Building skills for the TOEFL iBT transcripts

Beginning READING
Building Skills for the TOEFL
®
iBT
TRANSCRIPTS
Listening Section / Speaking Section / Writing Section
Listening
638
Transcripts
C
hapter
1
Skill A
01 Campus Life
M: I’m worried about my girlfriend.
W: Why is that?
M: She thinks she’s too fat.
W: Is she?
M: No, but she keeps skipping meals. Then, she only eats chips
and drinks cola.
W: I used to do that. It’s called binging. It was no fun!
M: Why did you stop doing it?
W: Well, my doctor told me to eat when I’m hungry. She said, “Eat
till you’re full or you’ll eat too much later.” She said a lot of girls
ruin their health this way.
M: Did she say what to eat?
W: She said, “Eat fruit, vegetables, meats, and grains. Have regular
meals and snacks. Get exercise, too.”
02Music History
M: We know that Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 in
Bonn, Germany, but we are uncertain of the month. Beethoven

wrote hundreds of songs. One of his most famous is his Fifth
Symphony. The first four notes go like this: dah dah dah da!
Almost everyone recognizes them.
He was the first to use trombones in a symphony. At age 28,
he began to go deaf. Yet, he kept on writing and conducting.
He never got married. But after he died, friends found some
love letters. We don’t know who he wrote them to. Beethoven
died in 1827.
03 Biology
W: OK let’s talk about animals we don’t see in the winter. Many
animals hibernate during the cold months of the year. Basically,
they go to sleep. Some animals hibernate in holes in the
ground. Others sleep in caves, under bushes, or at the base of
trees. Bears hibernate. So do cold-blooded animals, like frogs
and snakes.
When animals are hibernating, it seems like they’re dead. They
have slow heartbeats, and they almost stop breathing. They
have stored extra energy and fat to keep them alive. By the end
of winter, they are very weak. They must eat soon after waking
up.
04 Campus Life
M: Hey Julie, what’s up?
W: Hi, Brian. Taking a break from studying. I’m surfing the Internet
for an MP3 player.
M: Do you like the iPod?
W: Yes, but I need a really small one.
M: Oh, it’s small!
W: Really? Someone told me it holds 5,000 songs!
M: It’s 3.6 inches tall and two inches wide. I have one.
W: What’s that in centimeters?

M: The math textbook says one inch is 2.54 centimeters.
W: OK, so first I need to multiply 3.6 by 2.54.
M: Here! Use my calculator.
W: Thanks! OK it’s 9.1 centimeters tall and 5 centimeters wide.
Just what I need!
05 Anthropology
W: Track and Field events happened long before they became a
sport. The San people in Africa are one example. They still hold
what’s called a “Persistence” hunt. The men find the tracks of an
antelope herd. They find the antelope and follow them for
several days and nights. During this time, they study the animals
and choose one.
Then, the hunt begins. Only the fastest runner will go after the
chosen animal. He and the animal may run for as long as eight
hours. If the hunter “persists,” the deer will finally get tired and
fall. Then, he’ll slaughter it.
06Business Writing
W: When you’re writing a business letter, it’s important to be specific.
That is, tell the reader exactly what he or she needs to know. If
something is wrong, list what the problem is and what should be
done to fix it. If you need information, state clearly what you want
to know. Next, um, be positive. Say “no” in a good way.
M: How can we do that?
W: Use polite language. For example, “we regret to inform you
that ” or “we’re sorry, but ” Always keep in mind this
golden rule: write the kind of business letter that YOU would
like to receive.
07 Campus Life
M: Come on Holly, we’re going to be late.
W: For what?

M: Today’s the day of the parking-space lottery. I want to see if I get
a parking space for next year.
W: What?! You mean if they choose your number, you get a place
to park your car?
M: Yes. Parking is very limited. Only a few students can bring their
cars. And freshmen are never allowed to park on campus.
W: If your number is chosen, do you get to park for free?
M: No. It costs $120 a year.
W: So, you’re hoping to win the privilege of paying money?
M: Yes. Now, come on!
08 English
W: Professor Smith, I forget many English words. What’s a good
technique to remember them?
M: Try using index cards. Uh, small pieces of heavy paper.
W: What do I do?
M: On the front of the card, write the new word. On the back,
write a definition of the word at the top in English.
W: In English?
M: Yes. No native language! Then, divide the bottom part of the back
into two halves. On the left, write a correct English sentence using
the word. On the right, draw some kind of picture anything that
helps you remember the word.
W: Then what?
M: Review the cards every day.
Note: Highlighting indicates a repeated listening sample.
Transcripts 639
Skill B
01 Geography
W: Another name for the South Pole is Antarctica. This is a
continent, but no people live there. There’s a good reason for this.

It’s the coldest, windiest place on Earth. The lowest temperature
ever measured was in Antarctica. Minus 88 degrees celsius!
Ninety-eight percent of the ground is permanently frozen, and the
continent contains 87 percent of the world’s ice. Antarctica’s
only human occupants are scientists. They go there to learn
how Antarctica used to be millions of years ago, when it was
located at the equator. Antarctica used to be connected to
Australia, before all the continents on the planet shifted.
02 Campus Life
W: Hey Joe, where are you going? Are you on your way to class?
M: No. I’m on my way to the recreation center to play basketball.
Want to come?
W: I can’t. I’m not a member.
M: If you’re a full-time student, membership is included in your
tuition. Do you have your student ID card?
W: Yeah. Does that mean I can use any part of the rec center?
M: Yes. You can use the swimming pool, the gym, the weight
room anything you want. All you need to do is show your ID
card at the door.
W: Hey, cool. I’ll come with you.
03 Literature
M: If a play makes you laugh, it’s a comedy. Comedies have humorous
characters and happy endings. A good example of a comedy is
Shakespeare’s classic Much Ado About Nothing. Another popular
style is called tragedy. Tragedies usually tell how a hero ruins his
life, falling from good fortune to bad fortune because of a
“tragic flaw” in character. One example is the play Ghosts, by
Henrik Ibsen. Um, modern years have produced a third style,
called tragicomedy. In tragicomedies, the play seems as though
it will end in tragedy but instead has a humorous or unclear

ending. An example is Saint Joan, by George Bernard Shaw.
04 Physics
W: It’s a beautiful blue sky today. Ever wonder why it’s blue? It’s
because the sun’s rays scatter, or spread out, as they enter the
Earth’s atmosphere. Blue rays are scattered most; they seem to
be all over the sky. Yellow rays are scattered less. This is why the
sun looks yellow most of the time. But, after sunrise and just
before sunset, the sun looks red. Why? Because then the rays
must travel a longer path into the atmosphere. More of the blue
and yellow rays are scattered. The red rays are scattered the
least. So, they come through in the largest numbers.
05 Campus Life
M: Hi, Ms. Jansen. Can we keep Romeo and Juliet in our dorm room?
W: What on Earth !
M: They’re our pet hermit crabs!
W: Oh, poor crabs! Don’t you think they’d be happier on the beach?
M: Well, at the store they were squished into a little box. We
thought they’d be happier with us. We let them out when
we’re home. We give them baths too!
W: I see. Do you know what to feed them?
M: There’s free Internet information The Hermit Crab Association.
They help crabs in captivity. And we will take them back to a
beach someday.
06 University 101
M: As we study in university, we find we have a lot of reading. It’s very
productive to learn how to read faster. To do this, you need to
know how fast you read now. I’ll show you a quick test to find out.
But before I do, let me say this.
In this test, it’s important to understand what you have read.
Rushing to beat the clock is pointless. You won’t enjoy the reading

or understand it well. You’ll also get a false measure of your
reading speed. When you finish, you should try to see what you
remember.
07 Health
W: We all know that we can get Vitamin D from sunshine. Long
winters make it hard to get enough. People who don’t get
outside often don’t get enough either. Without Vitamin D, we
may develop weak bones and teeth. We can get certain kinds of
cancer more easily, too. Few foods other than fish naturally have
much Vitamin D, so it’s important to get some sunshine every
day. But be careful. Too much can cause skin cancer. Notice what
most animals that live outside all the time do. They are most
active during the hours before sunrise and after sunset.
08 Campus Life
W: Ha ha! Hey Trevor, check this out!
M: I’m trying to study here!
W: Oh, sorry. But this is really funny.
M: What is?
W: This article about strange inventions.
M: Like what?
W: Well, one guy invented a ladder for spiders. It’s a rubber strip
you can put on the side of your bathtub.
M: Ha! Yeah? What else?
W: A portable seat. You carry it around your waist like a big cushion.
M: Ha! That’s really stupid.
W: Here’s the best one: A car license plate that tells if the driver’s
a man or a woman.
M: I like that one. Then I could stay away from women drivers.
W: Yeah Hey!
Skill C

01 Campus Life
M: I’m interested in your course on Indian culture. Can you tell me
about it, please?
W: Certainly. The course is eight weeks long. There will be a mid-term
examination, a final exam, and two essays.
M: How do you determine the grades?
W: The final will account for 30 percent of your mark. The mid-term
is 15 percent, the first essay is 10 percent, and the second essay
is 30 percent.
M: Let’s see. 30, 15, 10, 30 that’s only 85 percent.
W: The other 15 percent is based on your attendance and participation
in the class.
M: It sounds interesting. I think I’ll take it.
640
Transcripts
02 English
W: One of the most effective ways to increase your vocabulary is
through newspapers. They are cheap, and they have a wide
variety of words. When you read an English newspaper, make
a list of eight to ten words you don’t know. Look them up in a
dictionary. Then add them to your vocabulary notebook. If you
learn eight new words each day, you will be learning new
words faster than the average American.
M: Professor?
W: Yes?
M: How can we remember the words after we write them?
W: Spend 15 minutes each day reviewing words from the previous
day. You’ll be surprised how fast you learn.
03 Campus Life
W: I really like art! Especially paintings.

M: Really? Do you have a favorite one?
W: Yes, Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.
M: What do you like about it?
W: Her smile. If you look closely, it seems she’s not smiling at all.
Look again, she’s smiling! So many artists try to copy that smile.
M: It must be hard to paint something so beautiful.
W: Did you ever notice that she doesn’t have any eyebrows?
M: Really? No! I never noticed. I wonder why?
W: Girls in that time shaved their eyebrows. I just read it in our art
history textbook.
M: Hey! That’s cool. Nowadays, she’d have an eyebrow ring!
04 Anthropology
M: In North America, the best weavers are a group of people called
the Pueblo that’s P-U-E-B-L-O. The Pueblo have been weaving
clothes, baskets, and blankets since at least 1000 BC. At first,
they used their fingers to weave together vegetable fibers and
animal hair. In the first century AD, they began growing cotton.
About this time, they also started using a loom a kind of, um,
machine that helped them weave the cotton into cloth more
quickly and easily. By the year 1600, the Pueblos had sheep, so
they began weaving wool, using the same methods they had
used for weaving cotton.
05 Campus Life
M: Have you heard about Mexican turtles disappearing?
W1: Yes. It’s because they lay their eggs on the beach, right?
M: Yeah, and people eat the eggs. But my professor said there’s a
plan to save them.
W1: What is it?
M: I don’t know, but he gave us a phone number.
W1: Let’s call!

M: OK, here goes
W2: Hello, Environmental Protection Hotline. How may I help you?
M: I’d like to find out about the program to save Mexican turtles.
W2: Yes, of course. I can send you something to read or you can
look at our website, www.enviro.com.
M: Thanks! I’ll look at the website.
W2: Thanks for calling!
06 Physics
W: And now, the winner of this year’s science fair, Choi Min-Soo!
Min-Soo, tell everyone about your work.
M: Thank you! Let me tell you about my “white noise” machine.
Does noise ever annoy you or keep you awake? Well, we can
lessen noise by using “white noise.” Think of water. Think of
sending one big wave toward another coming in. My machine
does that with sound. It can tell how much noise is coming in,
then send back “white noise.” You don’t hear it, but it shuts
out the noise! I hope that my machine will help those who
need quiet. Thank you!
07 Health
M: Acupuncture is a way of treating sick people. The Chinese
developed it over 2,500 years ago, and it is still used today. In
acupuncture, small metal needles are inserted into spots on the
human body. There are 787 of these spots. Each one is connected
to a special body part or system. If, um, your ear hurts, for
example, the doctor will put needles into all the spots connected
with your ear. The needles don’t hurt because they don’t go in
very far. Sometimes the doctor runs an electric current through
the needles. We don’t understand exactly why this helps people.
08 Math
W: Geometry is the study of points. Now, a point is a small dot, like

a period at the end of a sentence. If we have two points, we
know that there can be other points between them. There can
also be a line. The line is continuous. It has no space between
each point. Part of a line, with points at each end, is called a
line segment. Two line segments can be the same length. We
call these line segments congruent. That just means the line
segments are equal in length.
Chapter 1
S
kill
R
eview
A-C
01 Campus Life
W: What should I do to prepare for my exams? I have some old
exams from last year. Do you think it’s a good way to study?
M: Yes, it can help. Being familiar with the way the test is made up is
beneficial. You may be less anxious at exam time. First, quickly
look over all the material you’ve studied. Then decide which
things you need the most work on. Then use questions from
the exams to practice.
W: Great! I should just memorize all the answers!
M: No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Questions on the new exam
will probably be different. You need a strong understanding of
the material. Memorizing won’t replace a thorough knowledge
of the subject.
W: I guess that’s probably true. So, what else can I do?
M: Make sure you go to all the review sessions. Go to your
professor’s office hours too.
W: I always do that. I really like my professor.

M: Good! In the exam, be sure to read the directions carefully.
They may be different from the practice exams. Also, make sure
you get to the exam in plenty of time. Get comfortable before
it begins.
W: OK! Thanks for your help.
Transcripts 641
02 Physical Science
W: Some people once thought that only four things made up the
Earth: earth, water, air, and fire.
Earth, water, and air are all forms of matter, but fire is really
different. It may seem the same in that you can see it, feel it, and
smell it. You can even move it from place to place, but it really isn’t
matter at all. It’s an activity. It is matter changing form.
Of course, fire has to have something to burn. We call this fuel.
Fire also has to have air so that it can burn. Usually, when we
build a fire, we first put down easily flammable material like
newspaper or dry leaves. Then, we carefully place pieces of
wood over it, leaving room for air.
Since fire doesn’t start by itself, we need a spark or heat source
to start it. Matches, lighters, even magnifying glasses can be
used. That’s a glass piece, specially made for seeing small
things. We can make sun shine through it to form a very hot
spot of light.
Wood has to reach about 150 degrees Celsius. Then, something
in the wood changes. Part of the wood turns into gas. We see
this gas as smoke. The parts of the wood that don’t burn
change to ash. This is the soft, white powder left after a fire. A
third part of the wood becomes carbon, or char. This char, or
charcoal, burns slowly and hotly without smoke. This gives us
enough time to cook food.

