poetry notebook, so we made it a requirement. Man: Okay. I’ll take one Poetry book and notebook. Do you take credit cards? Woman: Yes, but you don’t have to pay now. Just fill out this form and we will bill you. Man: Sounds great.
Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a wetlands ecology class. The professor is talking about sanderlings.
Urbanization and coastal development has dramatically reduced the beach habitat available for foraging shorebirds worldwide. This study tested the general hypothesis that recreational use of shorebird foraging areas adversely affects the foraging behavior of sanderlings Calidris alba. Observations conducted on two central California beaches from January through May and September through December of 1999 showed that number and activity of people significantly reduced the amount of time sanderlings spent foraging. Although the sample size was low, the most significant negative factor was the presence of free running dogs on the beach.
The experimentally determined minimal approach distance did not vary significantly with the type of human activities tested. Based on these results, policy recommendations for minimizing the impact of human beach activities on foraging shorebirds include: (1) people maintain a minimum distance of 30 m from areas where shorebirds concentrate and (2) strict enforcement of leash laws
Fig. 1
A total of 492 focal birds were observed, of which a sanderling was disturbed
by passing humans on an average of one every 15 min with 96% of those sanderlings responding to humans at a distance of 30 m or less (Fig. 1). Sanderlings responded to human activity by either running (42%) or flying (58%). Within the 1-min sampling time, the disturbed sanderling generally moved once (58%), with 42% moving more than once due to human disturbance.
Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and a graduate assistant in the marketing department.
Man: May I help you? Woman: Hello, My name is Rebecca Smith and I have an appointment Monday at ten o’clock with Dr. Cudd. Man: Yes, ten on Monday. I see it here on his planner. Woman: Well, I was wondering if it would be possible to move my appointment until later in the afternoon on Monday. Man: I’m sorry, but Dr. Cudd is tied up in meetings all afternoon. Woman: Oh. Man: There is an appointment earlier that morning, if that would help you. Or you could see him Tuesday afternoon at two. Woman: No thanks. I’ll just rearrange my schedule.
Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a macroeconomics class. The professor will be taking about the indicators business cycle.
Because the business cycle is related to aggregate economic activity, a popular indicator of the business cycle in the U.S. is the Gross Domestic Product or GDP. The financial media generally considers two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth to indicate a recession. Used as such, the GDP is a quick and simple indicator of economic contractions. However, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) weighs GDP relatively low as a primary business cycle indicator because GDP is subject to frequent revision and it is reported only on a quarterly basis (the business cycle is tracked on a monthly basis). The NBER relies primarily on indicators such as
the following:
employment
personal income
industrial production
Additionally, indicators such as manufacturing and trade sales are used as measures of economic activity.
Narrator: Listen to part of a conversation between a student and her professor.
Emily: Thank you for letting me speak with you today, Dr. Miller. I would like to talk with you about my semester average. Dr. Miller: I see. Emily: Well to be honest with you, I was upset when I saw my grade. I thought that it would have been better. Dr. Miller: Why is that? Emily: I got an A on my midterm project. Dr. Miller: I remember how good yours was. Emily: I received an A on my final exam, but I still received a B in your class. Dr. Miller: Your grades were very good according to my grade book. Emily: Can you explain why I received a B instead of an A? Dr. Miller: Twenty percent of you grade was based on your participation in the class discussions. Even though you always did well on you assignments, you never added your opinions or volunteered in class. Emily: But I tried, I am just shy. Dr. Miller: I am sorry Emily the syllabus states that everyone must participate in order to receive there full grade for the class.
This section is designed to measure your ability to recognize language that is appropriate for standard written English.
The Eiffel Tower ___________ Paris, France.
landmarks
is landmarked in
is a landmark in
is in a landmark
Young deer _________.
are called fawns
be fawns
is fawns
are fawns called
Not until a dog is several months old does it begin to exhibit signs of independence ___________.
its mother from
from mother
to mother
from its mother
The Treasury Department ais take a new look at regulations limiting the bnumber of interest that bank and csavings and loan associations dcan pay on deposits.
a
Him should bbe careful with that vase because cit is very old dand
extremely fragile.
