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Script:

Listen to part of a lecture in a geology class.

Mount St. Helens is in the Cascade Range, a chain of volcanoes running from southern Canada to northern California. Most of the peaks are dormant what I mean is, they’re sleeping now. but are potentially active. Mount St. Helens has a long history of volcanic activity, so the eruptions of 1980 weren′t a surprise to geologists. The geologists who were familiar with the mountain had predicted she would erupt.

The eruption cycle had sort of a harmless beginning. In March of 1980, seismologists picked up signs of earthquake activity below the mountain. And during the next week, the earthquakes increased rapidly, causing several avalanches. These tremors and quakes were signs that large amounts of magma were moving deep within the mountain. Then, suddenly one day there was a loud boom, a small crater opened on the summit. St. Helens was waking up.

The vibrations and tremors continued. All during April, there were occasional eruptions of steam and ash. This attracted tourists and hikers to come and watch the show. It also attracted seismologists, geologists, and—of course -the news media.

By early May. the north side of the mountain had swelled out into a huge and growing bulge. The steam and ash eruptions became even more frequent. Scientists could see that the top of the volcano was sort of coming apart. Then there were a few days of quiet, but it didn’t last long. It was the quiet before the storm.

On the morning of May 18—a Sunday at around eight o’clock, a large earthquake broke loose the bulge that had developed on the north face of the mountain. The earthquake triggered a massive landslide that carried away huge quantities of rock. Much of the north face sort of swept down the mountain.

The landslide released a tremendous sideways blast.

Super heated water in the magma chamber exploded, and a jet of steam and gas blew out of the mountain’s side with tremendous force. Then came the magma, sending up a cloud of super-heated ash. In only 25 seconds, the north side of the mountain was blown away. Then, the top of the mountain went too. pouring out more ash, steam, and magma. The ash cloud went up over 60.000 feet in the air. blocking the sunlight.

Altogether, the eruptions blew away three cubic kilometers of the mountain and devastated more than 500 kilometers of land. The energy of the blast was equivalent to a hydrogen bomb of about 25 megatons. It leveled all trees directly to the northeast and blew all the water out of some lakes. The blast killed the mountain′s goats, millions of fish and birds, thousands of deer and elk and around sixty people. The ash cloud drifted around the world, disrupting global weather patterns.

For over twenty years now. Mount St. Helens has been dormant. However, geologists who’ve studied the mountain believe she won’t stay asleep forever. The Cascade Range is volcanically active. Future eruptions are certain and— unfortunately we can’t prevent them.

4. What can be concluded about Mount St. Helens?

A.

It is a harmless inactive volcano.

B.

It is likely to erupt in the future.

C.

It is no longer of interest to geologists.

D.

It is the largest volcano in the world.

5. What were some effects of the eruption? Click on TWO answers.

A.

The ash cloud affected weather around the world.

B.

Tourists were afraid to visit the Cascade Range.

C.

Large numbers of animals and people were killed.

D.

Geologists were criticized for failing to predict it.

6. The professor explains what happened when Mount St. Helens erupted. Choose THREE sentences were part of the event.

A.

Ash and steam rose from the mountain.

B.

The mountain's side and top exploded.

C.

An earthquake caused a huge landslide.

D.

The mountain gained sixty feet in height.

Script:

A cultural historian has been invited to speak to an urban studies class. Listen to part of the lecture.

The agricultural revolution of ten thousand years ago started the great shift from rural to urban living. As human settlements evolved from simple groups of huts to larger villages, and then to towns and cities, their basic pattern changed.

The early rural villages grew naturally—sort of organically—as if they were plants or bushes, and buildings were clustered near water sources, and around village gardens, with trees for shade and pastures for animals.

A lot of us yearn to escape to these simpler, more romantic settlements of the past. But there are probably more of us who have a powerful urge to explore new ideas and to build bigger and better structures. We now have super settlements called cities. Our city planners and architects have converted the organic pattern of the village into a geometrically perfect grid. Our natural habitat has been transformed into an expanse of hard straight surfaces, with stone and metal and concrete and glass.

Of course, the city is still a wonderful place for stimulation, for opportunity, and for cultural interaction. In fact, you could say the city is our most spectacular creation. And believe it or not it still has elements of the rural past.

In the average North American city, about one-third of the surface is given to streets and buildings. The rest is covered by trees and grass foresters call it the "urban forest” -meaning all the trees in city parks, the trees planted along streets and highways, and the trees in people’s yards. The extent of this forest is sort of amazing—two-thirds of our urban space.