Skill D
01 Campus Life
M: Hey, Rita, what are you looking at?
W: I’m looking at a Nova Scotia College of Art catalog. I’m going
to transfer there. They have a great lithography program.
M: Oh, yeah? So you’ll have to send them your transcript.
W: I guess so. What exactly is on my transcript?
M: Well, basically all your courses and grades.
W: How do I get it?
M: At the transcript office. It’s $8. It takes the secretary three or
four days to do it for you.
W: Great! I can do this soon. I really want to learn to do lithos!
02 Communications
W: Do you say what you really mean? We learn from listening to
others. It’s a good way to learn. But if we’re not careful, we
learn other people’s mistakes, too. Here’s an example. You often
hear, “We’ve reached a consensus of opinion.” “Consensus,”
already means that all of the people have the same idea.
Adding “of opinion” is not needed.
A saying that’s used too often is called a cliche’. We have to be
careful in using cliche’ s. For example, it’s easy to say something
like, “I love chocolate.” What we really mean is, “I like it a lot.”
03 Sociology
M: More and more US parents are choosing to homeschool their
children. This means the parents teach them at home. They do
this for several reasons. Some think public schools are too
dangerous. Some think the education level is too low. And
some want to teach their children about their religion. This is
not allowed in public schools. At home, children can help
choose which subjects to study. And since there are only one or

two students, the teacher mom or dad can give them lots
of attention. Of course, homeschoolers might get lonely. And
parents are sometimes not the best teachers.
04 History
W: Albert Einstein is considered the greatest scientist of the twentieth
century. He was born in Germany in 1879, and was interested in
science from an early age. He had trouble in school. In fact, he
failed on his first try to enter university. In 1896, however, he did
enter a university in Switzerland. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize
for physics. When Hitler came to power in Germany, Einstein
moved to the United States. He told the US president that Hitler
was making an atomic bomb. The US made one first. This new
bomb helped end World War II.
05 Campus Life
M: Yaaaahh
W: Quit yawning! I’m trying to read.
M: Sorry. I’m just tired today.
W: Our biology professor said when you yawn, it’s because your
lungs need more oxygen. It cleans your blood.
M: Hmm my blood must be filthy, then.
W: You’re probably not breathing as deeply as you should. Why
don’t you go outside and take a few deep breaths? That’ll give
you lots of oxygen.
M: Yeah, but I’ll still be tired.
W: Maybe a break and some fresh air will give you some energy.
M: I need a break from this boring textbook.
W: If you’re bored, go outside and try doing something interesting.
M: Good idea. I think I’ll go for a bike ride.
06 Geography
M: South America is a large continent, but it has only 12 countries.

The largest country in South America is Brazil. It is almost as big
as the United States! A lot of people don’t realize that from just
looking at a map. Brazil takes up almost half the land in South
America. The smallest country is Surinam. This is smaller than
many US states. South America lies between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. The equator crosses the northern part of the
continent. At this point, South America is about 1,500 kilometers
wide. The southern-most point in South America is a narrow tip
called Tierra del Fuego. This is only about 300 kilometers north
of Antarctica.
07 Campus Life
W: Hello, Chad. What’s happening?
M: Not much. What are you doing with that camera?
W: I’m taking pictures for our class photo exhibit next week.
M: Where’s that going to be?
W: In the student center. I need to get three or four good shots of
nature on campus.
M: Will all the photos be of nature?
W: No. There are three other categories: students, professors, and
buildings.
M: And students are taking all the pictures?
W: Yes. We have to take them, develop them, enlarge them, and
frame them.
M: Wow. You’re going to be busy.
W: Yep. Well, I’m gonna go photograph the cherry tree blossoms.
See ya.
642
Transcripts
08 Social Studies
M: A population is all the people, animals, or plants living somewhere.

Taking a census means getting information about every member
of a population. Census information helps governments, especially
democracies, run well. In a democratic government, people vote
for the leader. Democracies need to know everyone who is old
enough to vote.
The two oldest known censuses were taken in China. One was
taken in 2 AD and the other in 140 AD. The Bible also tells of
three different censuses. Censuses were taken by the Roman
Empire, too. The person counting Romans and getting the taxes
was called the “Censor.”
Skill E
01 Campus Life
M: Hey, neat! You got a telescope for your birthday!
W: Yes. Now, we can look at the moon!
M: Can we see any planets with this telescope?
W: Yes. We can most easily see Mars it’s closest to Earth and
Venus. It’s the next closest.
M: Is it true that Mars once had rivers and oceans?
W: A lot of scientists think so. Did you know it has two moons?
M: No! Amazing! How many moons does Venus have?
W: None!
M: Do you think people will ever visit Mars?
W: Maybe someday, but not Venus. It’s too hot.
M: Well, at least we can see them with your new telescope!
02 Phys. Ed.
M: Soccer, or football, is one of the best liked sports around the
world. It’s an easy game to understand, but it has many rules.
Each player must follow the rules carefully. A player who doesn’t
can be given a yellow card. This is a warning. A player who
breaks the rules many times may get a red card. A player who

gets a red card is forced out of the game. He or she will not be
allowed to play anymore.
There is one very basic soccer rule. It is one that everyone
knows. A player cannot do anything that could hurt another
player.
03 Literature
W: There’s a famous story about Mark Twain. Once he got on a
train in New York. I don’t know where he was going, but the
train was full. A ticket-office worker said there was no room on
the sleeping coach. But on the train, the conductor saw him
and came right over. He showed him to a sleeping coach in first
class. He made especially sure that Twain was comfortable.
Then he said, “I’m so proud to have you on this train, sir!” Mark
Twain asked, “Oh! Who am I?” and heard, “General McClellan.”
You can imagine his surprise.
04 Psychology
M: It’s important to choose a job that’s right for your personality.
Are you a friendly person who enjoys meeting people and
talking with them? Perhaps you should become a salesperson
or a teacher. If you’re quiet and thoughtful, maybe you should
be an accountant or scientist. Think about what your job
requires. Will you be interacting with others or spending most
of your time alone? There are many factors to consider in
choosing a career. Money is certainly one of them. So is social
status. But remember, whatever you decide, you have to do
that job every day. Choose carefully!
05 Campus Life
W: Hey, Tony. Want to go play basketball?
M: I can’t. I’ve got to study for my mid-term exams.
W: Man, you can’t study all the time. You’ve gotta exercise!

M: How? I don’t have the time!
W: You can do simple things. Like, instead of taking the elevator
to class, walk up the stairs. And when you’re studying, take a
rest every hour and go for a short walk.
M: Hmm yeah, I could do that.
W: You know, just squeezing a tennis ball makes your hands
stronger and helps you relax.
M: That’s easy. Anything else?
W: Yeah. Walk backwards sometimes. It strengthens the back of
your lower legs.
M: Thanks. Have fun at basketball.
06 Astronomy
W: OK, mmm we all know that the Earth spins as it rotates
around the sun. Does anyone know how fast it spins?
M: Two thousand kilometers an hour?
W: Close. About 2,200 kilometers an hour. It turns completely
around once each day. Now, what would happen if the Earth
stopped spinning so fast? If it slowed down to one rotation
every 365 days, every place on the planet would have either
daylight or darkness all year long. This is similar to the situation
on the moon. For two weeks, the sun shines on the front side.
Then, for two weeks, it shines on the back side. How do you
think a slower rotation would affect your lives?
07 Campus Life
W: I finished writing my paper on the American Revolution.
M: Wow! I’m still looking for information on George Washington.
W: Well, I saw a TV show about it last week. I wrote down all the
important people and then looked them up on the Internet.
M: I wish I’d seen that show.
W: You can still find information on the Internet. Just type the

words you’re looking for and then click the “search” button.
M: I tried. But it gave me so many websites!
W: Maybe you can ask Professor Cohen if there’s a good video you
could watch. That would help you know what to look for.
08 Psychology
M: It’s easier to remember something if we make a picture, or
image, of it in our minds. You can remember a common object
by giving it three qualities: detail, color, and movement. Take
something you often lose, like a key, for instance. Make the key
special in your mind. Give it detail. Imagine it has very sharp
teeth. Then, give it color. Make it shiny gold. Finally, give it
movement. Imagine it is alive. If you don’t watch it, it could
jump up and lock you out. If you think of it this way, you’re not
likely to forget it again.
Transcripts 643
Skill F
01History
W: Spain is a country in Southwest Europe, south of France and
west of Italy. In the 16th Century, it was the most powerful
nation in the world. After America was discovered in 1492,
Spain sent many people there. They brought back lots of gold
and silver. Trade with the new American colonies made Spain
rich. It established colonies in other parts of the world, such as
Cuba and the Philippines. But in 1588, Spain lost a famous war
against England. After that, its power began to decline. In
1898, Spain lost Cuba and the Philippines in the Spanish-
American War.
02 Campus Life
W: Dr. Shin, how long have you been a university professor?
M: Eighteen years, Sandra.

W: Could you please tell our campus radio listeners what made
you want to become an educator?
M: I guess it was my mother. She was a writer. At an early age, she
taught me that “the pen is mightier than the sword.” So when
I entered university, I started to study writing.
W: And you became a writer like your mother?
M: No, I actually never wrote any books. But I did discover that I
love teaching. So I’ve been a writing teacher ever since.
W: Well, we’re certainly glad you became one. Personally, I really
enjoyed your class. Thank you for being on the show today, Dr.
Shin.
03 Literature
M: Batman has changed several times since he first appeared in a
comic book in May 1939. The first Batman is now called the
“Golden Age” Batman. He was famous for using his mind, not
his strength, to catch criminals. In April 1940, Robin first
appeared as Batman’s partner. In April 1943, Batman and Robin
were joined by their butler, Alfred. He was the only one who
knew Batman and Robin’s real names. In 1952, Batman teamed
with Superman for the first time. In May 1964, the “new look”
Batman appeared. His costume had a black bat in a yellow oval.
The first Batman did not have the oval.
04 Ecology
W: The kind of oil that usually spills into the sea is called crude oil.
Sometimes it leaks naturally. Other times, humans accidentally
spill it when digging for oil or carrying it on boats. When oil spills,
three things happen: spreading, evaporation, and emulsification.
In spreading, the oil forms long, narrow strips, called windrows.
You can remember this word as “wind” plus “rows.” The wind
pushes the oil into long rows across the water. In evaporation, the

lighter parts of the oil disappear. Only the heavier parts remain. In
emulsification, E-M-U-L-S-I-F-I-C-A-T-I-O-N, the waves mix water
into the oil. This forms a heavy and sticky substance, which is
sometimes called chocolate mousse. The oil also mixes with other
things floating in the water.
05 Campus Life
W: I don’t feel well. I think I’ll skip class today.
M: What’s wrong?
W: I feel hot then cold, and I ache all over.
M: Ooh! That doesn’t sound very good! You’d better take your
temperature.
W: Do you have a thermometer?
M: Yes, I do. Here you go.
W: Thanks, Joe.
M:
Here, let me read the thermometer for you Uh-oh, your temperature
is really high! You’d better go see the school nurse!
W: You know, I could have malaria. These are malaria symptoms. I
just came back from a trip to Africa with my parents. I wasn’t
very good about taking my medicine.
06 Science
M: Light travels at 297,600 kilometers per second. That’s pretty
fast! Sound travels much more slowly at 1 kilometer per 3 seconds.
Knowing this, we can judge the distance of a storm. When you
see a lightning flash, begin counting seconds. When you hear
the thunder, stop counting. How many seconds have passed?
The lightning is one kilometer away for every 3 of those seconds.
There’s another way to know how close a storm is. As rain falls,
it cools the air. That cooler air may flow about 3 miles ahead of
the storm. The air becoming suddenly cooler tells you about

how close it is.
07 Campus Life
M: Hi, Barb! How was your vacation?
W: Great! We went to New Mexico.
M: You went to Mexico?
W: No, NEW Mexico. It’s a state in the southwestern US. The
license plates there say USA, so people don’t get confused.
M: That’s funny. What did you do there?
W: Well, on our way there we stopped at the Grand Canyon, in
Arizona. It was awesome! Then, we went to Albuquerque
the biggest city in New Mexico. Then we visited Carlsbad Caverns.
M: What are those?
W: Caves sixty miles of them. In one cave, we had to wear hats
with lights so we could see in the dark.
08History
W: Leonardo da Vinci was not only a great artist. He was also a
scientist and inventor. Leonardo was born in 1452 in Vinci, Italy.
He began studying painting at age 14 and became famous just
a few years later. His best-known paintings are Mona Lisa and
The Last Supper. But Leonardo was also an excellent scientist. He
kept detailed notebooks of observations about the natural
world. And he cut open dead people to learn how the human
body works. Finally, he was an inventor. But his two most famous
inventions the parachute and the war tank weren’t built
until after he died.
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Chapter 1
S
kill

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eview
A-F
01 Psychology
W: Some people can remember things in a way that seems almost
impossible. It’s as if their minds just take photos. They might be
able to repeat a lecture word for word. They can even accomplish
this feat many years later.
Some very good chess players can play with their eyes covered.
This is called “Blindfold Chess.” They can play against several
other players at once and win! Someone tells them the other
players’ moves. They can easily remember where the pieces are
on all the boards.
Scientists call this “eidetic memory,” though many people call
it photographic memory. However, this may be misleading.
Scientists believe the memories are not stored photographically,
but in another way. A scientist named Dr. DeGroot did a test to
show this.
A chessboard was set up a certain way, and some chess players
were given fifteen seconds to look at it. Then, they were asked
to set the pieces up again in the same way. The more seasoned
chess players easily set up the pieces again. The beginners had
a more difficult time doing it.
In the next test, Dr. DeGroot began in the same way. However,
this time he set them up in a way that would never happen in
a real game. Now, the really good players had difficulty
remembering, too, remembering only as well as the beginning
players. It seemed they needed to apply their knowledge of
what was really possible in a game. That is, they needed to
apply what they knew about chess to remember well.

