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Script:

Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.

Professor: Sandy, how′s class been going for you this semester?

Female Student: (genuine enthusiasm) Oh, it′s great. I really like your business psychology class, but I have one major concern about the last assignment, you know—the one where we have to interview a local business owner, uh, I mean entrepreneur?

Professor: Are you having trouble coming up with interview questions?

Female Student: Well, that′s just it. I mean, I worked on my high school newspaper for years, so I actually have great questions to ask. The thing is . . . I′m new to the area, and I don′t know people off campus . . . So, I was wondering if . . . well, could you possibly give me the name of someone I could interview . . . ?

Professor: You don′t know anyone who owns a business?

Female Student: Well, yeah, back home . . . my next-door neighbors—they own a shoe store, and they′re really successful—but they′re not local.

Professor: Well, it wouldn′t be fair to the other students if I gave you the name of a contact—but I could help you figure out a way to find someone on your own. Let′s see . . . Do you read the local newspaper?

Female Student: Sure, whenever I have the time.

Professor: Well, the business section in the paper often has stories about local business people who′ve been successful. If you find an article, you could call the person who is profiled.

Female Student: You mean, just call them up . . . out of the blue . . . and ask them if they′ll talk to me?

Professor: Sure, why not?

Female Student: Well, aren′t people like that awfully busy? Too busy to talk to a random college student.

Professor: Many people enjoy telling the story of how they got started. Remember, this is a business psychology class, and for this assignment, I want you to get some real insight about business owners, their personality, what drives them to become an entrepreneur.

Female Student: Like, how they think?

Professor: And what motivates them. Why did they start their business? I′m sure they′d talk to you, especially if you tell them you might start a business some day.

Female Student: I′m not sure I′d have the guts to do that. Opening a business seems so risky, so scary.

Professor: Well, you can ask them if they felt that way too. Now you just need to find someone to interview to see if your instincts are correct.

4. What does the professor want the students to learn from the assignment?

A.

Why writing articles on local businesses is important

B.

What personality traits are typical of business owners

C.

That starting a business is risky

D.

How to develop a detailed business plan

5. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question. What does the student imply?

A.

She is surprised by the professor's reaction.

B.

The professor has not quite identified her concern.

C.

The professor has guessed correctly what her problem is.

D.

She does not want to finish the assignment.

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!

6. What is the purpose of the conversation?

A.

The man wants to change his housing situation.

B.

The man needs information for a research project.

C.

The man wants to move to a house off campus.

D.

The man wants to know why his rent was raised.

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

A.

Two study rooms

B.

A full refrigerator

C.

Two to four bedrooms

D.

A fireplace

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

A.

To express regret at not being able to help the man

B.

To show her concern for the man's situation

C.

To suggest that she is sad about leaving her suite

D.

To apologize for not answering the man's question

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

A.

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

B.

The rent is reasonable for the features included.

C.

The rent should be lower for such old buildings.

D.

The rent is higher than he hoped it would be.

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

A.

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

B.

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

C.

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

D.

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

Script:

Listen to part of a conversation between two students. They are studying for an economics test.

M: OK ... so what do we do next?

W: Why don’t we go over the chapter on analysis of costs? That’ll be on the test.

M: OK.

W: Let’s start with “opportunity cost.” That part’s still confusing to me. I understand fixed cost and variable cost, and marginal cost, the cost of producing one more unit of something. I′m sure there’ll be a question about that on the test. But I don’t get “opportunity cost.”

M: Opportunity cost that’s when you have to consider the things you give up when you make a certain decision. You have an opportunity cost when you’re forced to choose between different alternatives.

W: OK. That sort of makes sense.

M: Say you want to have your own business, so you. so you open a restaurant. You put in 60 hours a week, but you don′t pay yourself wages. At the end of the first year, your restaurant shows a profit of... um ... say. 30 thousand dollars—looks pretty good for a small business. But is it really that good? An economist would say no. because you have to count your own labor as a cost, even if you don’t get paid. You have to consider that you had alternative opportunities for work, and you have to count that lost opportunity as a cost. You could have taken a job at, say. an accounting firm and earned 50 thousand a year. This is the opportunity cost the earnings you gave up—because you decided to open your own business instead.

