新托福口语探秘：Question Two

haiya

　　TOEFL Ibt Oral English task three is an integrated task. In this task, you must first read a school notice, listen to a conversation between two students about the notice, and then summarize the notice and one student’s reaction to it.
　　You have 45 seconds to read the notice and take notes. After you listen to the conversation, you have 30 seconds to organize your answer and then 60 seconds to speak. As a turning point, this is the first of the four Integrated Tasks in the Speaking section. The short reading passage is essentially about a topic of campus-related interest. And two people will discuss that topic and express an opinion about the topic from the reading.
　　The general areas from which these topics are typically drawn include university policies, rules or procedures.
　　This sample question consists of announcement of a university’s decision to increase tuition and a discussion between students about whether the increase is justified.
　　Narrator: In this question you will read a short passage about a campus situation and then listen to a talk on the same topic. You will then answer a question using information from both the reading passage and the talk. After you hear the question, you will have 30 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.
　　Then you will hear this:
　　Narrator: City University is planning to increase tuition and fees. Read the announcement about the increase from the president of City University.

haiya

　　Announcement from the president:
　　The university has decided to increase tuition and fees for all students by approximately 8% next semester. For the past 5 years, the tuition and fees have remained the same, but it is necessary to increase them now for several reasons. The university has many more students than we had five years ago, and we must hire additional professors to teach these students. We have also made a new commitment to research and technology and will be renovating and upgrading our laboratory facilities to better meet our student’s needs.
　　You will then hear;
　　Narrator: Now listen to two students as they discuss the announcement
　　Man: Oh great we have to come up with more money next semester.
　　Woman: Yeah, I know, but I can see why. When I first started here, classes were so much smaller than they are now. With this many students, it’s hard to get the personal attention you need…
　　Man: Yeah, I guess you’re right. You know, in some classes I can’t even get a seat. And I couldn’t take the math course I wanted to because it was already full when I signed up.
　　Woman: And the other thing is, well, im kind of worried about not being able to get a job after I graduate.
　　Man: Why? I mean you’re doing really well in your classes, aren’t you?
　　Woman: Im doing ok, but the facilities here are so limited. There are some great new experiments in microbiology that we can’t even do here. There isn’t enough equipment in the laboratories, and the equipment they have is out of date. How am I going to compete for jobs with people who have practical research experience? I think the extra tuition will be a good investment

haiya

　　Answer:
　　City University is planning to have an increase of approximately 8% in the tuition fee for the next semester. The increase of the tuition fee is for the whole student body of the said University. The school has valid reasons for taking this step and they are as follows:
　　The amount of the tuition fee for this university had remained stagnant for five years. But the school administration feels that the increase in the tuition fee is necessary because of the increasing number of students enrolling in the school at present time as compared to the number of students five years ago.
　　To be able to accommodate the increasing number of students, the school will be needing to hire additional professors to teach these students.
　　To be able to provide good and quality education, the school acknowledges the need to commit to a more advanced research and technology. This is essential and crucial.
　　In order not to be left behind, the school plans to renovate and upgrade its laboratory facilities. After all these years, the laboratory facilities definitely have their own share of wear and tear. The school is actually doing all of these to better suit the needs of the students.

haiya

　　Now, we will be going to the feedback of the students when the news about the tuition fee increase came to their attention:
　　I heard two students (one male and one female) discussing the said tuition fee increase. The male student was worried because he would be needing to come up with more money to be able to enroll for the next semester. Money nowadays is really hard earned and coming up with a few extra cash would not exactly be easy. So the male student is probably asking himself where on earth he would be getting more money for the enrollment.
　　The female student on the other hand was recalling about how much classes were smaller five years ago as compared to the sizes now. She was able to witness the transition that is why she is now able to compare the previous from the present. She is also concerned that because of the increase in the class size, there is difficulty for each student to be able to get the personal attention that they would be needing.
　　Now, the male student starts to complain that he is not even able to get a seat in some of his classes because of the numerous students the school now has. Aside from this,  the male student was not able to enroll in the math course that he originally wanted because the class was already full by the time he signed up.
　　The female student now tells the male student about her worries of not being able to find a good job after she graduates from school. The male student was surprised about her worries because he knows that the female student is doing really well in class.
　　The female student was quite lamenting that the school facilities are so limited. There are so many new great experiments about microbiology but the students do not even have the chance to do them or learn about them in City University. It is bad enough that the school laboratory is lacking in equipment.  What is worst is that the very limited equipment that the school have is already out of date. How can there be progress when everything is so backward?
　　The female student feels insecure because she is very much aware about the limited resources of her university which affects the limited amount of learning and practice that she has. While her university is lacking in advancement, facilities and equipments, competing universities are just the opposite. They have brand new advanced facilities and equipments that are really helpful to the learning needs of the students. They can enjoy the new microbiology experiments that City University students are not able to enjoy.
　　The female student is now asking the male student how on earth will she be able to compete for jobs with people who have adequate and practical research experience.