02 General Studies
M: Some people really go overboard using their yellow markers to
underline everything. I’m going to suggest that this isn’t the
best strategy for studying. The first time you read a passage,
don’t highlight. You can end up with an all-yellow text.
Just read the passage first. Then ponder it for a while. Then
read it again, this time looking for the most important ideas. In
the next reading, you can start highlighting. Only underline one
or two key words or phrases per page. Even better compile
a list of the words and phrases. Write the page number beside
each one so you can look them up again. Now, when you
review, you won’t have pages and pages to read. This makes it
much easier to review for an exam.
W: Excuse me, Professor Hill.
M: Yes, Jacqueline?
W: Can you give us some suggestions on how to choose the words
and phrases?
M: Yes, of course! Here are some steps to help you decide what to
choose:
1. Look for the main idea. Follow the way it’s being told
through the passage.
2. Look at the beginning and ending paragraphs. They often
give the information in a simple form.
3. Pick out transitional words that give you important information.
i.e., “the point is,” “in sum,” “most importantly,” and so on.
4. Try reading the ending first, so you know where the passage is
going.
5. The next day, look over the passage again. Only read what
you’ve underlined. Do it again a week later.
Now, each night for several nights before a test, look at

your list. Take an hour or two. You’ll remember some things
from class. When you find something you can’t remember,
look it up. You’ll learn what you don’t remember this way.
You’ll have no problem getting a high score on the exam.
Learning this does take time, though. So don’t get discouraged.
Keep practicing. You’ll get it.
C
hapter
2
Skill A
01 Culture
M: Let’s talk about sneezing. When someone sneezes Ah choo!
the customary response is, “Bless you” or “God bless you.”
Why do we say this?
There are several theories. Some of these are superstitions
that is, things that many people believe but that aren’t really
true. One superstition is that saying “bless you” keeps the devil
from flying down your throat. Another is that “bless you”
keeps your soul from flying out of your body. Actually, there is
a historical reason for this custom.
There was a pope in Rome named Gregory the Great. When he
was elected pope, the great plague was beginning all over
Europe. Thousands of people were dying. In fact, the pope
before Gregory had died of the plague. To get rid of the plague,
Pope Gregory ordered people to march through the streets,
asking for God’s help. If someone sneezed, others would
immediately say “God bless you!” They hoped this would keep
the person who sneezed from getting the plague.
Today, of course, we know that when you sneeze, the devil isn’t
trying to rush down your throat. Your soul won’t leave your

body. And saying “bless you” to sneezers in the street is not
going to cure disease. We do know, though, that each sneeze
forces thousands of germs into the air. People keep germs out
of public places by covering their mouths when they sneeze.
And hearing an old-fashioned “bless you” from a stranger can
make us feel better when the sneezes begin.
02
Campus Life
W: Hey Alex. How’s it going?
M: OK. I just finished math class. Man, I hate math!
W: Why? It’s easy!
M: Yeah, right.
W: I’ve got a secret that helps me in math class. Wanna know what
it is?
M: OK. But it probably won’t help me.
W: Listen and try it. Math is too abstract, right? Well, try to make
it real for yourself. My secret is I think about numbers in math
as if they were money.
M: Huh?
W: Yeah. I have a hard time picturing numbers. But if I see the
numbers as dollars and cents, then I can see them clearly in my
head.
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M: Really?!
W: Yeah. For example, if the teacher says, “What is 853 minus
727,” I think of eight dollars and fifty-three cents minus seven
dollars and twenty-seven cents. The answer is one dollar and
26 cents one twenty-six. It’s easy!
M: Hey, that’s awesome! I’ll try it tomorrow. Thanks.
W: No problem. See you at the basketball game tonight.

M: See you.
03 Computer Science
W: More people are buying home computers and using them for
home networks. They need faster ways to get information over
the Internet. Right now, there are mainly two avenues for
information to be sent. These are cable modems and Asymmetric
Digital Subscriber Lines or ADSL. These faster ways of sending
information are called broadband connections. Cable modems
and ADSL are both types of broadband connections. They are
much faster than a 56K modem.
There is another new kind of DSL connection. It is known as
very high bit rate DSL or VDSL. Some companies already have
this for certain places. VDSL isn’t everywhere yet, but it may be
very soon. Many people like it and are beginning to use it.
VDSL accommodates a very, very large amount of bandwidth.
It gives up to about 52 megabytes per second. In other words,
it provides 52Mbps. In comparison, ADSL or cable modems can
only give 8 to 10 megabytes per second. It’s easy to see that
VDSL is a lot faster. VDSL will soon be more common, making
home networks cost much less.
In the United States, a telephone line has two copper wires.
These wires have a very broad bandwidth. A telephone call only
uses a very small part of the bandwidth. The telephone wires
can carry much more information than telephone calls. DSL can
use this extra bandwidth at the same time a call is being made.
It can do this without changing the sound of the telephone call.
04 Campus Life
M: Hey Lucy, are you going to watch any of the movies at the film
festival?
W: No, I wasn’t thinking of it. I have too much homework to do.

M: Aw, that’s no fun! Can’t you even take one night off? Your dor-
mitory is so close to the Annenberg Center! It’ll take you five
minutes to get there.
W: Well, maybe I will go to one.
M: How about tomorrow night? I can go then.
W: What movie is playing?
M: School of Rock. Have you seen it?
W: No. What’s it about?
M: Well, it’s a comedy and it’s really funny. It’s about this guy who’s
really trying to make it as a rock star. He gets kicked out of his
band and he really needs money. So he acts like he’s somebody
else to get a teaching job. Then, he tries to turn his class into a
rock band.
W: Sounds pretty crazy! OK, I’ll come see it.
05 Biology
W: Most animals in the world have some kind of way to hide
themselves so that they can hunt for food and protect themselves
from other animals. This method of hiding is called camouflage:
C-A-M-O-U-F-L-A-G-E. The simplest form of camouflage is for
animals to “blend in” with their surroundings. Their colors match
the surroundings in which they live, which makes them hard to
see. Deer and other forest animals, for example, have light
brown colors that help them blend in with the brown trees and
dirt on the forest ground. Many fish have a gray-blue color. This
helps them blend in with the soft light under water. Other animals
use color patterns to help them blend in. A tiger’s pattern of black
stripes and orange fur blends into the long grass where it
hunts. This makes the tiger difficult for its victims to spot until
it’s too late!
Another form of camouflage is called copying. For instance, a

king snake is red, yellow, and black. It copies the colors of the
coral snake. The coral snake is very dangerous; its bite can kill you.
The king snake is not dangerous, but other animals are afraid to
attack the king snake because it looks like a coral snake.
A third form of camouflage is disguise: D-I-S-G-U-I-S-E. This
means that an animal looks like something else. For instance, a
crocodile in the water can look just like a floating log. This disguise
helps it catch deer when they come near the water to drink.
06 Psychology
W: Do you ever wonder why we dream? Many people do. For
centuries, in fact, people have been trying to understand what
our dreams mean or if they mean anything at all. In ancient
Egypt, about 2000 BC, people thought dreams were very
important. They believed that dreams foretold what would
happen in the future. The Egyptians wrote books that listed
what dreams meant. If a man saw himself looking out a
window in his dream, it was considered a good omen. It meant
that his cry would be heard by a god. If a man saw himself in
his dream looking at people who were far away, it was considered
a bad sign. It meant that he was soon going to die.
In modern times, Sigmund Freud is famous for his research on
dreams. Freud believed that dreams represent our suppressed
desires things we want to do, but can’t. Dreams allow our
minds to act out desires that we can’t express in our everyday
lives. Usually, these suppressed desires involve sex. For example:
A train going into a tunnel represents a man and woman
having sex. According to Freud, this dream would mean you
want to have sex, but for some reason you can’t.
Another famous dream researcher was Carl Jung um, J-U-N-G.
Jung believed dreams allow us to think more about ourselves than

when we are awake and to solve problems that we have
during the day.
In 1973, researchers named Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley
said dreams don’t mean anything. Dreams are just the result of
natural activity in our brains.
Skill B
01 Biology
W: I’m still confused about the lecture today on blood types.
M: OK. What questions do you have?
W: Well, first, the way we classify blood types. We use the letters
A, B, and O, right?
M: That’s right. There are four different types of blood: A, B, AB,
and O. Each person on Earth has one of these types.
W: And where do we get our blood types?
M: They come from both our father and mother. Your blood
type could be the same as one of your parents, or completely
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different.
W: But everyone’s blood is red!
M: Yes, it all looks the same, but it’s dangerous to mix two different
blood types together. If you get hurt and need blood, you have
to make sure the new blood is the same type as yours. If it’s
not, you might die.
W: But didn’t the professor say there was one type that could mix
with any of them?
M: Yes. That’s type O.
02 Literature
W: Folktales are stories that grow out of the lives or imaginations
of people, or folk. Folktales began as an attempt to explain and

understand the world around us. Many folktales all over the
world are nearly the same. Travelers passed them on from one
country to another. Each person telling the folktale changes it
slightly. The stories that traveled mostly over land changed a
great deal. The ones that traveled by water changed less. There
are many different kinds of folktales. Some have simple plots
with lots of repeated phrases and words. These are called
cumulative folktales. One example is called “There Was an Old
Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” This sentence is repeated on
almost every page of the story. In some stories, animals talk just
like humans. These are talking beast folktales. A famous example
is “The Three Little Pigs.” Humorous tales are meant for fun
and nonsense. They are usually about someone who makes
unbelievably funny mistakes, such as the Norwegian husband
who has to take care of his house and nearly destroys it.
Romances are stories in which lovers seem hopelessly separated
until magic brings them back together. A good example is “Beauty
and the Beast.” Tales of magic are types of stories we commonly call
fairy tales. These include things like talking mirrors, enchanted
forests, and magic kisses. “Snow White” is a popular example.
03 Campus Life
W: Hello, Lance! What can I help you with today?
M: I heard there’s a tutoring center for each department. Can you
tell me where it is for the English Department?
W: Yes! Ours is just next door.
M: Can I go there right now?
W: You can, but they might still be at lunch. You know, you’ll have
to sign up for an interview first, anyway. You can do that over the
Internet, too.
M: OK. Can you give me the address?

W: Go to www.pentutoring.info. They’ll get in touch with you within
three working days.
M: What will they send me?
W: They’ll send you the tutor’s name, phone number, email address
Oh, yes, and how much you have to pay per hour.
M: Uh-oh! I don’t have any money.
W: That’s OK. You can get free tutoring. You’ll just need to agree to
do a three-week feedback survey.
M: That’s all?
W: That’s all!
M: Great! Thanks!
W: No problem!
04 Biology
M: Spiders can spin silk better than any other insect. Only a few
others, like silkworms, can make silk.
Spiders use silk in many different ways. They often use it the
same way a mountain climber uses rope. They’ll drop down on
a silk strand. If they get into trouble, they can quickly run back
up again. Another way they use silk is to make homes for their
babies.
Most kinds of spiders spin a thick silk covering around their
eggs. Some spin it around the new little spiders.
Spiders can make different kinds of silk strands. One way is to
coat a silk strand with different materials. They might make it
sticky to catch a fly. I think we’ve all seen a fly getting stuck on
a spider’s web. You sometimes notice because the fly buzzes
loudly. Or a spider might water-proof the silk with something.
Then, they can stay dry in a rainstorm. A trapdoor spider’s home
is a good example. The door over the trapdoor spider’s hole is a
water-proof roof made of spider silk.

05 Physics
M: A good way to understand why balloons float in the air is to
understand why things float in water. Let’s say that you have a
plastic one-liter bottle of Coca-Cola. If you pour out the Coke
and put the cap back on, you have a one-liter bottle full of air.
Now, tie a string around it and take it to the bottom of a
swimming pool. What will happen when you let go of the
bottle?
W: It will rise to the top?
M: Yes. If you sit on the bottom of the pool holding the string, the
bottle will act just like a balloon does in the air. Does anyone
know why the bottle rises?
W: Uh, because the air is, um, lighter than the water?
M: Exactly! The bottle and the air inside it weigh just a few grams,
But a liter of water weighs about 1,000 grams. The air is lighter
than the water the air displaces, so the bottle floats. We call
this the law of buoyancy.
Balloons work by the same law of buoyancy except balloons
are filled with helium, not air. Helium is a gas that is much
lighter than air. You can think of the helium balloon you are
holding as floating in a huge “pool” of air. The helium balloon
displaces an amount of air, just like the empty bottle displaces
an amount of water. As long as the helium and the balloon are
lighter than the air they displace, the balloon will float in the
air.
06 Health
W: Mmm. I love coffee. It wakes me up! You know why? Because
it has caffeine. Caffeine is a kind of drug. Ah! Caffeine is found
naturally in many plants, such as coffee beans, tea leaves, and
cocoa nuts. It’s also added artificially to many other kinds of

food and drinks. So, it’s safe to say that the typical American
gets plenty of caffeine. As a matter of fact, most of us get too
much. More than half of all adults in the United States
consume more than 300 milligrams of caffeine each day.
Including me! Seriously, though too much caffeine is not
good for your body. Caffeine interferes with a chemical in your
brain called adenosine. That’s A-D-E-N-O-S-I-N-E. Now normally,
adenosine helps prepare your body for rest. This chemical slows
down nerve cells, which causes you to become sleepy. To the
nerve cells in your brain, caffeine looks just like adenosine, but
caffeine acts differently. Instead of slowing down your nerve
cells, caffeine speeds them up. As a result, your heart starts to
beat faster. Your breathing tubes open wider. Your blood pressure
rises. Blood vessels tighten near the surface of your skin. The
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blood flowing into your stomach slows down. Your muscles
tighten up, ready for action. This is why, after consuming a big
cup of coffee, you feel excited. You can feel your heartbeat
increasing. You’re ready to do something, go somewhere, run,
play, fight, conquer the world or else start STUDYING to get
ready for the next test!
Skill C
01 Science
W: We use microscopes to help us study cells. Because cells are so
small, we can’t see them without magnification um, the ability
to make them look bigger. The first microscopes were called
light microscopes. They were pretty simple devices. They were
also simple to use. Scientists first cut the cells, or specimens,
into thin sections. Then they stained the specimens with different
colored materials, called dyes. The dyes helped them see the

specimens more clearly. Unfortunately, dyes often killed the
cells, too. That limited what scientists could find out about the
specimen. In recent years, we have developed more powerful
microscopes. These help us view living specimens.
One of these new microscopes is called the phase-contrast
microscope. It’s made in such a way that part of the light passing
through it moves more slowly than the rest of the light. We say
this part of the light is “out of phase” with the rest of the light.
This enables scientists to see differences in living specimens as
light and shade. Another type of new microscope is the electron
microscope. This uses electrons to form images, instead of
light. Electrons travel in waves, similar to light, but their
wavelengths are over 100,000 times shorter than those of
light. Therefore, they can give much clearer magnification.
Electron microscopes even allow scientists to take pictures of
the cells they are studying!
02 Campus Life
W: Hey Frank. If you could be any person in the world, who would
you be?
M: That’s easy. Bill Gates!
W: Why?
M: I’ll give you 30 billion reasons. Ha, ha.
W: Ah, so it’s the money.
M: Not totally. But the money is nice. I was reading that if you made
all of Gates’ money one-dollar bills, and then laid them end-to-
end, the line would stretch for almost six million kilometers.
W: Wow! But what would you do with all that money?
M: Gates gives a lot to the poor. He’s donated almost seven-and-
a-half billion since the year 2000. I’d give away even more.
W: Really?