W: OK. So what that means is ... um ... if I lost 50 thousand dollars by not taking an accounting job. then ... my restaurant′s profit of 30 thousand isn’t that great after all—at least in an economic sense. Maybe I had more enjoyment, though I mean the enjoyment of being my own boss.

M: Right. But your enjoyment comes with a cost. An economist would say the real profit of your restaurant isn’t 30 thousand dollars. You’d have to subtract the 50 thousand opportunity cost of your own labor.

When you subtract 50 thousand from 30 thousand, you find you have a net loss of 20 thousand dollars!

W: Wow! That means the enjoyment of having my own business cost me 20 thousand dollars!

M: Yeah. Something like that.

W: This is really different from what we learned about costs in my accounting class. I think an accountant would say my 30 thousand -dollar profit made me a viable business. But an economist—if I understand it correctly—an economist would say my business is a loser!

M: Right. And that’s because an economist tries to look at all the factors, all the costs. An economist would count the opportunity cost.

W: An economist looks at the big picture.

M: Right. An economists definition of costs is broader than an accountants. Opportunity cost is actually a very broad concept. It takes into account the cost of the choices we make. When we choose one thing, we have to give up something else.

W: That′s right. We chose to go to college, so that means we had to give up full time employment, for the time being.

M: Right! So. how do you measure the true cost of a college education?

W: Well, it′s more than what we pay for tuition and books! We have to subtract the income we lose by not working full time.

M: Yeah, and that′s why college is really more expensive than it seems.

11. What are the students mainly discussing?

A.

The concept of opportunity cost

B.

Differences between economics and accounting

C.

The rising costs of owning a business

D.

Various costs that businesses face

12. How does the man help the woman understand a concept that she finds difficult?

A.

He makes a list of terms for her to study.

B.

He asks her to explain a similar concept.

C.

He illustrates the concept with an example.

D.

He reads a passage from their textbook.

13. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question. Why does the man ask this?

A.

To find out how much money the woman made

B.

To evaluate the food at a restaurant

C.

To express his concerns about owning a business

D.

To suggest that the profit is less than it seems

14. According to the man, how does an economist′s view of costs differ from that of an accountant?

A.

An economist uses a computer to calculate costs.

B.

An economist's definition of costs never changes.

C.

An economist tries to lessen the effect of costs.

D.

An economist looks at a broader range of costs.

15. What can be inferred about the true cost of a college education?

A.

It is not as expensive as it appears.

B.

It is more than the woman can afford.

C.

It continues to increase each year.

D.

It includes the cost of lost income.

Script:

Listen to part of a lecture in an anthropology class.

Professor:

OK, I, I want to begin today by talking about calendars. (Jokingly) I know, some of you are thinking it′s not all that fascinating, right ? But listen, the next time you look at a calendar, I want you to keep something in mind. There are at least three natural ways of measuring the . . . the passage of time—by day, by month, and by year. And these are all pretty easy to see, right? I mean, a day is based on one rotation of Earth. A month is how long the Moon takes to move around the Earth. And a year is the time it takes for Earth to move around the Sun, right? So they′re all based on natural events, But the natural clocks of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun run on different times, and you can′t divide any one of these time periods by another one without having some messy fraction left over. I mean, one lunar month—that′s the time it takes for the Moon to go around Earth—one month is about 29 and a half days . . . not really a nice round number. And one year is a little more than 365 days. So these are obviously numbers that don′t divide into each other very neatly. And this makes it pretty difficult to create some sort of tidy calendar that really works.

Not that different cultures haven′t tried. Have any of you ever been to Stonehenge? (pause) No . . . you know, that amazing circle of giant stones in England? Well, if you ever go, and find yourself wondering why this culture way back in prehistoric England would go to so much work to construct this monumental ring of enormous stones, . . . well, keep in mind that a lot of us think it was designed, at least partially, as a calendar—to mark when the seasons of the year begin, according to the exact day when the Sun comes up from a particular direction. I have colleagues who insist it′s a temple, maybe, or a tomb . . . but they can′t deny that it was also used as a calendar . . . probably to help figure out, for example, when farmers should begin their planting each year.

The Mayans, in Central America, also invented a calendar, but for a different pur-pose. The Mayans, especially the royalty and priests, wanted to look at long cycles of history—so the calendar they used had to be able to count far into the future as well as far into the past. And not only were the Mayans keeping track of the natural timekeepers we mentioned before—Earth, the Moon, and the Sun—but another natural timekeeper: the planet Venus.