The concept of a tree-lined village green has a long history, but one of North America′s first public parks - that was sort of created as a unified project—was Central Park in New York City. Central Park was designed by landscape architects Olmsted and Vaux in the late nineteenth century. They took their inspiration from the gardens of European estates and the romantic landscape paintings from that period.

Central Park was set in a rectangular site covering over 800 acres in the middle of Manhattan Island. By the nineteenth century, the original forest was long gone. The area had been used as a common pasture for farm animals, but eventually it deteriorated into a kind of urban wasteland, dotted with garbage dumps.

Olmsted and Vaux transformed this wasteland into something like its original appearance, with rolling hills, grassy meadows, and woody thickets with thousands of trees. The result is sort of an oasis in the middle of steel and stone. Central Park has been called “the city’s lung" because of its purifying effect on the air, not to mention its effect on the human psyche. It remains one of the best examples of what we can do with the open spaces of our cities.

When you look at how far we’ve come as humans, when you consider that we′ve developed something called civilization, you come to realize that the finest evidence of our civilization is the city. The city is a symbol of experimentation and creation, a place where we can come together for work and entertainment, for art and culture, for wonder and opportunity. And. like the rural villages of the past, the city is where we come together to share cultural experiences with other humans—indeed, to define what it is to be human.

7. What topics does the speaker discuss? Click on TWO answers.

A.

Why people prefer living in romantic villages

B.

A change in the design of human settlements

C.

The significance of trees in urban spaces

D.

Causes and effects of the agricultural revolution

8. How did early rural villages differ from the cities of today?

A.

Villages provided better economic opportunities.

B.

Villages were designed as perfect rectangular grids.

C.

Villages grew organically around features of the land.

D.

Villages were more likely to inspire landscape painters.

9. What is the “urban forest”?

A.

A park designed by an architect

B.

The forest surrounding a city

C.

The trees cultivated on farms

D.

All of the trees in an urban area

10. Why does the speaker talk about New York City?

A.

To describe urban architecture and culture

B.

To compare New York to other large cities

C.

To give an example of an urban park project

D.

To recommend places to visit in New York

11. Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question. What does the speaker imply about New York′s Central Park?

A.

It is the largest urban forest in the world.

B.

It was the first park to be designed by architects.

C.

It contributes to the quality of life in the city.

D.

It contains beautiful buildings of steel and stone.

12. What is the speaker′s opinion of the city?

A.

The city is a symbol of human achievement.

B.

The city is a like an organic machine.

C.

The city is too hard, straight, and unnatural.

D.

The city is better than a traditional village.

Script:

Listen to part of a conversation between a student and a university employee.

Employee: Oh, hello . . . can I help you?

Student: Um . . . yeah . . . I′m looking for professor Kirk, is she here? I mean, is this her office?

Employee: Yes, you′re in the right place— professor Kirk′s office is right behind me—but no . . . she′s not here right now.

Student: Um, do you know when she′ll be back?

Employee: Well, she′s teaching all morning. She won′t be back until . . . let me check . . . hmm, she won′t be back until . . . after lunch. That′s when she has her office hours. Perhaps you could come back then?

Student: Oh, unfortunately no. I have class this afternoon. And I was really hoping to talk to her today. Hey, um, do you know if . . . she′s accepting any more students into her introduction to biology class?

Employee: You want to know if you can take the class?

Student: Yes, if she′s letting any more students sign up, I′d like, I′d like to join the class.

Employee: Introduction to biology is a very popular class, especially when she teaches it. A lot of students take it.

Student: Yeah, that′s why the registrar said it was full. I′ve got the form the registrar gave me, um, with me to get her permission to take the class. It′s all filled out except for her signature. I′m hoping she′ll let me in even though the class is full. You, see I′m a senior this year, and uh, . . . this′ll be my last semester, so it′s my last chance . . .

Employee: Oh, wow, really. I mean, most students fulfill their science requirement the first year.

Student: Well, I mean, um...to be honest, I kept putting it off. I′m not really a big fan of science classes in general, and with the labs and everything, I′ve never quite found the time.

Employee: Your advisor didn′t say anything?

Student: Well, to tell you the truth she′s been after me to take a class like this for a while, but I′m double majoring in art and journalism and so my schedule′s been really tight with all the classes I gotta′ take, so somehow I never . . .

Employee: (politely cutting in) Well, perhaps you could leave the form with me and I′ll see if she′ll sign it for you.

Student: You know, I appreciate that, but maybe I should explain the problem to her in person . . . I didn′t want to do it, but I guess I′ll have to send her an e-mail.