M: Sure! It costs about $240 a year to feed a starving child. So, Bill
could save almost 121 million children.
W: Hmm why else do you like Gates?
M: I admire his confidence. Did you know he earned a scholarship
to Harvard, but left after two years to start Microsoft? That
took courage!
03History
M: So, you’ve heard of the Gettysburg Address. But do you know
the story behind it?
The worst battle of the American Civil War was fought in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Northern Army fought back the
Southern Army. The battle lasted three days. Afterward, the
field was left covered with bodies of dead soldiers.
In November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln came to Gettysburg.
He was to speak at the opening of the cemetery there. Music
played and soldiers saluted. Edward Everett, governor of
Massachusetts, talked first for almost two hours.
Then Lincoln stood up. He looked out over the valley. Then, he
began to speak. He said they couldn’t do anything to make this
place special. He said that the soldiers who had fought so hard
had already done that.
He said that everyone would soon forget what was spoken
that day, but he said that what the soldiers did would never be
forgotten. He said everyone should keep doing what these
soldiers began. They should keep fighting for freedom for all
the people. Then, they could make sure the soldiers didn’t die
needlessly.
The president’s speech only lasted two minutes! Everyone
cheered and then left. Lincoln turned to Edward Everett. He
said he thought he should have planned his speech better.

Edward Everett didn’t agree. He said, “It was perfect. You said
more in two minutes than I did in two hours.”
Afterward, the newspapers said it was a great speech. And, as
you know, Americans still remember it today.
04 Phys. Ed.
W: Some people are surprised to know that walking is very good
exercise. It seems very easy, but it does us a lot of good. It
cleans the blood, tones up muscles, and strengthens bones. It
even helps people lose weight. One study showed that fast
walking keeps your heart healthy. Men who walked fast were
50 percent less likely to have heart disease.
You don’t need much equipment to do it, and almost anyone,
anywhere, at any time, can do it.
It’s not difficult to plan walks into your day. You can walk to
work, to catch a train, or to a park. You can walk to shops or
enjoy walks in the country. It’s a great way to spend time with
family and friends. People have some of their best conversations
while walking.
It’s best to do some stretches before and after you walk. Take
short quick steps, stand straight, and take deep breaths.
For basic health, it’s good to walk most days of the week. Walk
for 20 to 30 minutes or more at a “talking pace.”
To lose weight, walk for 30 to 45 minutes or more. Walk as
many days as you can. Walk fast enough so that you finish
slightly out of breath.
To make your heart stronger, walk quickly for 20 minutes or
more. If you can, walk where there are some small hills. Walk
two or three times a week. Go as fast as you can, but enjoy
yourself. Exercise should never be painful.
05 Campus Life

W: Josh, what are you doing tonight?
M: I have a biology class. What are you doing?
W: Well, my friend’s sorority is having a party, but I don’t want to
walk by myself in the dark.
M: Why don’t you use Campus Escort?
W: What’s that?
M: Campus Escort is a free service that gives students rides. Other
students drive you to the place you’re going.
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W: Really? It’s free?
M: Yep. Just call 874-SAFE and tell them what time you would like
to be picked up.
W: But will they escort me back home?
M: Sure. There’s a car that will take you from your dorm room to
the party, then back to your dorm. It runs 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. And
there’s a small van that picks students up each hour at the student
center and the mall. It runs from 6 p.m. to midnight.
W: What if I want to stay later?
M: Call campus police for a free escort: 874-2121.
06 General Studies
M: All right. Saturday’s the big day. Are you ready? Yes, Susan?
W: Tests make me nervous. What can I do?
M: Good question. It’s natural to be a little nervous before a test.
The important thing is: don’t panic. You’ve studied hard for this
test. You can pass it. Be confident! Relax! Now, you’re more
likely to be relaxed if you are well prepared. Here are some tips.
First, before you leave home, check to make sure you have
everything you need. You should have your admission ticket.
This was mailed to you last week. You should have two

number-two pencils and a good eraser. You should have
identification your student ID card, a driver’s license, or a
passport. If you’re taking the math portion of the test, you
should have a calculator.
Second, know what you can’t bring to the test. You cannot
bring a watch with a loud alarm. You cannot bring any food or
drink. You cannot bring extra paper to write on. You cannot bring
any books, notes, or dictionaries. You cannot bring compasses,
rulers, protractors, or other aids except for the calculator.
You cannot bring colored pens, pencils, or highlighters. You
cannot bring cell phones or pagers. You cannot bring any portable
tape recorders, walkmans, or headphones. Questions?
W: Um what if I uh, have to go to the bathroom during the test?
M: You can’t. So go before! Don’t worry, there will be breaks after
each section of the test. You’ll be able to go then.
Chapter 2
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01 Campus Life
M: All right. Here’s your student ID card. You’ll need to show this at
every meal, or each time you buy something at a campus dining
hall.
W: Really? Hmm. That’s different than my old school.
M: Yes, I imagine it is. We have a unique system here. Do you
know about our meal plans?
W: Meal plans? Uh, no.
M: There are several different plans. You can choose to buy 9, 12,

15, or 18 meals each week. It depends on your schedule and
eating habits.
W: I see. Um, what if I buy the 15-meal plan and only eat 13 meals
that week? Will I get 17 the next week?
M: No, meals do not carry over into the next week. That’s why it’s
important that you choose your meal plan carefully.
W: What if I want to treat my friend? Can I use two meals at one time?
M: Sorry, no. Only one meal each meal period. If you want to treat
a friend, you can use your declining balance points.
W: My what?
M: Declining balance points. They work like an ATM card. At the
dining halls, you use the points like cash. You can buy food,
snacks, or meals. Then the points are withdrawn from your
declining balance account. All of our meal plans offer these
points.
W: Um, OK. What happens when I run out of declining balance
points?
M: You can buy more points at any time. Just go to the One Card
office on the North Campus. We will bill your home through
the Student Accounts office.
02 Geography
W: We usually think of deserts as hot, dry, sandy places. And many
deserts are. But actually, deserts come in several forms. Let’s learn
about some of them.
In defining a desert, we have to consider two factors. The first
is the annual amount of rainfall. Deserts get less than 250
millimeters of rain or snow each year. The second factor is how
much of that rain or snow evaporates that is, goes back into
the atmosphere or is used up by plants. We call this loss of
water “evaporation.”

Simply stated, a desert is a place where evaporation is greater
than rainfall or snowfall. Because so much water evaporates,
most deserts are hot. But not all. The North and South poles,
for instance, are cold deserts. They get less than 250 millimeters
of snow each year, and the ground is permanently frozen.
We also classify deserts by their location and main weather pattern.
One example is trade wind deserts. Trade wind deserts are
located between 30 degrees and 35 degrees north and south
of the equator. The winds that blow over these areas are very
strong. They blow away clouds, so more sun reaches the ground.
Most of the major deserts in the world lie in the areas crossed by
the trade winds. The Sahara Desert, in North Africa, is a trade wind
desert. Temperatures there can reach 57 degrees Celsius.
Another type of desert is the rain shadow desert. Rain shadow
deserts lie next to tall mountains. As clouds rise over the mountains,
they spill all of their rain or snow before they get to the other
side. So, these deserts are formed in the “shadow” of the
mountains. The Judean Desert in Israel is a rain shadow desert.
So is a large part of the western United States called the Great
Basin.
Still another kind of desert is the coastal desert. Coastal deserts
are on the western edges, or coasts, of continents. One coastal
desert, the Atacama Desert of South America, is Earth’s driest
desert. In the Atacama, there can be measurable rainfall only
once every 50 years.
03Business Writing
M: Today, I’d like to give you some basic rules for writing a resumé.
Let’s begin with spelling. Don’t use words you don’t know. Use
a dictionary. Seems like a lot of trouble to get up, find a dictionary,
and look up the word. But if you’re on the computer, you can

look up words online. Do a spell check, but then read every
word carefully. The spell check can’t catch every mistake. If you
use “form” instead of “from,” it won’t catch it. So, use a spell
check, but read everything yourself, too. And read carefully. If you
read quickly, it’s easy to miss words that are misspelled. Have a
friend read your resumé, too.
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Another thing, choose your words carefully. Some words sound
alike but don’t mean the same thing, like these: personal means
private, personnel means staff members. And use active tense
like “directed staff” rather than passive tense like “was staff
director.” The active tense gives a stronger feeling.
Now, about grammar. In each part of your resumé, keep the
same tense. The duties you do now should be in the present
tense. Things you did in the past should be in the past tense. For
example, let’s say you started your job several years ago in
September. You might write on your resumé “September 2003
to present, manage office and staff,” or “teach at Canyon High
School.” That means, “I manage” or “I teach” now. But if
you’re listing a job you don’t have anymore “taught at Canyon
High School” instead of “teach at Canyon High School.”
Don’t give your sex, age, race, or marital status. How much
money you made before is also personal information.
Make your resumé look nice. Make it as simple as you can, too.
Leave plenty of space, but try to make it just one page. Use a
font like Times Roman that’s easy to read. Put your name,
address, and telephone number on it and any letters. Use a
good printer and print on only one side of white paper. Your
resumé speaks for you. A professional-looking resumé tells an
employer that you do things well. An employer may decide to

see you or not because of it.
0
4 Economics
W: Our world is so rich! All the people together make more than
$31 trillion a year. In some countries, many people make more
than $40,000 a year. But in other countries, many people make
less than $700 a year. Of these, 1.2 billion earn less than $1.00
a day. Because of this, 33,000 children die every day in these
poorer countries. Each minute, more than one woman dies in
childbirth. Being poor keeps more than 100 million children out
of school. Most of them are girls.
Helping the poorer countries is a very big task especially
because more people are born every year. In fifty years, there
will be about 3 billion more people.
The World Bank is a bridge between the rich and poor people.
It’s making rich-country money into poor-country growth. It is
one of the world’s biggest banks for poor countries. It’s helping
them build schools and health centers, and get water and
electricity. It’s helping protect the people’s surroundings.
The low-income countries can’t usually borrow money in world
markets. If they do, they have to pay very high interest rates.
The World Bank gives them some money, low-interest loans,
and interest-free credit. It helps them take care of the money,
too. When the countries get loans, they have 35 40 years to
pay them back. They can have ten extra years if they need it.
In the year 2002, the bank agreed to give about $15 billion to
low-income countries. For some of the poorest countries, AIDS
is a very big problem. Some of this World Bank money is to
help them fight this disease. If they don’t receive help, many
more people will get the illness.