Venus rises in the sky as the morning star every 584 days, and the Venus cycle was incorporated in the Mayan calendar. So the Mayans kept track of long periods of time, and they did it so accurately, in fact, that their calendar is considered about as complicated and sophisticated as any in the world.

Now, the ancient Chinese believed very strongly in astrology—the idea that you can predict future events based on the positions of the stars and planets like, say, Jupiter. Incidentally, the whole Chinese system of astrology was based on the fact that the planet Jupiter goes around the Sun once every 12 years, so one orbit of Jupiter lasts 12 of our Earth years. Apparently, that′s why the Chinese calendar has a cycle of twelve years. You know, like, "The Year of the Dragon," "The Year of the Tiger," and so on . . . all parts of a 12-year astrological cycle, that we get from the orbit of Jupiter.

Calendars based on the orbits of other planets, though, are a lot less common than those based on the cycle of the Moon—the lunar month. I could mention any number of important cultures around the world that have depended on lunar calendars, but there really isn′t time.

So let′s go right to the calendar that′s now used throughout most of the world—a solar calendar—based on the number of days in a year. This calendar′s mainly derived from the one the ancient Romans devised a couple thousand years ago. I mean, the Romans—with more than a little help from the Greeks—realized that a year actually lasts about 365 and one quarter days. And so they decided to round off most years to 365 days but make every fourth year into a leap year. I mean, somehow, you have to account for that extra one fourth of a day each year, so every four years, they made the calendar one day longer. By adding the leap year, the Romans were able to make a calendar that worked so well—that, with a few minor adjustments, this calendar is still widely used today.

16. What does the professor mainly discuss?

A.

The belief that the position of planets and stars can predict future events

B.

Various errors in early calendars

C.

Examples of various types of calendars used in different cultures

D.

Why people came to believe that Earth moves around the Sun

17. The professor discusses various theories on how Stonehenge was used. What can be inferred about the professor′s opinion?

A.

She thinks that the stones were mainly used as a record of historical events.

B.

She believes the main use for Stonehenge was probably as a temple or a tomb.

C.

She is sure Stonehenge was used as a calendar.

D.

She admits that the purpose for which Stonehenge was constructed may never be known.

18. According to the professor, how was the Mayan calendar mainly used?

A.

To keep track of the lunar months

B.

To predict the outcome of royal decisions

C.

To allow priests to compare the orbits of Earth and Venus

D.

To keep track of long historical cycles

19. According to the professor, what was the basis of the ancient Chinese astrological cycle?

A.

The orbit of the Moon

B.

The cycle of night and day

C.

The cycle of the seasons

D.

The orbit of the planet Jupiter

20. How did the Romans succeed in making their calendar more precise?

A.

By carefully observing the motion of the planet Jupiter

B.

By changing the number of weeks in a year

C.

By adopting elements of the Chinese calendar

D.

By adding an extra day every four years

21. How does the professor organize the lecture?

A.

By discussing how a prehistoric calendar was adapted by several different cultures

B.

By speaking of the modern calendar first, then comparing it with earlier ones

C.

By mentioning the problem of creating a calendar, then describing various attempts to deal with it

D.

By emphasizing the advantages and disadvantages of using various time cycles

Script:

Listen to part of a lecture in an Art History class. The professor has been talking about colossal statues.

Professor: We′ve been looking at colossal statues—works of exceptionally huge size—and their essentially public role, in commemorating a political or religious figure. We′ve seen how some of these statues date back thousands of years . . . like the statues of the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt—which you can still visit today . . . and how others, though surviving only in legend, have fired the imagination of writers and artists right up to our own time, such as the Colossus of Rhodes, that 110-foot statue of the Greek god Helios (HEE-lee-us). Remember, this same word, "colossus"—which means a giant or larger-than-life-size statue—is what today′s term "colossal" derives from.

Now, it was one thing to build such statues, at an equally colossal cost, when the funds were being allocated by ancient kings and pharaohs. But if we′re going to think about modern-day colossal statues, we need to reexamine more closely their role as social and political symbols—in order to understand why a society today—a society of free, tax-paying citizens—would agree to allocate so much of its resources to erecting them. A good example to start out with would be Mount Rushmore.