Employee: Hmm. You know, not all professors check their e-mails regularly—I . . . I′m not sure if professor Kirk does it or not. Here′s an idea . . . Why don′t you stick a note explaining your situation under her door and ask her to call you if she needs more information?

Student: Hey, that′s a good idea; and then I can leave the form with you—if you still don′t mind. . .

13. Why does the student go to Professor Kirk′s office?

A.

To find out if he needs to take a certain class to graduate

B.

To ask Professor Kirk to sign a form

C.

To ask Professor Kirk to be his advisor

D.

To respond to Professor Kirk's invitation

14. Why is the woman surprised at the man′s request?

A.

He has waited until his senior year to take Introduction to Biology.

B.

Professor Kirk no longer teaches Introduction to Biology.

C.

He has not tried to sign up for Introduction to Biology at the registrar's office.

D.

A journalism student should not need a biology class.

15. What does the man say about his advisor?

A.

She is not aware of the man's problem.

B.

She encouraged the man to take a science class.

C.

She thinks very highly of Professor Kirk.

D.

She encouraged the man to major in journalism.

16. How will the man probably try to communicate his problem to Professor Kirk?

A.

By visiting her during office hours

B.

By leaving her a note

C.

By calling her

D.

By sending an e-mail to her

17. Listen again to part of the conversation. Why does the man say this to the woman?

A.

To explain why he needs the woman's help

B.

To politely refuse the woman's suggestion

C.

To thank the woman for solving his problem

D.

To show that he understands that the woman is busy

Script:

Listen to a conversation between a student and a worker in a university office.

Office worker: Yes, how can I help you?

Student: I’m not sure if I’m in the right place . . . I’m looking for an application for the Academic Scholarship program. Is that something I can pick up here?

Office worker: Yes, you’re in the right place. Applications for the Academic Scholarship program are right here. Let me get one for you. . . . Here you are.

Student: Thanks very much. ... By the way, is there anything I need to know to complete the application, or is the application self-explanatory?

Office worker: It’s fairly self-explanatory, but let me go over a few things with you, just to be sure. .. . OK, the first really important thing is the date. The application’s due by March 1, by the end of the business day on March 1.

Student: That′s really soon . . .

Office worker: It is, and the date is absolute. No applications will be accepted after the first.

Student: I’ll have to hurry to get it done.

Office worker: You will.

Student: Anything else?

Office worker: Uh, yes . . . make sure you fill the application out completely. Every single question must be answered. If you omit any questions, your application won′t be considered.

Student: But some of these questions don′t seem to pertain to me.

Office worker: Like what, for example?

Student: Well, look, question number 20 asks about my high school ranking.

Office worker: Why doesn’t that pertain to you?

Student: Well, the high school I attended didn’t give rankings. I didn′t go to high school here in the United States, and my high school didn’t give out rankings.

Office worker: Well, for that question, just give the explanation you gave me. Just be sure not to omit any questions; if you think a question doesn′t pertain to you, then write an explanation why.

Student: OK, I can do that. . . . Anything else you can tell me?

Office worker: Well, there’re the essays. . . . You know you have to write two essays to accompany the application?

Student: Oh, my. That’s a lot of work. I assume the essay questions are included somewhere in the application?

Office worker: Yes, on page seven of the application. .. . Do you see them . . . at the bottom of the page?

Student: Yes, I see them . . . there are four questions there. ... I thought you said I needed to write two essays . . . oh . . . I see. It says to choose two of the four essay questions to answer. . . . Now, is that all I need to do? That must be all. . . .

Office worker: Well, not quite.

Student: Oh, no! What else?

Office worker: There are the letters of reference.

Student: Letters of reference? Are these letters that I write?

Office worker: (laughs) Oh, no . . . you don′t write the letters of reference yourself. You need to get three people to write letters of reference for you.

Student: Do the letters of reference need to be written by professors, or can they be written by other people?

Office worker: Two of the three letters need to be written by professors . . . you’re applying for an academic scholarship, after all.

Student: So I need two letters of reference from professors and one from someone else?

Office worker: Yes.

Student: Can the third letter of reference be written by a friend, by a student?

Office worker: No, the third letter can’t be written by a student.

Student: How about by my advisor? Would that be OK?

Office worker: That would be great.

Student: And do I need all of this by March 1st, even the letters of reference?

Office worker: All of it, if you want to be considered for the Academic Scholarship program.

18. Why does the student go to see this office worker?

A.

To find out how to apply for a particular program

B.