The repair shop akeep my cassette player for six weeks before breturning it,cnevertheless,dit still does not work properly.
To score a goal in soccer you ________.
must kick the ball
must kicks the ball
may kick them ball
must kick them balls
The observation deck at the Sears Tower _________ in Chicago.
is highest than any other one
is highest than any other one
is higher than any other one
is higher that any other one
If it _________ so cloudy, we would plan on having the fair outside.
was
was not
weren't
had not
At the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman _________ for the vice presidency.
to being nominated
to has been nominated
to have been nominated
to will be nominated
Pearl Buck, aa recipient of The Nobel Peace Prize bfor Literature in 1983 cstrove to bring understanding and peace don everyone.
In most circumstances athe person that owns the property bcan claims
the rights cas money made dfrom drilling oil on their property.
_______ chocolate will give you a tummy ache.
Eat too much
Eating to much
Eating too much
Eating too many
If she ____________ to advance her clock one hour, she wouldn’t
have been late for work.
Eat too much
Eating to much
Eating too much
Eating too many
It awas obvious from his response in the press conference bthat the candidate cprepare his answer dwell.
A dream about falling _________.
scary is
is scary
are scary
very scary is
George Washington _________first U.S. President.
was the
became
were the
are the
Amelia Earhart was _______________ to pilot her plane across the Atlantic Ocean.
the first and a woman
the first woman
who the first woman
the woman who first
a
Crawfish farming bhave been practiced in South Lousiana cfor many dyears.
The main purpose aof this class is to bhelped you better understand the chistory of there country, and how dit came to be.
____________ a tree can be grown from a seedling.
That is generally believed
Believed generally is
Generally believed it is
It is generally believed that
The White Rose Bridge, awhich close today, for bresurfacing will not be copen fordtwo months.
a
When I joined the staff bof the newspaper I, cwere taught to write short, powerful dheadlines.
a
Since the official school colors bare red and white, call of us dhas worn red and white to the championship game.
The poverty level in the United State is currently set _________.
This section is designed to measure your ability to read and understand short passages similar in topic and style to those that students are likely to encounter in North American universities and colleges. This section contains reading passages and questions about the passages.
Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. He was the illegitimate son of Ser Piero, a Florentine notary and landlord, but lived on the estate and was treated as a legitimate son.
In 1483, Leonardo da Vinci drew the first model of a helicopter. It did not look very much like our modern day "copter," but the idea of what it could do was about the same.
Leonardo was an artist and sculptor. He was very interested in motion and movement and tried to show it in his art. In order to show movement, he found it helpful to study the way things moved. One subject he liked to study was birds and how they flew. He spent many hours watching the birds and examining the structure of their wings. He noticed how they cupped air with their wings and how the feathers helped hold the air. Through these studies, Leonardo began to understand how birds were able to fly.
Like many other men, Leonardo began to dream of the day when people would be able to fly. He designed a machine that used all the things he had learned about flight, and thus became the first model of a helicopter.
Poor Leonardo had only one problem, however. He had no way to give the necessary speed to his invention. You see, motors had not yet been invented and speed was an important part of the flying process. It would be another four hundred years before the engine was invented and another fifty years before it was put to the test in an airplane. Leonardo’s dream of a helicopter finally came to pass in 1936.
The Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist, Leonardo died on May 2, 1519, and was buried in the cloister of San Fiorentino in Amboise.
Glass fibers are extremely strong; for their weight, they are stronger than steel. They are made by forcing molten glass through tiny holes called spinnerets. As many as four hundred spinnerets are placed together, and threads of glass much thinner than human hairs are drawn off at great speed-miles of thread per minute. As they speed along, the threads are coated thinly with a type of glue and twisted into a yarn. The glass fibers are used with plastics to make boats and car bodies. They are also woven into heavy cloth for window draperies and into strong belts for making tires stronger.