The World Bank is not like other banks. It’s really a part of the
United Nations. One hundred and eighty-four countries belong
to it. These countries all put money into it and help maintain it.
About 10,000 people work in World Bank offices. They are
from nearly every country in the world. Its headquarters is in
Washington, DC. But there are World Bank offices in 109
countries.
Skill D
01 Campus Life
W: Hi Tony! Where are you headed?
M: Hey, Mary. I’m going to the campus gym to lift weights. Want to
come? Um, there’s an aerobics class at 5 o’clock.
W: Uh, no thanks. I’ve got to study for my chemistry mid-term.
Maybe next time. How often do you go?
M: I try to go three times a week. When I study, I sit too much. I
don’t feel good unless my body gets some exercise, not just my
mind.
W: Do you usually just lift weights?
M: No. I lift to get stronger. Then, I run on the treadmill to help my
heart and lungs. Then, I jump rope or do aerobics to improve
my balance and coordination.
W: Wow! I wish I had that much discipline.
M: Start slowly and do a little more each day.
W: Thanks for the advice. Well, have fun. Maybe I’ll go next week.
M: Bye! Good luck on your mid-term.
02 Physical Science
W: Rocks wear down and break apart due to a process called
weathering. There are two main types of weathering: mechanical
and chemical.
Mechanical weathering involves the disintegration, or destruction,

of rocks by mechanical processes. These include the freezing
and thawing of water in the crevices uh, holes and cracks
of rocks. Also, the roots of plants can cause rocks to break
apart. The tiny, hair-like roots grow into small cracks in rocks.
Then, as the roots get bigger, the roots crack the rocks. Animals
are also responsible for mechanical weathering. They burrow, or
dig, into the rocks and the dirt around the rocks. Mechanical
weathering is especially common in high altitudes, where it’s so
cold that freezing and thawing happen every day. It’s also common
in deserts, where there is little water and few plants.
Chemical weathering involves the decomposition of rock by
chemical changes or solution. This includes the processes of
oxidation, carbonation, and hydration. For example, many iron
minerals found in rocks are rapidly oxidized, meaning they can
quickly turn to rust. It sounds funny, but rocks can rust or oxidize.
Then, there is carbonation. Limestone is a rock that does this.
Limestone is a type of rock that is dissolved by water, which
contains carbonic acid. We’ll go into more detail about that
reaction later. Anyway, chemical weathering takes place in
warm, wet conditions. In general, chemical weathering is more
common than mechanical weathering, although they usually
act together.
03 Campus Life
M: I just don’t get it!
W: Get what?
M: Professor Johnson’s biology lecture. I took notes, but I don’t
understand them.
W: You should go to a review session.
M: A review session?
W: Yeah. A review session is a discussion that’s led by a student

who has already taken the class. They review the professor’s
lecture and the homework assignments for each week. Then,
they answer questions.
M: It sounds like an extra class.
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Transcripts
W: You don’t have to go, but if you’re having trouble, a review
session will help you a lot. I went to one last year when I had
Professor Johnson’s class.
M: Yeah? How did you do?
W: I got an A-minus.
M: Hmm. When is the review session?
W: Let’s see You have your choice. You can go Monday from 5
to 6 p.m., or Tuesday from 3 to 4.
M: I’ve got economics on Tuesday. I guess I could go Monday.
W: It’s up to you.
M: I’ll think about it.
04 Business
M: Advertisements. They’re everywhere. You can’t hide from them.
There’s no escape. Turn on the TV. There they are. Turn on the radio.
There they are. Waiting for an elevator? There they are. Using your
computer? There they are. Looking out your car window?
Ahhhhhh! Ads, ads, ads! Aren’t you getting tired of them?
W: Yes! Especially on my computer and on TV. I wish there weren’t
so many of them.
M: Well, would you believe you’ve actually seen more ads than you
think? You’ve also been watching secret ads. Instead of regular
ads, today we are seeing lots more of something called product
placement. Product placement is like an ad that’s not an ad. It’s
an advertisement in disguise. For example, how many of you

have seen the movie Cast Away, with Tom Hanks? Mmmm,
most of you. Which company does Toms Hanks work for at the
start of the movie?
W: Fed Ex.
M: Bingo! That’s a product placement. Fed Ex short for Federal
Express got more publicity from that movie than it could have
with hundreds of traditional ads. In another movie, The Firm, the
main character drank a beer from Jamaica called Red Stripe. In the
movie’s first week, sales of Red Stripe increased 50 percent. Product
placement used to be limited to movies. Now, we see it on TV
shows, video games, even in books. It’s an effective technique.
But companies have to be careful. They want their products to
be visible within a scene, but not the focus of attention. When
done correctly, product placement can add a sense of realism
to a movie or television show that something like a bottle simply
marked “beer” cannot.
05 Music
M: Today we’re going to learn about a kind of song called a ballad. A
ballad is a song that tells a story. Usually, the story in a ballad is one
that began with oral tradition. Parents passed it down to their
children from generation to generation. Ballads are often sung in
rhyme, like a poem. Unlike a poem, though, ballads do not use a
lot of explanation. The words are usually simple, clear, and easy
to read. There is not much emotion. And the motives of characters
that is, why they do something is not usually told. One
famous ballad from the 1800s is called “Shenandoah.” Um,
S-H-E-N-A-N-D-O-A-H. It tells the story of a white man who was
in love with an American Indian woman. She lived near the
Missouri River, one of the two largest rivers in the United States.
Listen to part of the song:

The white man loved an Indian maiden
Away, you rolling river
With notions his canoe was laden
Away, I’m bound away
Cross the wide Missouri
O Shenandoah, I love your daughter
Away, you rolling river
For her I’ve crossed the rolling water
Away, I’m bound away
Cross the wide Missouri
Notice the dialog in the second verse. The white man tells his
lover’s father: “Oh Shenandoah, I love your daughter for her I’ve
crossed the rolling river.” Such dialog is typical of ballads. So, we
have three characteristics of ballads so far. One, they tell a story.
Two, they come from oral tradition. Three, they repeat simple
words and use dialog.
06 Earth Science
M: Trade winds are a pattern of wind found in regions near the
Earth’s equator. Do you remember what the equator is?
W: The imaginary circle around the middle of the Earth that divides
the planet into the northern hemisphere and southern
hemisphere.
M: Very good! Now, in the old days, sailors used to sail their boats
back and forth across the equator on their way to trade things
with other nations. They depended on the wind to get them
there quickly. Hence the name, trade winds. The trade winds
begin in regions called the Horse Latitudes. These are regions
between 30 degrees and 35 degrees north and south of the
equator. The winds in the Horse Latitudes are light, and the
weather there is hot and dry. Because of the light winds, trading

ships would become stalled in the Horse Latitudes. Sailors were
worried about running out of water, so they threw their horses
into the sea. This way, they could drink the water meant for the
horses. It also made their boats lighter, so they could go faster.
The trade winds blow from the Horse Latitudes toward the
equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, they blow from the
northeast and are called the Northeast Trade Winds. In the
Southern Hemisphere, they blow from the southeast and are
called the Southeast Trade Winds. The trade winds between
about 30 degrees latitude and the equator are steady and blow
about 22 to 24 kilometers per hour. They can quickly propel
ships across the ocean.
Skill E
01 Campus Life
M: Excuse me. I’d like to buy a bicycle permit please.
W: That will be four dollars.
M: Here you are. And the permit will let me park my bike anywhere
on campus?
W: Yes.
M: How long is the permit valid for?
W: It’s valid for the next four years. OK, now I need your bicycle
serial number.
M: My serial number? Just a minute. Ah, here it is. A7-10023.
W: All right. Next, I need some identification with your address on it.
M: My address? Um, oh yeah. I have my driver’s license.
W: Sure, your driver’s license will be fine all right. Last but not
least, you need to fill out this bicycle registration card. Then
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we’ll give you your permit.
M: Here you are.

W: Thank you. Now, you need to make sure this permit is in plain
sight on your bicycle. Attach it to the main frame, on the center
post below the seat. If we can’t see it, you will have to pay a fine.
M: No problem. Thanks.
02 Art
W1: Today, we’re going to see how much you know about china.
M1: It’s got the Great Wall.
W2: And rice.
M2: And chopsticks!
W1: No, not that China. Yes, China is a country. But there’s another
china-the kind you eat off of. This china is a fancy type of
porcelain. Porcelain is a material used to make plates, cups, and
bowls. When people get married in America, one of the oldest
customs is for the bride and groom to choose which type of
china they want for their new home.
There are four main processes in creating china. These are clay
making, mold making, glazing, and decorating. In the clay-making
process, five ingredients are mixed together with water and
shaped into tubes. These tubes are called pugs: P-U-G-S. In the
mold-making process, plaster is poured into metal molds to
make production molds. These production molds are then used
to shape the pugs into plates, cups, and bowls. Next, comes the
glazing process. Glaze is like liquid glass. When it’s heated,
glaze forms a protective shell around each piece of china. Glaze
is incredibly strong. A store in Canada once showed how strong
china is by using four teacups to support a race car! Can you
picture that a heavy car with only one small cup under each
wheel? After glazing, the china is ready for decorating. Here,
artists use 85 patterns and 400 different shapes to make the
china look beautiful. Then, it’s ready to be sold.

03 Campus Life
M: I’d like to check out this book, please.
W: May I please see your student ID card?
M: I’m sorry, ma’am, it’s been stolen. It was in my wallet, which
was stolen.
W: I’m not allowed to check out any books for you without it.
M: Oh, that’s great! What should I do now?
W: You can download the form for a new student ID card from the
computer. Fill it out and take it over to the Student Center.
Actually, they can also give you the form there.
M: Thanks. I don’t think I’ll bother. Doesn’t it cost $10.00?
W: It does. You might just want to do it, though. You won’t be
allowed to sit for exams without it.
M: All right, I guess I’ll have to. I suppose they’ll want a passport
photo too.
W: Yes, and a copy of your identification driver’s license or passport.
M: All right, I’ll go over there. Thanks ma’am.
W: You’ll be glad to have it. Good luck!
04 Health
M: Let’s begin our study of Vitamin D. It’s something we must have.
Among other things, it helps our bodies use the important min-
eral, calcium. Calcium makes our bones strong. It also helps our
nerves and muscles work the way they should.
Let’s open our textbooks to page 63. I’d like you to take a look
at these pictures. As you can see, these children don’t look well
at all. The bones in their heads haven’t come together as they
should. That’s why their heads are too big. Their legs curve out.
The bones are too soft to stand on. These children didn’t get
enough Vitamin D. Happily, we don’t see this too often any more.
Vitamin D is not in most of the foods we eat. We get it mostly

from the sun. Ultraviolet rays from the sun transform something
in our skin. It becomes what’s called previtamin D3. Inside our
bodies, it changes again. It becomes what’s called active vitamin
D. With active vitamin D, our bones can make enough calcium
to stay hard. Active vitamin D helps us have enough calcium for
our nerves too. This helps us feel calm and sleep well.
Today, many people need to have stronger bones. Many older
people’s bones, especially, break far too easily. One main reason
why is that people don’t get nearly enough sunlight. We close
windows to stay warm in the winter. In summer, we close
windows for air conditioning. But we really need time in the
sunshine almost every day.
05 Computer Science
W: I did a search on Google yesterday. It was amazing. I typed in
“horses” and hit the search button. In less than a second, it
showed me more than 32 million websites related to horses. Do
you ever wonder how computers can think so fast? Well, I did
another Google search, and I found out.
Computer chips are based on something called Boolean logic.
This is a type of thinking developed in the mid-1800s by
George Boole B-O-O-L-E. Boolean logic maps information
into bits and bytes.
It begins with seven electronic pathways, called gates. The
simplest gate is called a NOT gate. The NOT gate takes one bit
of input, which we’ll label A, and produces an output, which
we’ll label Q, that is exactly opposite. So, if input, A, is one, the
output, Q, will be zero. If A is zero, Q will be one. Simple. Next
is the AND gate. The idea behind an AND gate is this: if there
are two bits of input, say, A and B, and if A and B are both the
same, then the output, called Q, should be the same. After the

NOT gate and the AND gate comes the OR gate. Its basic idea
is, “If A or B is one, or if both A and B are one, then Q is also
one.” The next two gates are called NAND and NOR. These two
gates are simply combinations of an AND or an OR gate with a
NOT gate. Now, next comes
06 Biology
M: Let’s begin. Last week, we learned how most fish use their swim
bladder to move around in the water. Remember, when the fish
breathes oxygen, some of that oxygen goes into its bladder. This
causes the fish to rise in the water. When it squeezes some of
the gas out of its bladder, it sinks toward the bottom. So, it can
move vertically go up and down kind of like a hot-air
balloon.
A shark is more like an airplane. Sharks don’t have a swim bladder,
so they use their forward movement to control their vertical
position. The tail is like the shark’s propeller. The shark swings it
back and forth to move forward. In an airplane, this forward
movement pushes air around the wings. For a shark, this forward
movement pushes water around the fins. In both cases, the
forward movement creates lift the airplane and shark both rise.
Sharks have two pairs of fins on each side of their bodies. These
fins are in about the same position as the main wings and tail
wings on an airplane. The shark can position these fins at different
angles. This changes the path of the water around them and
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Transcripts
enables the shark to move quickly upward or downward. The
shark also has two vertical fins on its back. These are like the
stabilizer fin on an airplane. They allow the shark to keep its
balance as it moves through the water and help it turn quickly left

and right.
Skill F
01 Computer Science
M: Robots are very popular these days. We see movies and television
shows in which robots move, speak, and have personalities that
are almost human. Like R2D2 and C3PO in Star Wars, and Data
from the Star Trek TV series. In real life, there are robot dogs,
robots that walk on two legs like a person, robots that clean
your house, and robots that work in factories to help build cars.
What, exactly, is a robot? That’s a surprisingly difficult question.
Different people have different ideas. One famous scientist
said, “I can’t define a robot, but I know one when I see one.”
The easiest definition is that a robot is something most people
say is a robot. However, people who build robots have a more
precise definition. They say a robot must have a reprogrammable
brain in other words, a computer that moves a body. The
vast majority of robots have several features in common.
First of all, almost all robots have a movable body. Some move
only by wheels, and some have many movable parts that are
joined together. These parts are usually metal or plastic. Secondly,
robots have some sort of actuator that’s AC-CHEW-ATE-OR
and this actuator spins their wheels or moves their parts. An
actuator could be an electric motor, or a hydraulic system, or
compressed gas, which we call a pneumatic system. Some
robots use all these actuator types: motors, hydraulics, and
pneumatic systems. And third, robots need a power source for
their actuators. They could have a battery, or they could plug
into a wall.
02 Health
M: If you have white skin, you’re in danger of getting sunburn. The

cells in your skin are not protected from the sun’s ultraviolet
radiation or UV rays. If you don’t protect your skin when you
go outside, your skin can become red and sore. We call this
sunburn. I bet we’ve all experienced this at some point in our
lives. What happens is this: UV rays damage the cells in your
skin. The body responds by sending more blood to these cells
to repair the damage. This is why your skin is red when you get
sunburned because of this extra blood. The blood begins
moving toward the damaged areas four hours after you’ve first
been in the sun and will keep moving there as much as 24 hours
afterwards. You won’t know you’re sunburned until it’s too late.
Sunburn is dangerous because it increases the chance that you
will get skin cancer. People who have been sunburned a lot get
skin cancer much more often than those who don’t get
sunburned very much. So, it’s very important to protect your
skin when you’re in the sun. The best way to do this is to use
sunscreen. Sunscreen is a lotion you put on your body about 30
minutes before you go outside. Sunscreen helps in two ways. It
can block UV rays. Like a shield, it stops them before they reach
your skin. Sunscreen can also absorb UV rays. This means the
lotion “eats” the UV rays. The rays stay in the lotion instead of
your skin.
03 Campus Life
M: What’s your plan for the day, Natalie?
W: Well, I have to work on my paper this morning. After that, I’m
free. Why?
M: I was thinking about going to see an art show. It’s about First
Nations tribal totems. Do you want to go? Isn’t that what your
paper is about?
W: Yea, you remembered, Alex! Maybe I should go see the show