To ask for a letter of reference

C.

To ask for an application for university admission

D.

To turn in an application for a scholarship

19. Which items are emphasized by the office worker?

A.

The length of the essays

B.

The need to answer all questions

C.

The date the completed application is due

D.

The information to be included in the reference letters

20. Which items are NOT emphasized by the office worker?

A.

The date the completed application is due

B.

The need to answer all questions

C.

The length of the essays

D.

The information to be included in the reference letters

21. Why does the student ask about the question on high school ranking?

A.

It is an example of a question he finds difficult to answer.

B.

He thinks that his high school ranking might be too low.

C.

It seems like a question that would take too much time to answer.

D.

He thinks the question should be answered by someone else.

22. What does the advisor say about the essays?

A.

The student needs to answer all four essay questions on page seven.

B.

The student needs to answer the two essay questions on page four.

C.

The student needs to answer the four essay questions on page two.

D.

The student needs to answer two of the four essay questions on page seven.

23. What does the advisor say about the letters of reference?

A.

Two must be written by professors.

B.

Only one can be written by a professor.

C.

The student needs three of them.

D.

The student needs two of them.

Script:

Listen to a conversation in a university housing office.

M: Hi. Um ... I live in Tower One ... and I was ... um ... I’d kind of like to live in a smaller building. I’m thinking of moving next semester.

W: Do you know about the villages? They′re on the other side of campus from the towers.

M: Uh huh. I’ve seen them—1 mean, from the outside. What’s the rent like? I mean, compared to the towers.

W: The rent depends on the situation, like how many people arc in the suite.

M: Suite? What’s that?

W: It’s a unit for either four, six. or eight people. They’re like apartments.

M: Oh. Aren’t there any private rooms?

W: No, not in the villages. It’s all suites. The bedrooms are for two people—that part′s kind of like in the dormitories. You have to share a bedroom with another student. The suites have two to four bedrooms, one or two bathrooms, and a kitchen with a stove and a microwave, and a full refrigerator. Some of them also have a big living room.

M: Oh. That sounds kind of nice. So ... what′s the rent like?

W: I’ve just been checking in the computer. It looks like there′s going to be a couple of openings next semester, but there’s also a waiting list with about twenty - something people on it.

M: Oh.

W: Yeah. A lot of people want to live in the villages. I lived there for two years myself before I moved to a house off campus.

M: Uh huh. So what is the rent?

W: Oh. Sorry. Um … OK. The buildings in Swanson Village all have four-person suites. Those are 900 dollars a semester.

W: Wow.

M: And the other villages ... let me see ... they’re anywhere from eight-fifty to a thousand. It depends. The six- and eight-person units are usually a little less. The ones with living rooms are a little more.

M: Wow. That’s more than I expected.

W: The cheaper ones are less than the dorms in the towers.

M: Yeah, but I was hoping it’d be a lot less. But still ... I′d kind of like to get out of the towers. Um … How do I get on the waiting list?

W: I can add your name now, if you like.

M: OK. It’s Ian Jacobs.

W: Ian Jacobs. OK, Ian. I’ve added you to the waiting list. What we’ll do is send you a notice by e-mail if something opens up in the villages. Your name is uh ... number twenty-seven on the list.

M: Number twenty-seven ... oh ... wow.

W: You’d be surprised. Sometimes people change their minds, so people further down the list get a chance. You’ll get in the villages eventually, maybe next semester.

M: OK. Thanks for your help.

W: No problem. Have a nice day!

24. What is the purpose of the conversation?

A.

The man wants to know why his rent was raised.

B.

The man wants to change his housing situation.

C.

The man wants to move to a house off campus.

D.

The man needs information for a research project.

25. What are some features of the suites in the villages? Click on TWO answers.

A.

A full refrigerator

B.

Two study rooms

C.

A fireplace

D.

Two to four bedrooms

26. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question. Why does the woman say this?

A.

To show her concern for the man's situation

B.

To express regret at not being able to help the man

C.

To apologize for not answering the man's question

D.

To suggest that she is sad about leaving her suite

27. What does the man think of the cost of rent in the villages?

A.

The rent should be lower for such old buildings.

B.

The rent is higher than he hoped it would be.

C.

The rent is similar to that of a house off campus.

D.

The rent is reasonable for the features included.

28. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question. Select the sentence that best expresses how the man probably feels.

A.

“I'm confused about why there is a waiting list.”

B.

“I don't like the idea of living with 27 people.”

C.

“I don't think I'll be able to get a room in the villages.”

D.