Now, many of you have probably seen pictures of Mount Rushmore; perhaps you′ve actually visited the place. Mount Rushmore, in South Dakota, is a colossal representation of the faces of four U.S. Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, carved directly into a mountain. Imagine: Each of those faces in the rock is over sixty feet high! Now, carving their faces took over six and a half years, and cost almost a million dollars. And this was in the 1930′s, during the worst economic depression in U.S. history! Does that strike any of you as odd?

Well, I personally think that the Great Depression of the 1930′s actually makes this more understandable, not less so. Often it′s the case that, precisely at times of hard-ship—when the very fabric of society seems to be unraveling and confidence is eroding—uh, that people clamor for some public expression of strength and optimism, perhaps as a way of symbolizing its endurance in the face of difficulty.

So, with that in mind, let′s go back to Mount Rushmore. Actually, the original motivation for a colossal monument in South Dakota had very little to do with all this symbolism . . . and everything to do with money: you see, it was first conceived of basically as a tourist attraction, and it was supposed to feature the images of legendary figures of the American West, like the explorers Lewis and Clark. The government of South Dakota thought it would bring lots of money into the state.

It was only later on that the sculptor—the artist who designed and oversaw the project, a man named Gutzon Borglum—decided the project should be a monument honoring four of the most-respected Presidents in U.S. history—much more than a tourist attraction . . . its very prominence and permanence became perceived as a symbol of the endurance of U.S. ideals and the greatness of the country′s early leaders. So, you see, what began as a tourist attraction became something far loftier.

Let′s look at another example of this phenomenon.

The Statue of Liberty is another colossal statue—(indicating by his tone of voice that his assumption is a near certainty) one that I assume a number of you are familiar with. But, umm, I would guess that—like many people today—you don′t realize that, when it was designed, over a century ago—by a French sculptor—it was intended to symbolize the long friendship between the people of France and the people of the United States—one which dated back to France′s support of the American colonies′ war for independence from the British.

But the shift in the statue′s meaning started soon after it was built. Back in 1883, Emma Lazarus wrote that famous poem—you know, the one that goes: "Give me your tired, your poor . . . ." (pause)and so on and so forth. That poem describes the Statue of Liberty as a beacon of welcome for the entire world. Well, in the early 1900′s, it was put on a plaque on the pedestal that the Statue of Liberty stands on.

From that point on, the Statue of Liberty was no longer perceived as just a gift between friendly republics. It now became a tribute to the United States′ history of immigration and openness.

This association was strengthened in the imagination of the general public just a few decades after the statue′s completion, with the immigration waves of the early 20th century . . . especially since the statue happened to be the first sign of America seen by those immigrants sailing into the port of New York. So, as with Mount Rushmore, the original motivation for this colossal statue was forgotten, and the statue is now valued for more important reasons.

22. What does the professor mainly discuss?

A.

The design and creation of the Statue of Liberty

B.

The purpose and symbolism of colossal statues

C.

The cost of colossal statues in ancient versus modern times

D.

The creators of two colossal statues in the United States

23. What evidence does the professor give that supports the idea that modern-day colossal statues are valued social and political symbols?

A.

They are very costly to build.

B.

They are studied in classrooms around the world.

C.

They are inspired by great poetry.

D.

They are designed to last for thousands of years.

24. According to the professor, what was one result of the Great Depression of the 1930′s?

A.

The public experienced a loss of confidence.

B.

The government could no longer provide funds for the arts.

C.

International alliances eroded.

D.

Immigration to the United States increased.

25. According to the professor, why did the state of South Dakota originally want to create a colossal monument?

A.

To symbolize the unity of society

B.

To generate income from tourism

C.

To commemorate the Great Depression

D.

To honor United States Presidents

26. Listen again to part of the lecture, then answer the question. Why does the professor discuss the poem by Emma Lazarus?

A.

To stress the importance of the friendship between France and the United States

B.

To illustrate how the meaning associated with a monument can change

C.

To emphasize the close relationship between literature and sculpture

D.

To point out a difference between Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty

27. What does the professor imply about the poem by Emma Lazarus?

A.

Lazarus was not able to complete the poem.

B.

He does not need to recite the full text of the poem.

C.

It is one of his favorite poems.

D.

Few people have read the entire poem.

Script:

Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class.

Professor:

We′ve been discussing animal communication. Um today we′re going to talk about dolphins. Now, dolphins make a wide range of communicative sounds and also display something called vocal learning, which is the ability of an animal to modify its vocalizations based on its experience with other animals.