before I work on my paper.
M: It’s in the Gallery Shopping Mall.
W: I know where that is. It’s at 10th and Market Street.
M: I’ll drive. But could you just quickly go over the directions with
me first?
W: Sure, Alex, it’s easy. Take University Drive to Market Street. We
take Market Street eastbound to 15th Street. Then, follow the
circle around City Hall to continue on Market Street. We keep
going on Market Street until 10th Street. Then, the main door
to the mall is right on the northwest corner of 10th and Market
Street.
04 Social Studies
W: Today I’d like to talk about animal helpers. There are many ways
that animals can help or teach us. By that, I mean how people
long ago learned from animals. And even today, we can still learn
from them. Think of a snake, for example. A snake grows new
skin and sheds its old skin many times. It can remind us that we
too need to change. The snake’s old skin can be discarded
because it has a new one. For us, it’s the same. We let go of old
things and ideas for new ones. At age seven, we think certain
things. Do we think the same things at age thirty-seven? If so, we
have evolved little in our lifetime.
Since long, long ago, people have learned from animals they
admired. Some First Nations people would go to live with and
study bears. One of them might stay with a bear for a whole
year. People and bears eat many of the same foods. They would
learn all of the vegetation that bears know about. So First
Nations people would watch bears forage for food. If a bear
ate berries or roots of some plant, they knew it was OK for
people to eat. Or if a bear avoided a certain plant, First Nations

people would stay away from it too. Knowing about these
plants helped people, especially if they migrated to a new area.
05 Campus Life
M: Good afternoon, Ms. Smith.
W: Good afternoon.
M: Now, then you would like to apply for a position as a campus
tour guide?
W: Yes, sir.
M: OK. Have you ever been a tour guide?
W: No, I haven’t. But I love people, and I’ve been a student here
for two years, so I know all about the campus.
M: I see. Do you know what your duties would be as a tour guide?
W: Sure. I’d walk people around the campus, tell them the names
of buildings, talk about student life, then answer questions.
M: That’s correct. Tours are held once each day. They last for 90
minutes.
W: What time do they begin?
M: At 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, tours start at
1 p.m. Monday through Friday only, the guide will give a 30-minute
talk after the tour for students who want to study here but
have not yet applied.
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W: How much money do the tours cost?
M: They’re free.
06 Phys. Ed.
M: When we think of the martial arts, most of us picture spectacular
fights, like the flying kicks, spinning punches, and fantastic flips
we see in Jackie Chan movies. Actually, people who practice
martial arts use their physical skills to make their minds and
spirits stronger. This is especially true with a type of martial art

called karate. Yes?
W: How do you spell that?
M: K-A-R-A-T-E. People who practice karate are called karatekas:
K-A-R-A-T-E-K-A-S. For karatekas, karate is much more than a
style of self-defense. It is the best way to strengthen their minds
and spirits. Karatekas say that the fighting principles they learn
in karate help them in all areas of life.
The first principle karatekas must learn is to concentrate on
their own movements and not think about other things. This
teaches them to concentrate better on their studies or jobs.
Second, they must be alert and be ready to react to a punch or
kick from their opponent. This helps them be alert and react to
difficult problems in life. Third, they need to focus their strongest
points on their opponents’ weakest points. This helps them work
and focus harder on important things. Fourth, karatekas learn to
make their bodies physically strong; they are ready to defend
themselves and throw punches without thinking. This, in turn, makes
their minds and spirits stronger. Their bodies know right away
how to deal with new problems and challenges in everyday life.
Chapter 2
S
kill
R
eview
A-F
01 Campus Life
W: Hello, Mr. Thompson. Are you my student advisor?
M: Yes, Amanda. How can I help you?
W: I’m thinking about majoring in history. I’d need History 101
History of Western Civilization. Can you tell me what the course

covers?
M: Sure, I’d be happy to. It’s one of my favorite subjects.
W: Lucky for me!
M: OK, let’s see here. It starts with the beginning of Western
civilization in the Near East, and it covers everything up through
the 16
th
Century Reformations. It’s mostly lectures.
W: Uh-oh, that can be a little boring.
M: Yes, but I do know that Professor Jantzen makes her class
interesting. She shows some very intriguing DVDs, and she
really gets students to ask questions.
W: Yeah, my friend Kelly studied with her last year. She said they
had great class discussions.
M: Yes, I think you’ll find that’s true.
W: So, how closely does she follow the textbook?
M: Well, she covers all the same basic material, but you’ll find the
lectures won’t be exactly the same. And you’ll have some writing
assignments.
W: Yes, of course.
M: From the class, you’ll get a good basic idea how our society
became the way it is. You’ll learn about what our society thinks
makes good citizens. You’ll find out how different governments
were formed. And you’ll learn how technology has changed us.
W: And how about historians?
M: Oh, yes. You’ll learn how historians decide what happened.
You’ll be asked what you think about it too.
W: Great! That’s what I’m most interested in.
02 Psychology
W: Our mother tongue is the language we learn first from our

families. We are native speakers of that language. People who
know two languages are bilingual. Those people who know
three or more are trilingual and multilingual.
Many people have more than one native language. They learn
them without going to school. And then there are many people
who learn a second language through study. Like me! I only
heard English at home. In order to learn Spanish, I had to study,
hard!
Now, our mother tongue, or first language, is very important.
Some academics believe that it teaches us how to think. So,
knowing your mother tongue is very important to getting an
education. Knowing it well makes learning another language
easier. People who are bilingual will learn a third language even
more quickly.
Educators have different ideas about how we learn languages.
There are two basic ideas. Some say babies’ brains are specially
ready for learning languages. They think that as we grow up,
that changes. That’s why it gets harder to learn languages.
Others disagree with this idea. They say we learn languages the
same way we learn other things. We don’t know for sure just
how it happens.
There are places where two language groups may not talk to
each other much. Something interesting, called coordinate
bilingualism, happens to people here. They think about things
in a special way. We know this happens in Quebec, Canada to
French-English bilinguals. Let me give you an example of what
I mean. They might think of one kind of dog when they say
“dog” in English. In French, the word for dog is “chien.”
When saying that word, they think of a different kind of dog.
Yes, Tony, did you have a question?

M: Are there a lot of French-English bilinguals in Quebec?
W: Yes, there are quite a few.
M: Do these people ever feel like they have two different personalities?
W: Well, yes, in fact they do. You can see how this would happen.
Here are two different groups who don’t always get along. You
need to understand both groups and have them understand you.
So, you talk differently to each group. You end up learning two
different ways of thinking.
03 General Studies
M: OK, pay close attention, please. I’m going to tell you what
courses you need to take to graduate. Take careful notes.
Each undergraduate can make his or her own curriculum. This
means you can choose which classes you want to take. BUT we
want to make sure you get a good general education, so your
curriculum must include the following:
First, you will need six hours of composition. Those can be basic
writing classes in the English department.
You will also need six credit hours in 300 and 400-level courses
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that require some kind of written project. These courses will
usually require you to write at least two lengthy papers. They
will have a “W” next to them in your student catalogs.
So those were the English requirements. Next, I’ll go over the
general humanities requirements. First, there is a foreign language
requirement. So you’ll need six hours of a foreign language or six
hours of computer courses. Learning a computer language can
count as a foreign language. Both the foreign language and
computer courses require a grade of “C” or higher for credit
toward graduation.

Also in the humanities, you’ll need twelve hours of literature or
fine arts. And on top of those twelve hours, you’ll need twelve
hours in history or social science courses.
I haven’t said anything yet about math or science. You’re all
required to have some of those credits too. All graduates are
required to take six hours in the natural sciences, like chemistry
or biology, plus three hours in math. And that math requirement
could be business math or other courses like that.
If you add up all those credits, you’ll see that you still have quite
a few credit hours needed for graduation. Those extra credit
hours can be electives. So you can choose just about anything
from Phys. Ed. to music to fill in the remaining credits. Now,
questions?
W: I took three years of Spanish in high school. Do I have to take
two semesters of Spanish here?
M: No. You can take a test, and the foreign language advisors will
assign you to a class based on your score. If you’re placed into
the Spanish 103 class or the Spanish 201 class, you will only
have to take one semester.
04 Political Science
W: The simplest way to define ideology is as a collection of ideas.
Every society has an ideology. It forms the basis of the society’s
“public opinion,” or common sense. This ideology is usually
invisible to most people within the society. It is just “normal”
thinking. Everybody thinks this way. When somebody says or
does something different from this normal thought, it is seen as
strange, or maybe even dangerous or radical. There are different
kinds of ideologies. There’s political, social, ethical, and so on.
Let’s look at political ideologies for a few moments.
A political ideology is concerned with two things. One how a

society should work, and two the rules needed to make it
work that way.
Some political ideologies believe in a flat social order. In a flat
society, almost everyone is equal. Men are equal to women. All
cultures are equally valuable. All lifestyles are acceptable. A flat
social order is thought to promote diversity. It encourages people
to be individuals and not conform to any one standard. People
in a flat society might support alternative lifestyles, for example,
gay marriage.
Other political ideologies believe in a structured social order. In
a structured society, there are many different levels. For example,
God is a higher level than people, men are higher than women,
and some cultures are higher than others. A structured social
order is thought to promote uniform thinking and behavior. It
encourages individuals to respect the established social order.
People in a structured society might support the nuclear family
unit and military programs.
Let’s look at rules that make a society work. Some societies
reward individuals over the group. These societies encourage
individuals to achieve self-sufficiency, so they don’t depend on
the rest of society. This tends to create a society with a high level
of economic independence among its members. Does this sound
like society here? I think it fits us pretty well.
Other societies reward the group over the individual. These societies
encourage individuals to increase the strength of their social
ties, so that they must depend on the rest of society. This tends
to create a society with a high level of economic interdepend-
ence among its members.
C
hapter

3
Focus A 01
01 Math
W: Geometry is the study of points. Now, a point is a small dot, like
a period at the end of a sentence. If we have two points, we
know that there can be other points between them. There can
also be a line. The line is continuous. It has no space between
each point. Part of a line, with points at each end, is called a
line segment. Two line segments can be the same length. We
call these line segments congruent. That just means the line
segments are equal in length.
02 Biology
M: Last week, we learned how most fish use their swim bladder to
move around in the water. Remember, when the fish breathes
oxygen, some of that oxygen goes into its bladder. This causes
the fish to rise in the water. When it squeezes some of the gas
out of its bladder, it sinks toward the bottom. So, it can move
vertically go up and down kind of like a hot-air balloon.
A shark is more like an airplane. Sharks don’t have a swim bladder,
so they use their forward movement to control their vertical
position. The tail is like the shark’s propeller. The shark swings
it back and forth to move forward. In an airplane, this forward
movement pushes air around the wings. For a shark, this forward
movement pushes water around the fins. In both cases, the forward
movement creates lift the airplane and shark both rise.
Sharks have two pairs of fins on each side of their bodies. These
fins are in about the same position as the main wings and tail
wings on an airplane. The shark can position these fins at different
angles. This changes the path of the water around them and
enables the shark to move quickly upward or downward. The

shark also has two vertical fins on its back. These are like the
stabilizer fin on an airplane. They allow the shark to keep its
balance as it moves through the water and help it turn quickly
left and right.
03 Psychology
W: Our mother tongue is the language we learn first from our
families. We are native speakers of that language. People who
know two languages are bilingual. Those people who know
three or more are trilingual and multilingual.
Many people have more than one native language. They learn
them without going to school. And then there are many
people who learn a second language through study. Like me! I
only heard English at home. In order to learn Spanish, I had to
study hard!
Transcripts 655
Focus A 02
01 Literature
M: If a play makes you laugh, it’s a comedy. Comedies have
humorous characters and happy endings. A good example of a
comedy is Shakespeare’s classic Much Ado about Nothing.
Another popular style is called tragedy. Tragedies usually tell
how a hero ruins his life, falling from good fortune to bad
fortune because of a “tragic flaw” in character. One example is the
play Ghosts, by Henrik Ibsen. Um, modern years have produced a
third style, called tragicomedy. In tragicomedies, the play seems
as though it will end in tragedy but instead has a humorous or
unclear ending. An example is Saint Joan, by George Bernard
Shaw.
02 Physical Science
W: Rocks wear down and break apart due to a process called

weathering. There are two main types of weathering: mechanical
and chemical.
Mechanical weathering involves the disintegration, or destruction,
of rocks by mechanical processes. These include the freezing
and thawing of water in the crevices uh, holes and cracks
of rocks. Also, the roots of plants can cause rocks to break
apart. The tiny, hair-like roots grow into small cracks in rocks.
Then, as the roots get bigger, the roots crack the rocks. Animals
are also responsible for mechanical weathering. They burrow, or
dig, into the rocks and the dirt around the rocks. Mechanical
weathering is especially common in high altitudes, where it’s so
cold that freezing and thawing happen every day. It’s also common
in deserts, where there is little water and few plants.
Chemical weathering involves the decomposition of rock by
chemical changes or solution. This includes the processes of
oxidation, carbonation, and hydration. For example, many iron
minerals found in rocks are rapidly oxidized, meaning they can
quickly turn to rust. It sounds funny, but rocks can rust or
oxidize. Then, there is carbonation. Limestone is a rock that
does this. Limestone is a type of rock that is dissolved by water,
which contains carbonic acid. We’ll go into more detail about
that reaction later. Anyway, chemical weathering takes place in
warm, wet conditions. In general, chemical weathering is more
common than mechanical weathering, although they usually
act together.
03 Geography
W: We usually think of deserts as hot, dry, sandy places. And many
deserts are. But actually, deserts come in several forms. Let’s
learn about some of them.
In defining a desert, we have to consider two factors. The first

