Irma

托福聽力測驗 2人的Conversation (三)  

像這兩篇托福聽力的內容只要能抓出關鍵字，相對來說就比較容易理解。如第一篇聽力對話中可以發現關鍵字是career fair，career fair 是就業博覽會的意思，一開始如果能了解這個單字的意思就不難理解到，學生其實在詢問有關就業博覽會的相關問題，其中也透漏了學生自身的身分狀況和他求職目標等等；第二篇就更好理解了，是圖書館館員和學生的對話，學生要找尋課程的相關書籍以及如何做相關報告，另外就是圖書館內的相關設備開放的時間等等；所以就兩篇內容來說不難理解，是國外求學生活的一部分，但重要是關鍵字句能否抓住，藉此理解對話雙方的溝通內容。

First Conversation 

Listen to a conversation between a student and an employee in the university’s career services office.      

Student: Hi, do you have a minute?      

Employee: Sure, how can I help you?      

Student: I have a couple of questions about the career fair next week.      

Employee: OK, shoot.      

Student: Um ...well, are seniors the only ones who can go? I mean, you know, they are finishing school this year and getting their degrees and everything. And, well, it seems like businesses would wanna talk to them and not first year students like me.      

Employee: No, no, the career fair is opened to all our students and we encourage anyone who’s interested to go check it out.      

Student: Well, that’s good to know.      

Employee: You’ve seen the flyers and posters around campus, I assume.

Student: Sure, can’t miss them. I mean, they all say where and when the  fair is, just not who should attend.      

Employee: Actually they do, but it’s in the small print. Uh, we should probably make that part easier to reach, shouldn’t we? I’ll make a note of that right now. So, do you have any other questions?      

Student: Yes, actually I do now. Um ...since I’d only be going to familiarize myself with the process, you know, check it out, I was wondering if there is anything you recommend that I do to prepare.      

Employee: That’s actually a very good question. Well, as you know, the career fair is generally an opportunity for local businesses to recruit new employees, and for soon-to-be graduates to have interviews with several companies they might be interested in working for. Now, in your case, even though you wouldn’t be looking for employment right now, it still wouldn’t hurt for you to prepare much like you would if you were looking for a job.      

Student: You mean, like get my resume together and wear a suit?      

Employee: That’s a given. I was thinking more along the lines of doing some research.       The flyers and posters list all the businesses that are sending representatives to the career fair. Um ...what’s your major urge you to have one yet?

Student: Well, I haven’t declared a major yet, but I’m strongly considering accounting. See, that’s part of the reason I wanna go to the fair, to help me decide if that’s what I really want to study.       

Employee: That’s very wise. Well, I suggest that you get on the computer and learn more about the accounting companies in particular that would be attending. You can learn a lot about companies from their internet websites. Then prepare a list of questions

Student: Questions, hmm… so, in a way, I’ll be interviewing them?      

Employee: That’s one way of looking at it. Think about it for a second. What do you want to know about working for an accounting firm?      

Student: Well, there is the job itself, and salary of course, and working conditions, I mean, would I have an office, or would I work in a big room with a zillion other employees, and…and maybe about opportunities for advancement.      

Employee: See? Those’re all important things to know. After you do some research, you’ll be able to tailor your questions to the particular company you are talking to.      

Student: Wow, I’m glad I came by here. So, it looks like I’ve got some work to do.      

Employee: And if you plan on attending future career fairs, I recommend you sign up for one of our interview workshops.      

Student: I’ll do that.

Second Conversation 

Narrator: Listen to part of a conversation between a student and a librarian.      

Student: Hi, um…, I really hope you can help me.      

Librarian: That's why I'm here. What can I do for you?      

Student: I'm supposed to do a literature review for my psychology course, but um… having a hard time finding articles. I don't even know where to start looking.      

Librarian: You said this is for your psychology course, right? So your focus is on …      

Student: Dream Interpretation.      

Librarian: Well, you have a focus, so that's already a good start. Hmmm… well, there're a few things… oh wait… have you checked to see if your professor put any material for you to look at on reserve?      

Student : Aha, that's one thing I did know to do. I just copied an article, but I still need three more on my topic from three different journals.      

Librarian: Let's get you going on looking for those then. We have printed versions of twenty or so psychology journals in the Reference Section. These are the ones published within the last year. Then I think about it… there's a journal named Sleep and Dream.      

Student : Oh, yeah, the article I just copied is from that journal, so I've got to look at other sources.      

Librarian: Ok, actually, most of our materials are available electronically now. You can access psychology databases or electronic journals and articles through the library's computers, and if you want to search by title with the word 'dream' for example, just type it in and all the articles with 'dream' in the title will come up on the screen.      

Student: Cool, that's great! Too bad I cannot do this from home.      

Librarian: But you can. All of the library's databases and electronic sources can be accessed through any computer connected to the university network.      

Student: Really?! I can't believe I didn't know that. It still sounds like it's going to take a while though, you know, going through all of that information, all of those sources.      

Librarian: Maybe, but you already narrow your search down to articles on Dream Interpretation, so it shouldn't be too bad. And you probably notice that there's an abstract or summary at the top of the first page of the article you copied. When you go into the databases and electronic sources, you have the option to display the abstracts on the computer screen, skimming those to decide whether or not you want to read the whole article should cut down some time.      

Student: Right, abstracts! They'll definitely make the project more durable. I guess I should try out the electronic search while I'm still here then, you know, just in case.      

Librarian : Sure, er… that computer's free over there, and I'll be here till five this afternoon.      

Student : Thanks, I feel a lot better about this assignment now.