Ah there are many types of dolphin vocalizations. We we still don′t know their precise meanings—partly, I suppose, because we haven′t really tried that hard to figure out their precise meanings—but we do know that dolphins use vocalizations as a way of communicating with one another. And we′ve categorized their vocalizations into three types: whistles, clicks, and burst pulses.

The dolphin whistles are very high frequency sounds, ah partially above the range of human hearing. What′s fascinating is, each dolphin has a signature whistle, which is unique to each individual dolphin. It allows them to call to and identify each other. (seeing hand raised) Jennifer?

Female Student: Kind of like learning someone′s name? So . . . do dolphin parents choose names for their children?

Professor: Well, again that′s something we don′t know, but we do know that no two signature whistles sound identical. And, members of the same family, their signature whistles have similar elements. Dolphins use them as contact calls—ah they they call to each other while traveling and foraging. It helps keep the group together, and helps mothers and children find each other. Think of it like . . . ah if you were traveling in the forest with one other person who was just out of sight, you′d call out, "Are you there?" and the other person would respond. But if there were several people in the forest, you would have to call that person′s name to call to them.

In in addition to whistles, dolphins produce clicks, which are actually sonar or sound waves. They use the clicks to communicate, but, more importantly, to navigate and hunt. How? Well, the sonar clicks bounce off objects, and then the dolphins convert the incoming signals into a three dimensional picture . . . a a mental map . . . of what′s around them. The clicks are extremely sensitive and accurate. The sonar clicks are also very strong. And there′s this theory that, one reason dolphins swim side by side is to avoid interference from each others′ sonar clicks. Interference would be confusing . . . it would prevent them from getting an accurate picture of their surroundings. Ah and what′s interesting is, dolphins will turn off their sonar when another dolphin passes in front.

Ah the third category of dolphin vocalizations is burst pulses. These are all this other sounds the dolphin makes—squawks, squeals, barks, groans, and so on. Burst pulses are used to display aggression, show dominance, and attract a mate. But whistles, clicks, and burst pulses aren′t the only ways dolphins communicate. Um does anyone remember any other ways?

Male Student:

In the book, it said that they also slap their tails against the water? Oh, and . . . the air that comes out when they breathe or whistle . . . the . . . ah . . . the bubble streams? They can control how the air bubbles come out? I thought that was really interesting.

Professor:

Yes . . . the bubble streams are very interesting. Dolphins can identify and locate each other by their bubble streams, and they can imitate the bubble stream patterns of other dolphins . . . sort of like saying hello. So as you can see, dolphins use many different sounds and behaviors to convey messages to each other.

I′d like to tell you about when I was a graduate student . . . and . . . I spent one summer on a boat in the Atlantic Ocean studying marine life. One morning there were about 25 dolphins swimming with the boat. We could hear their clicks and whistles as they called to each other. Now, we were there as impartial scientists, to do research, but . . . how could we not notice the beauty as the bubble streams made patterns in the water and the dolphins appeared to dance and play? It′s wonderful when you do field work and actually experience something you′ve been studying in a classroom. So if you ever have the opportunity . . . go for it.

28. What is the lecture mainly about?

A.

Various ways dolphins communicate with one another

B.

How dolphins teach their young to identify signature whistles

C.

The professor's experience with dolphins on a research boat

D.

How dolphins produce the sounds they make

29. According to a theory the professor mentions, why do dolphins travel side by side?

A.

To hear each other's signature whistles

B.

To keep mothers close to their young

C.

To avoid interfering with other dolphins' sonar clicks

D.

To view each other's bubble streams

30. What does the professor imply about bubble streams?

A.

Their function is similar to that of signature whistles.

B.

Dolphins use them to sense the movement of the water.

C.

They do not appear to serve a communicative function.

D.

They help protect dolphins from predators.

31. Why does the professor mention the time she spent on a boat doing research?

A.

To inform students about a paper she wrote

B.

To illustrate that dolphins are difficult to locate

C.

To encourage students to do field work

D.

To show how scientists collect data on marine life

32. Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question. What does this example illustrate?

A.

The differences between land and marine mammals

B.

One reason dolphins travel in large groups

C.

One way dolphins use signature whistles

D.

The importance of burst pulses as a way dolphins communicate

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