“I'm surprised at the number of people who live there.”

Script:

Listen to a lecture in a gemology class.

Today, I’ll be talking about different styles of gem-cutting, particularly about how these different styles developed historically. The various styles of gems that I’ll be talking about are the cabochon, the table cut, the rose cut, and the brilliant cut.

The first style of gem-cutting, which you can see in this drawing, is the cabochon. The cabochon is a rounded shape, without facets. The cabochon style is quite old. It was the earliest style used to finish gems. The cabochons in these drawings are shown from the side.

A cabochon could be a simple cabochon, with a rounded top and a flat bottom, or it could be a double cabochon, which is rounded on both the top and the bottom. It was discovered early on that powders of harder materials such as diamonds could be used to polish gemstones, and many ancient cultures used this method to finish gems.

The cabochon cut was not a faceted cut. A facet, for those of you who don’t know, is a flat surface cut into a gem. It′s not clear when faceting of stones first developed. Stones were faceted as early as the fifteenth century in Europe, and they may have been faceted earlier than that in other cultures.

Now, we’ll look at one of the earliest styles of faceted gems, the table cut. You can see a table-cut stone, from the top and from the side, in these drawings.

An interesting thing to note is that early stones faceted in this way were probably not actually cut but were polished to this shape, using powders of harder stones such as diamonds. It does look like it was cut, but this stone was polished to this shape. Some stones, including diamonds, occur naturally in eight-sided double pyramids. To create a table cut from an eight-sided double pyramid, it’s necessary only to polish a flat surface on the top of one side of the naturally occurring eight-sided shapes.

The next stage in the development of gem-cutting is the rose cut. In a rose cut, a stone is actually cut rather than polished. This was one of the earliest methods of faceting the entire surface of a diamond, or other gem . . . It′s a very pretty cut, isn’t it? As you can tell from its name, it’s supposed to look like a rose in bloom. The rose cut involved cutting up to 32 triangular facets on the top of a diamond and a flat surface on the bottom. You can see a rose cut in the drawing from the top and from the bottom. . . . Oh, excuse me, that′s a top view and a side view. There’s no bottom view of the rose cut. . . . Now, you should note that this type of cut was beneficial because it maintained much of the original stone. However, it doesn’t reflect light in a way that maximizes the stone’s shine and brilliance. Because it doesn’t reflect light as well as other cuts, the rose cut’s no longer used much today.

The last type of cut we′ll look at is the brilliant cut. The brilliant cut came into use after the other styles. You can see a brilliant cut from the top and from the side and from the bottom. The brilliant cut’s faceted on the sides and top and also on the bottom. A stone with a brilliant cut in the correct proportion reflects the maximum amount of light out through the top of the stone and creates a stone that, as its name indicates, shines the most brilliantly. This style of stone is used quite often today because it′s so reflective.

We′ve seen four different styles of gems today, in the order that they developed historically. Two of them, the cabochon and the table cut, are polished rather than cut to create the style, while the other two are actually cut. Before next class, please look over the photos of gems at the end of the chapter and identify the style of each stone.

29. How does the professor present the different styles of gems?

A.

From the least expensive to the most expensive

B.

From the least common to the most common

C.

From the simplest to the most complex

D.

From the oldest to the most recently developed

30. Which gemstone cuts are unfaceted?

A.

Cabochon

B.

Table cut

C.

Brilliant cut

D.

Rose cut

31. Which gemstone cuts are faceted only on the top?

A.

Cabochon

B.

Rose cut

C.

Brilliant cut

D.

Table cut

32. Which gemstone cuts are faceted on the top and bottom?

A.

Rose cut

B.

Cabochon

C.

Table cut

D.

Brilliant cut

33. What does the professor say about faceting?

A.

It was not done earlier than the fifteenth century

B.

It was done in the fifteenth century.

C.

It was not done until after the fifteenth century.

D.

It may have been done earlier than the fifteenth century.

34. Which style of gem is no longer used much because it does not reflect light well?

A.

The rose cut

B.

The brilliant cut

C.

The cabochon

D.

The table cut

35. What overall conclusion can be drawn from the lecture?

A.

That the polishing of gemstones developed as a result of the cutting of gemstones

B.

That the polishing of gemstones developed earlier than the cutting of gemstones

C.

That the cutting of gemstones developed at the same time as the polishing of gemstones

D.

That the cutting of gemstones developed earlier than the polishing of gemstones

36. What is the assignment for the next class?

A.

To cut some gems

B.

To read about some gems

C.

To polish some gems

D.

To identify the style of some gems

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