is the annual amount of rainfall. Deserts get less than 250
millimeters of rain or snow each year. The second factor is how
much of that rain or snow evaporates that is, goes back into
the atmosphere or is used up by plants. We call this loss of
water “evaporation.”
Simply stated, a desert is a place where evaporation is greater
than rainfall or snowfall. Because so much water evaporates,
most deserts are hot. But not all. The North and South poles, for
instance, are cold deserts. They get less than 250 millimeters of
snow each year, and the ground is permanently frozen.
We also classify deserts by their location and main weather
pattern. One example is trade wind deserts. Trade wind deserts
are located between 30 degrees and 35 degrees north and
south of the equator. The winds that blow over these areas are
very strong. They blow away clouds, so more sun reaches the
ground. Most of the major deserts in the world lie in the areas
crossed by the trade winds. The Sahara Desert, in North Africa,
is a trade wind desert. Temperatures there can reach 57
degrees Celsius.
Another type of desert is the rain shadow desert. Rain shadow
deserts lie next to tall mountains. As clouds rise over the mountains,
they spill all of their rain or snow before they get to the other
side. So, these deserts are formed in the “shadow” of the
mountains. The Judean Desert in Israel is a rain shadow desert.
So is a large part of the western United States called the Great
Basin.
Still another kind of desert is coastal deserts. These are on the
western edges, or coasts, of continents. One coastal desert,
the Atacama Desert of South America, is Earth’s driest desert.
In the Atacama, there can be measurable rainfall only once

every 50 years.
Focus B 01
01
History
W: Spain is a country in Southwest Europe, south of France and
west of Italy. In the 16th Century, it was the most powerful
nation in the world. After America was discovered in 1492, Spain
sent many people there. They brought back lots of gold and silver.
Trade with the new American colonies made Spain rich. It
established colonies in other parts of the world, such as Cuba
and the Philippines. But in 1588, Spain lost a famous war against
England. After that, its power began to decline. In 1898, Spain lost
Cuba and the Philippines in the Spanish-American War.
02 Computer Science
W: More people are buying home computers and using them for
home networks. They need faster ways to get information over
the Internet. Right now, there are mainly two avenues for
information to be sent. These are, cable modems and Asymmetric
Digital Subscriber Line or ADSL. These faster ways of sending
information are called broadband connections. Cable modems
and ADSL are both types of broadband connections. They are
much faster than a 56K modem.
There is another new kind of DSL connection. It is known as
very high bit rate DSL or VDSL. Some companies already have
this for certain places. VDSL isn’t everywhere yet, but it may be
very soon. Many people like it and are beginning to use it.
VDSL accommodates a very, very large amount of bandwidth.
It gives up to about 52 megabytes per second. In other words,
it provides 52 Mbps. In comparison, ADSL or cable modems
can only give 8 to 10 megabytes per second. It’s easy to see

that VDSL is a lot faster. VDSL will soon be more common,
making home networks cost much less.
03 Political Science
W: The simplest way to define ideology is as a collection of ideas.
Every society has an ideology. It forms the basis of the society’s
“public opinion,” or common sense. This ideology is usually
invisible to most people within the society. It is just “normal”
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thinking. Everybody thinks this way. When somebody says or
does something different from this normal thought, it is seen
as strange or maybe even dangerous or radical. There are
different kinds of ideologies. There’s political, social, ethical,
and so on. Let’s look at political ideologies for a few moments.
A political ideology is concerned with two things. One how
a society should work; and two the rules needed to make it
work that way.
Focus B 02
01 History
W: Leonardo da Vinci was not only a great artist. He was also a
scientist and inventor. Leonardo was born in 1452 in Vinci,
Italy. He began studying painting at age 14 and became
famous just a few years later. His best-known paintings are
Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. But Leonardo was also an
excellent scientist. He kept detailed notebooks of observations
about the natural world. And he cut open dead people to learn
how the human body works. Finally, he was an inventor. But
his two most famous inventions the parachute and the war
tank weren’t built until after he died.
02 Health

M: If you have white skin, you’re in danger of getting sunburn. The
cells in your skin are not protected from the sun’s ultraviolet
radiation, or UV rays. If you don’t protect your skin when you
go outside, your skin can become red and sore. We call this
sunburn. What happens is this: UV rays damage the cells in
your skin. The body responds by sending more blood to these
cells to repair the damage. This is why your skin is red when
you get sunburned because of this extra blood. The blood
begins moving toward the damaged areas four hours after
you’ve first been in the sun and will keep moving there as
much as 24 hours afterwards. You won’t know you’re sunburned
until it’s too late. Sunburn is dangerous because it increases the
chance that you will get skin cancer. People who have been
sunburned a lot get skin cancer much more often than those
who don’t get sunburned very much. So, it’s very important to
protect your skin when you’re in the sun.
03 Economics
W: The World Bank is a bridge between the rich and poor people.
It’s making rich-country money into poor-country growth. It is
one of the world’s biggest banks for poor countries. It’s helping
them build schools and health centers, and get water and
electricity. It’s helping protect the people’s surroundings.
The low-income countries can’t usually borrow money in world
markets. If they do, they have to pay very high interest rates.
The World Bank gives them some money, low-interest loans,
and interest free credit. It helps them take care of the money,
too. When the countries get loans, they have 35 40 years to
pay them back. They can have ten extra years if they need it.
In the year 2002, the bank agreed to give about $15 billion to
low-income countries. For some of the poorest countries, AIDS

is a very big problem. Some of this World Bank money is to help
them fight this disease. If they don’t receive help, many more
people will get the illness.
Transcripts 657
C
hapter
1
Skill A
Q1 practice 1
Sample response:
A useful skill my father taught me is managing my money. He taught
me this skill by giving me an allowance when I was in school. From
this, I learned how to plan what I should spend my money on. Today,
I use this skill all the time when I get my monthly paycheck. I know how
much money I should spend on food, clothing, and other expenses.
Q1 practice 2
Sample response:
In high school, I spent my free time acting with the theater club. I
think this was a good way to spend my free time. For example, one
thing I did was practice for shows. I did this because I thought acting
was fun. Another thing I did was build and paint things we used on
stage. I did this because I enjoyed working with other members of
the club. Spending my free time with the theater club in high school
was a great experience for me.
Q1 practice 3
Sample response:
One difficult experience that I went through was living alone in another
city. I experienced this when I moved in order to go to school. It was
difficult because I didn’t have any friends or relatives there. This meant
I had to do everything myself and solve lots of problems by myself.

From this experience, I learned self-reliance. Now, I know that I can
take care of myself.
Q2 practice 1
Sample response:
One person I admire is my mother. I admire her because she works
very hard. My mother is a homemaker. She has worked hard to raise
me and my brothers and sisters. Even though she does not earn a
wage or hold a high job in a company, she has shown me how
important it is to do your life’s work the best that you can.
Q2 practice 2
Opinion 1 :
One dangerous sport that I would like to try is skydiving. This sport looks
like it would be a lot of fun. In order to do this sport, you have to be
brave enough to jump out of the plane. I want to see if I can be that
brave. I also think that I would enjoy the feeling of free-falling. That is
why I want to try skydiving.
Opinion 2 :
I don’t want to try any dangerous or extreme sports. One reason I don’t
want to try them is because I could get injured. I always try to take care
of myself and be healthy, so I don’t want to hurt my body by doing an
extreme sport. Another reason I don’t want to try any extreme sports is
because they cost a lot of money. I am not rich, so I don’t want to waste
my money.
Q2 practice 3
Opinion 1:
I prefer movies made to entertain audiences. One movie that fits this
category is Spiderman 2. I saw this movie because several of my
friends told me it was good. This movie was entertaining because it
had lots of great special effects and an interesting story. This movie
made me forget about real life for a few hours, and I enjoyed the

fantastic life of a superhero for a little while.
Opinion 2:
I prefer movies made to make audiences contemplate certain issues.
One movie that fits this category is Erin Brockovich. I saw this movie
because my friend wanted to see it. This movie made people think
about the issue of justice because it told the story of how a woman
fought for the rights and safety of others. This movie made me
contemplate how some businesses hurt the environment, and I
discussed this issue and the story of this movie with my friend after
the movie was over.
Skill B
Q3 practice 1
M: Hi Tara! Did you hear that Prof. Brown is sick? He’ll be absent
all of next week.
W: What? That’s awful! He’s so sick he can’t come to class?
M: Don’t worry, he’s not seriously ill. Anyways, I’m so happy because
we have an extra week to finish the assignment!!
W: What do you mean about having an extra week to finish the
assignment?
M: Both of next week’s classes are canceled, the one on Monday
and the one on Wednesday. Check the notice in the student
lounge. It says next week’s assignments are now due on the
29
th
once he’s back.
W: Well, all this is good news after all! I’m behind in my work. I
haven’t even read the article yet, and doing that report would
have taken all weekend. Hey, since we have both got an extra
week, how about a movie on Saturday?
Sample response:

The woman learns that the professor is sick and that classes are
being canceled. At first, she worries about the professor and the
canceled classes. The man, however, explains that the professor is
not seriously ill, and that they have an extra week until the professor
is back to finish their assignment. After that, the woman feels glad
because she was behind in her work.
Q3 practice 2
M: Wow, they’re beefing up security on campus now. I guess what’s
been happening is being taken seriously.
W: Well, it is serious. Lisa had her MP3 player stolen from her dormitory
room last weekend and Chrissie had some money taken the
very next night. Now, I’m always worried about something being
ripped off from my room. It’s terrible.
M: Well, I don’t live on campus, but I surely understand how worried
you are. I’ve also seen the heavy damage done to the campus
square gates and all the yellow paint splashed onto the main
building. I think whoever the culprit is should really be caught.
W: Right. I think the added guards are a good idea, and that if
anyone knows anything they should report it right away.
Speaking
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Transcripts
Sample response:
The university is adding more security guards to campus night patrols.
Students are informed this decision follows recent damage and
thefts occurring on campus. The woman states that things are serious.
The woman’s friends had things stolen from their dormitory rooms
and the woman herself is now worried about being robbed, too. The
man understands. He has seen damage done to school property and
buildings. The man thinks people doing all these things should be

caught. The woman agrees and adds that any information should be
reported. They both agree that adding security guards on campus is
a good idea.
Q3 practice 3
M: Have you ever taken a creative writing class?
W: No, why?
M: Well, we’re all going to have to now. They just made creative
writing a requirement for us. Last year, the dean proposed all
those studying literature should also have experience at doing
creative writing. So, the English department finally made the
class a requirement.
W: That’s a good idea. It should help us better understand what the
authors we study are doing if we have experience in writing
literature ourselves.
M: Yeah, I think you’re right. I’ve already been doing some writing on
my own, and I can tell you it helps me analyze the works we have
to read. The class will make us better writers and better students
of literature. I also don’t mind because they are making the class
available all the time. It will be easy to fit into my schedule.
Sample response:
The dean recommended that all literature majors should have practice
in creative writing, so the English department made creative writing a
required class for graduation. The woman thinks this is a good idea,
and the man has the same opinion. The man explains that the creative
writing he has been doing on his own has helped him analyze the
literary works he has had to study. He thinks the required creative
writing class will make him a better writer and a better student. He also
doesn’t mind because the class is easy to fit into his schedule.
Q4 practice 1
M: When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, it wiped out the city of

Pompeii POOF just like that! Pompeii, at that time, was a large
city with a rich culture. Some people thought it was even more
advanced than Rome. The eruption began about noon on, um,
August 24
th
, although the final eruption wasn’t until midnight
that day. So what happened? Why couldn’t the people escape?
Scientists have now discovered that the citizens of Pompeii did
not die as a result of lava, or molten rock. Instead, Vesuvius let
out a great stream of superheated air. The air from the volcano
was so hot, that it killed the people instantly. Later, their bodies
were covered with ash and volcanic rock.
Sample response:
This reading passage talks about the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. It erupted
in 79 AD and destroyed Pompeii. The speaker says that it was strange
because even though the volcano erupted for 12 hours, people
couldn’t escape. In fact, people in Pompeii died due to superheated
air from the volcano and not lava. Later, their bodies were covered
in ash.
Q4 practice 2
M: We call it the Dead Sea for one simple reason nothing lives in
it! Why not, you ask. Because the Dead Sea is full of salt, mineral
salt. This mineral salt is carried into the Dead Sea from rivers.
However, this salt is trapped here because no rivers flow out of
the Dead Sea. When water evaporates, it leaves behind all the
dissolved minerals, making the sea even saltier. Water evaporation
and mineral salts carried into the sea from the rivers account for
the Dead Sea’s unusual saltiness.
Sample response:
The reading passage says that the Dead Sea has a lot of mineral salt.

This salt is deadly to plants and fish, so there are no living things in the
sea. The Dead Sea has ten times as much salt as the ocean. Rivers carry
mineral salts into the Dead Sea. Salt is trapped there because no rivers
flow out of the Dead Sea. Water evaporation also makes the sea even
saltier.
Q4 practice 3
M: At the time of its origin, jazz was not widely accepted as “real”
music by mainstream “white” America. Most people thought it
was too wild and unstructured. Later, however, when white
musicians such as Elvis Presley began incorporating elements of
jazz into their music, the music became wildly popular. It was
especially popular with the younger generations. Since then,
rock and roll music has gone on to dominate the pop music
scene. Today, it has evolved into many modern forms such as
punk, rhythm and blues, and hip-hop.
Sample response:
This reading passage talks about how jazz music began. First, it says
that African-American musicians made jazz music. This music was
different or special because it combined rhythms from African music
with melodies from European music. The speaker says that white
musicians didn’t like jazz at first. They thought jazz was too wild and that
it wasn’t real music. Then, some white musicians began incorporating
parts of jazz music into their songs. Eventually, one of these musicians,
Elvis Presley, became really popular, so jazz, along with rock and
other forms, became popular with younger people.
Skill C
Q5 practice 1
W: Hey, Tony, how’re you doing?
M: OK, but, uh I’ve got a problem.
W: What is it?

