Unit1 II. Basic Listening Practice 1. Script W: Ok. It’s your turn to pay the bill. I paid last time. M: What? You have a selective memory. You tried to pay last turn, but your credit card failed; so I ended up paying! It’s definitely your turn. Q: What is true according to the conversation? 2. Script M: I’m having real trouble reviewing for this French exam. I just can’t memorize all the vocabulary. W: Me too. I hate having to learn things by heart. I guess we just have to keep reading the texts over and over. Q: What does the woman prefer? 3. Script W: Oh look! There’s that guy we saw last week, playing football in the park! He looked great in his kit, remember? M: Him? I don’t remember him. I’ve got a terrible memory for faces. I have a hard time even recording people I’ve been introduced to. Q: According to the conversation, what is the man’s problem? 4. Script M: Why is there a big sign on the back of your door that says “keys”? W: It’s to remind me to take my keys when I go out because I’m always locking myself out by accident! It doesn’t help enough. Now I just forget to read the sign. Q: Why is there a sign on the back of the door? 5. Script M: That history exam was really hard. The essay question was terrible! W: I know, I wish I were like David. He has a photographic memory, you know. How useful that would be! Q: What is true of David? Task 2: Where did the professor go? Script This is a true story, while happened to friends of ours in a small town in South Africa. They were a hospitable couple who often entertained their neighbors for drinks, tea or dinner. On this particular spring night, they have invited a retired professor to super. During the evening, it began to pour with rain, and the heavens really opened. Because he had walked there, they offered to put him up for the night. They pointed out that by staying overnight, he did not need to go to out in the bad weather. He agreed on the soundness of that idea, thanked his hosts profusely, and the matter seemed to be settled. But while they were washing the dishes after supper, the forgetful professor disappeared. No one could find him anywhere. Eventually, after40 minutes, the front door bell rang. There was the professor, soaked to the skin. When he was asked what on earth he has been dong in the rain, he replied that because he was going to stay there overnight, he had gone home to get his pajamas and toothbrush. Unit2 Task3: How to Get Straight A’s Script It is interesting to note how straight A students achieve academic excellence. Here, according to education experts and students themselves are the secrets of super‐achievers. First, they know how to set priorities. Top students allow no intrusions on study time. Once the books are open or the computer is turned on, phone calls go unanswered, TV shows unwatched, snacks ignored. Study is business, and business comes before recreation. Also, good students can study anywhere and everywhere. Claudia Hill, an Arizona State University business professor recalls a cross‐country runner who worked out every day. Hill persuaded him to use his spare time to memorize biology term. Then he posted a list of biology terms on the mirror in the bathroom. He learned a few terms every day while brushing his teeth. Eventually, he scored high on the final examination. Moreover, top students schedule their time well. Study times are strictly a matter of personal preference. Some work late at night when the house is quiet. Others awake early. Still others study as soon as they come home from school when the work is fresh in their minds. All agreed, however, on the need for consistency. A student says, “Whatever I was doing, I maintained a certain period of time every day for studying.” Another important characteristic of super‐achievers is that they know hoe to read, According to a book entitled Getting Straight A’s, the secret of good reading is to be “an active reader‐one who continually asks questions that lead to a full understanding of the author’s message”.