A special kind of glass fiber is causing a revolution in communications. A signal of light can be made to travel along the fiber for very long distances. By changing the quality of the light, many messages can be sent at once along one strand of glass. New office buildings are being "wired" with glass fibers as they are built. The glass fibers will be used to connect telephones and computers in ways that not long ago were either impossible or too expensive.
Glass wool traps air in a thick, light blanket of fibers. This blanket is then put into walls and ceilings to keep warm air in during the winter and cool air in during the summer.
To make glass wool, molten glass is fed into a spinning drum with many holes in it. As the glass threads stream out of the holes, they are forced downward by a blast of hot air and through a spray of glues. The threads are then further blown about to mix them up as they fall in a thick mat on a moving belt. The glass we see through and drink out of has many, many other uses besides the ones described here.
For centuries, people have searched for a way to replace dead and decaying teeth with comfortable false teeth. Many materials have been used to make a set of false teeth. The teeth themselves should be made from a hard and durable material. They should be secured to a soft material, making them easy to wear. In the last two decades, dentists succeeded in making durable false teeth that are comfortable, too.
Two thousand years ago, the Etruscans made teeth out of animal bone and gold. These materials were used-with varying degrees of success-up to the 1700’s. When George Washington was president, ivory from animals such as elephants became a popular material for false teeth. Doctors and inventors also tried silver, peal, and agate, but teeth made from these materials were very expensive. Perhaps the most successful material was porcelain, invented by a Frenchman about two hundred years ago. White, strong, and resistant to decay, porcelain is still used today for making single teeth.
Besides finding a material for the teeth, inventors also had to find a way to secure them in a person’s mouth. People tried wire, springs, and many kinds of glue to accomplish this. In most cases, however, discomfort and a likelihood of the teeth falling out plagued the person who wore them.
Around 1844, an American dentist named Horace Wells used laughing gas to put people to sleep before working on their teeth. This innovation made dental work a lot less painful. Soon after, an inventor created the first form of rubber. This was important to dentistry because teeth could be attached to the rubber, and the rubber could be molded to fit the shape of the mouth. With these two developments, dentist could work without causing pain and could fit teeth more carefully. False teeth have become more available and comfortable since then, and dentists have continued to improve the making and use of false teeth.
The lens on a camera has only two tasks. First, it must gather in as much light as possible in order to activate the sensitive chemicals on the film. Second, it must organize the light rays so that they form a sharp image on the film. These may sound like simple tasks, but they are not.
One of the sharpest lenses is merely a pinhole in a sheet of cardboard, metal, plastic, or a similar material. If the pinhole is tiny enough, the image can be quite sharp, but then very little light is admitted. For most purposes, even the most sensitive film would take too long to record an image.
A glass lens is much better because it lets in much more light and focuses it on the film. Yet simple glass lenses are sharpest only in their centers. As more of the lens is used, the image suffers in sharpness.
One reason a simple lens can cause problems is that it is shaped like a section of a sphere. Spherical lenses do not focus perfectly on flat film, so the image is slightly distorted, especially at the edges. Another reason is that the lens can act partly like a prism. This means that some of the colors in the image will not focus properly, and the image will be fuzzy.
One solution is to block off all but the sharp-focusing center of the lens. If you block off the edges of the lens, however, less light will get to the film. Early lenses had to compromise between sharpness and light-gathering power.
Very sharp lenses that admit as much light as possible can be built by making them with several separate lenses, or elements. A multiple-element lens has from two to nine separate lenses. Some elements are cemented together, and some have a gap between them. Furthermore, the elements are often made of different kinds of glass, each with a different ability to bend light rays. Some of the elements are there just for correcting problems caused by the other elements! The results are worth it, though: pictures can be taken in many different light conditions, and they have a sharpness you can almost feel.
Section 1: Listening