M: Coach says I need to practice more to make the football team.
But I’ve also got to raise my grades, or else I’ll flunk math and
science. I don’t know how I can find time to do both.
W: Well, one thing you could do is find tutors to help you with
your class work.
M: Tutors?
W: Yeah, you know, classmates who are smart in those subjects.
Maybe they could help you, and you could help them with
something else in return.
M: Hmmm yeah, that might work, if I can find someone willing
to tutor me.
W: Or, you could try to make extra time to practice football.
M: Make extra time?
Transcripts 659
W: Yeah. Like, you could get up early every day and practice before
classes. From 6 to 8 or something.
M: What about my sleep?
W: You’re going to have to sacrifice something, right?
M: Um, I guess so.
Opinion 1:
The man’s problem is that he doesn’t have enough time to practice
football and improve his grades in math and science. The woman
suggests two solutions to the problem. First, she suggests that he
find tutors to help him with math and science. Second, she suggests
that he get up early in the morning for extra football practice. I think
the first solution is better than the second one. If the man has tutors,
he can improve his grades in a short time. If he doesn’t have to get
up early, he can get more sleep, so he’ll be rested for football.
Opinion 2:
The man’s problem is that he doesn’t have enough time to practice

football and improve his grades in math and science. The woman
suggests two solutions to the problem. First, she suggests that he
find tutors to help him with math and science. Second, she suggests
that he get up early in the morning for extra football practice. I think
the second suggestion is better than the first one. If the man gets up
early, he will have enough time to improve at football. The morning
exercise will clear his mind, which will help him concentrate better
in class.
Q5 practice 2
W: Hey Mark, have you got a moment?
M: Sure, Wendy. What’s up? Is everything all right?
W: I don’t know what to do. See, I have to take Chemistry 202
before I can graduate. I’ve only got two terms left to go, but
Professor Peabody’s teaching it this semester, and I just can’t
stand him!
M: I see. Well, you could wait and take the class next semester.
W: Sure, but then I’ll be behind. I took 201 last semester. I want to
take 202 before I forget what I learned, and next semester will be
my last one before graduation. What if Peabody’s still teaching
202 then?
M: Mmmm, I see. I’m wondering, is Peabody all that bad? Couldn’t
you just grin and bear it for one term? I mean, we all get stuck
with teachers we don’t like. Part of education is learning to live
with that.
W: I know, but I just hate that guy! When he taught me in Chemistry
101, he gave me a C!
M: Wendy
W: What?
M: Maybe you deserved it.
Opinion 1:

The woman’s problem is that she needs to take Chemistry 202 to
graduate, but she doesn’t like the professor teaching it this semester.
The man suggests two solutions to the problem. First, he suggests
that she take the class next semester. Second, he suggests that she
take the class this semester and try to get along with the professor.
I think the first suggestion is better than the second one. If she waits,
even if she might feel like she’s behind, she can catch up very quickly.
Also, with a different professor she might get a higher mark.
Opinion 2:
The woman’s problem is that she needs to take Chemistry 202 to
graduate, but she doesn’t like the professor teaching it this semester.
The man suggests two solutions to the problem. First, he suggests
that she take the class next semester. Second, he suggests that she
take the class this semester and try to get along with the professor.
I think the second suggestion is better than the first one. If she takes
the class this semester, she won’t be behind. Also, she needs to learn
to get along with teachers and bosses she doesn’t like.
Q5 practice 3
W: Hi, Tyler. How are you?
M: Hey, Jenny. I’m doing great.
W: Are you going to take world history this term?
M: No, I can’t!
W: Why not? You know we’re supposed to take it freshman year.
M: Yeah, I know, but the problem is that it’s only offered at 10 a.m.
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. That’s the same time as my
Math 101 and I’ve also got to take that!
W: Maybe math is also offered on a Tuesday-Thursday schedule.
Did you check and see?
M: No, I didn’t think of it. Hmm, that might work.
W: Or, here’s another idea. Take one class this term and the other

next term. That way you’ll still be able to take both of them this
year.
M: Well, sure. I thought about that, but I kind of wanted to get
them both out of the way this semester.
W: Both classes are pretty hard. It might be better to spread them
out, so your studies each term will be less difficult.
M: OK. But, um, if I have to choose between math and history,
which one should I take this term?
W: History, of course, so we can study together!
Opinion 1:
The man’s problem is that he needs to take a world history class and a
math class that are offered on the same days and at the same time. The
woman suggests two solutions to the problem. First, she suggests that
he might be able to take the math class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Second, she suggests that he take one of the necessary classes this
term, and the other next term. I think the first suggestion is better than
the second one. If he is able to take math on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he
can take history with his friend and complete both classes in one term.
Opinion 2:
The man’s problem is that he needs to take a world history class and a
math class that are offered on the same days and at the same time. The
woman suggests two solutions to the problem. First, she suggests that
he might be able to take the math class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Second, she suggests that he take one of the necessary classes this
term, and the other next term. I think the second suggestion is better
than the first one. If he takes one mandatory class each term, he will
have more time to concentrate on each class and can earn higher
marks. Also, he will get to study with his friend.
Q6 practice 1
W: Okay everybody, show of hands please. How many of you like

to eat squid? Some of you, good. Me, too. Today, though, we’ll
be talking about a type of squid that probably none of you has
tasted. We’ll be examining the giant squid. For a long time, no
one really knew much about giant squid. People used to think
they were sea monsters, or not believe in them at all. Well two
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Transcripts
things helped scientists learn more about giant squid: the capture
of squid by sailors and the study of whales.
Sailors helped scientists learn a lot about giant squid. In 1861, some
French sailors caught one of the arms of a giant squid and gave
it to the French Academy of Science. Years later, some fishermen
caught an 18-meter-long squid. It’s still the largest one ever
measured. Then, in, ummm, 1965, some Russian sailors witnessed
a struggle between a whale and a giant squid in which both
died. They brought the two bodies back, and it helped us see
the link between these animals.
Since then, sperm whales have helped us learn a lot about
giant squid. Because the whales eat the squid, scientists can
estimate the size of giant squid by measuring squid parts found
inside whale stomachs. In fact, we now know that squid can
grow as long as 40 meters! Can you imagine that? Something to
think about next time you’re at the beach, huh? Since we hardly
ever see squid, cameras have been tied to whales so we can
study where squid live and check out how they behave.
Sample response:
This lecture is about giant squid. The speaker says that two things have
helped scientists learn more about giant squid. These two things are
sailors and whales. First, sailors were the ones who first captured giant
squid and allowed them to be measured or given to scientific academies.

The link between whales and squid has also been better understood
thanks to Russian sailors. The speaker’s next point is that whales are
especially helpful in studying squid. Whales hunt squid and the sizes of
squid can be estimated by measuring parts of squid found in whale
stomachs. Whales can also carry cameras, allowing scientists to study
squid underwater more closely.
Q6 practice 2
W: Leonardo da Vinci spent most of his life working as an engineer.
During his time, leaders were really looking for scientific
ways to modernize. What made Leonardo well-known were his
breakthroughs in engineering. His work in engineering showed
that he had the set of skills that powerful leaders wanted.
Once word got around, Leonardo’s engineering skills were in
bigger demand than his art.
Leonardo’s big engineering breakthrough was writing the first
systematic explanation of how machines worked. He explained
how the parts of any machine worked, and how each part
could be combined differently to improve the machine or build
new inventions. So, what he did, in effect was develop modern
techniques to solve existing problems. This gave him a really
high profile and put him in great demand as an engineer for
powerful leaders.
So, Leonardo spent much of his life working as an engineer. He
worked for powerful leaders and on special projects, too. Leonardo
was Military Engineer for Cesar Borgia. A year later, he supervised
the huge project to divert the River Arno. He developed mirrors
for Pope Leo X in Rome. Leonardo died in 1519 while serving
as scientific counselor to King Francis I. All his life, his engineering
had been in bigger demand than his art.
Sample response:

This lecture is about Leonardo da Vinci’s life as an engineer. The
speaker explains that Leonardo made breakthroughs in engineering,
while leaders were looking for scientific ways to modernize.
Leonardo was the first to explain how machines could be improved or
invented. He came up with modern techniques to deal with existing
problems. Leonardo thus had the set of skills that leaders wanted. The
speaker then explains how Leonardo spent much of his life working as
an engineer for powerful leaders and on special projects. The speaker
concludes that all his life, Leonardo the engineer was in bigger demand
than Leonardo the artist.
Q6 practice 3
M: So, how was the Giant’s Causeway formed? Well, even after its
discovery in the 1600s, this still remained a mystery for a long
time. All the theories that followed its discovery only started big
debates about its origins. So, basically, the Causeway’s real origin
remained pretty much a mystery up until modern scientists
gave us definite answers.
All the big debates about the Causeway’s origins started in the
1600s. Its discovery by the Bishop of Derry in 1692 made the
Causeway famous. Theories written about it by several natural
scientists started the debates. There were a lot of different opinions
and stories. Some said men with tools formed the Causeway.
Others argued, quite correctly, that natural processes formed the
Causeway. Many people believed a legend that a giant named
Finn McCool made the Causeway and named it. The truth was,
no one back then really knew for sure.
Well, nowadays, we know the truth. Modern geologists know
for sure the Causeway was formed by volcanic activity. They
compare the Causeway’s origin to what’s happening in Hawaii
right now. When lava cools quickly by contact with water, it

forms large crystal rocks that crack and result in the many
joined columns we see in the Causeway. So, the Causeway isn’t
a mystery anymore. Now, it’s simply a fascinating geological
discovery.
Sample response:
This lecture is about the origins of the Giant’s Causeway. The speaker
says that for a long time nobody really knew how the Giant’s
Causeway was formed. He explains that many different theories on
the Giant’s Causeway’s origin were being debated after it was discovered
in the 1600s. Some people believed a legend that suggested the Giant’s
Causeway was made by a giant. The speaker explains that nobody
knew for sure how it was formed until modern geologists provided
the real answer. Geologists explain that it was formed by volcanic
activity in much the same way we see in Hawaii right now. Nowadays,
we know the truth about how the Giant’s Causeway was formed.
C
hapter
2
Skill A
Q1 practice 1
Sample response:
One kind of work I am willing to do even if I never get paid for it is
writing poetry. In fact, I do this all the time without getting paid because
I enjoy writing poetry. One reason I enjoy writing poetry is because
it lets me create something beautiful. When people create something
beautiful, it gives them a good feeling in their heart. Another reason
I enjoy writing poetry is because I can think about things in a new
way. When I think about things in new, innovative ways, even boring
things around my house become inspiring.
Transcripts 661

Q1 practice 2
Sample response:
What I regret the most was not spending enough time with my cousin
when he was young. This is regrettable because, when he was born,
I thought I could spend a lot of time with him and teach him things.
It is important for older family members to guide and teach younger
family members. I often regret the many occasions I could have spent
time with him but was preoccupied with something else instead. The
fact that children grow up quickly is another reason why I regret
spending too little time with my cousin when he was young. Once my
cousin is older, spending a lot of time with him may be more difficult.
Q1 practice 3
Sample response:
The last time I needed to talk about an important topic, I talked with my
brother. The important topic I needed to talk about was an argument
I’d had with my friend. I chose to talk to my brother at that time
because my brother is very familiar with my friend. In fact, we all
grew up together, so my brother and I have known my friend for
many years. After talking with my brother, I better understood my
friend’s point of view during our argument. Because of my brother’s
aid, I was no longer angry with my friend.
Q1 practice 4
Sample response:
The worst vacation I ever had to endure was a camping trip with my
brother and a friend. First, it rained heavily the whole three days. We
couldn’t hike or swim. Then, to compound the problem, the wet
weather made me sick. I spent most of the time lying in my sleeping
bag trying to stay warm. In addition, my friend and I had an argument,
so we stopped speaking to each other. To top it off, when we finally
left for home, my brother’s car broke down. We had to walk five

kilometers to get help.
Q2 practice 1
Sample response:
I think oral presentations are more beneficial for students than writing
papers. First of all, oral presentations are easier in that they take less
time to prepare and put less emphasis on grammar than papers do.
Another reason is oral presentations are interesting and educational
for the other students who listen to them. Finally, many jobs require
oral presentations, so students can improve their communication
skills and develop confidence by speaking publicly as a student.
Q2 practice 2
Sample response:
I’m glad the government is finally going to address the transportation
issue. In my opinion, building a subway is better than increasing the
number of buses. First of all, while a subway is clean and efficient,
buses run on fuel that pollutes the air. Second, increasing the number of
buses also increases traffic on the streets, while the subway, in contrast,
reduces traffic. Lastly, a subway train can carry many more people
than a bus, so it’s more efficient. Though a subway requires a lot of
money to build, it is cheaper over time.
Q2 practice 3
Sample response:
I think that watching too much television has produced several bad
effects on society. These bad, or negative effects are damaging families
and children. In my opinion, the worst effect has resulted in families
not communicating much anymore. Parents and children just watch
silently rather than sharing their thoughts and experiences. This
means that children are learning behavior from television, not from
their parents. In addition, watching too much television has resulted
in lower levels of physical health among children. These days, they

don’t get enough exercise. Instead of playing sports, children just sit
at home and watch them on TV.
Q2 practice 4
Sample response:
If I won some money, I would prefer to buy a sports car rather than
an SUV. First of all, SUVs do not get good gas mileage. Secondly,
they are too large and cumbersome, which makes them difficult to
park. Finally, I think they’re ugly. Sports cars, on the other hand, are
fun to drive. You can go fast. They burn less fuel than SUVs, and
they’re much easier to park. Also, I think they look more impressive
than SUVs.
Skill B
Q3 practice 1
W: Are you going to vote about whether or not to close the cafeteria?
M: Yeah. I was going to vote this afternoon after my history class.
W: Which option are you going to vote for?
M: I’m going to vote to close the cafeteria and open a deli and
barbecue grill on campus.
W: You think having those places on campus is better than having
a cafeteria in the Student Center?
M: Sure. I like variety. So, the more food choices to select from, the
better! Besides, I don’t like the food in the cafeteria. It’s too
much like the food I used to eat in my high school cafeteria.
W: I don’t think the cafeteria food is so bad.
M: Another reason I don’t like the cafeteria is because it’s always
so crowded. Too many students try to eat there all at the same
time. I can never find a place to park my bike during lunch. See,
there are lots of reasons we should close the cafeteria and vote
for Option 2.
Sample response:

The man’s opinion about the campus food service is that Option 2 is
better. The man likes this option because it adds several more places
to get food. He will not vote for Option 1 because he doesn’t like
the cafeteria. The reason he doesn’t like the cafeteria is that it is too
crowded and there is no place to put his bike. He prefers Option 2
because he wants more variety, better food, and a less crowded
place to eat.
Q3 practice 2
W: Did you hear that they’re raising the student gym fee next
semester?
M: Oh, man! Really?
W: Yeah, it’s going up to $15 a term.
M: Shoot, I don’t know if I can afford that.
W: It’s only $3.
M: I’m already living on a tight budget. I don’t have a job, you know.