Speaking Task 1

Choose a place you go to often that is important to you and explain why it is important.
Please include specific details in your explanation.

Speaking Task 2

Some college students choose to take courses in a variety of subject areas in order to get a broad
education. Others choose to focus on a single subject area in order to have a deeper understanding
of that area. Which approach to course selection do you think is better for students and why?

Speaking Task 3

The university is planning to eliminate its bus service. Read the article from the university
newspaper about the plan. You will have 45 seconds to read the article. Begin reading now.

Bus Service Elimination Planned

The university has decided to discontinue its free bus service for students. The reason given for this
decision is that few students ride the buses and the buses are expensive to operate. Currently, the
buses run from the center of campus past university buildings and through some of the
neighborhoods surrounding the campus. The money saved by eliminating the bus service will be
used to expand the overcrowded student parking lots.

Man : I don’t like the university’s plan.

Woman : Really? I’ve ridden those buses, and sometimes there were only a few people on the
bus. It did seem like kind of a waste.
Man : I see your point. But I think the problem is the route’s out of date. It only goes through
the neighborhoods that would have gotten too expensive for students to live in. It’s
ridiculous that they haven’t already changed the route—you know, so it goes where
most off-campus students live now. I bet if they did that, they’d get plenty of students
riding those buses.
Woman : Well, at least they’re adding more parking. It’s gotten really tough to find a space.
Man : That’s the other part I don’t like, actually. Cutting back the bus service and adding
parking’s just going to encourage more students to drive on campus. And that’ll just
add to the noise around campus and create more traffic . . . and that’ll increase the need
for more parking spaces . . .
Woman : Yeah, I guess I can see your point. Maybe it would be better if more students used the
buses instead of driving.
Man : Right. And the university should make it easier to do that, not harder.

The man expresses his opinion of the university’s plan to eliminate the bus service. State his
opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion. After you hear the question, you’ll
have 30s to prepare your response and 60s to speak.
 Speaking Task 4

Now read the passage about the nature of social interaction. You will have 45 seconds to read the
passage. Begin reading now.

Social Interaction

People deal with each other every day. This interaction is at the heart of social life. The study of
social interaction is concerned with the influence people have over one another’s behavior. People
take each other into account in their daily behavior and in fact, the very presence of others can
affect behavior. For example, one principle of social interaction, audience effects, suggests that
individuals’ work is affected by their knowledge that they are visible to others, that the presence of
others tends to alter the way people behave or perform an activity.

OK, so we said that the way we interact with others has an impact on our behavior . . . In fact, there’s
some interesting research to suggest that in one type of interaction— when we’re being observed
specifically, when we know we’re being watched as we perform some activity—we tend to increase
the speed at which we perform that activity. In one study, college students were asked to each put
on a pair of shoes—shoes with laces they would have to tie. Now, one group of students was told
that they would be observed. The second group, however, didn’t know they were being observed.
The students who were aware that they were being watched actually tied their shoes much faster
than the students who thought they were alone. Other studies confirm the same is true even when
we’re learning new activities. Let’s say someone is learning a new task—for example, learning how
to type. When they’re conscious of being observed, they’ll likely begin typing at a much faster rate
than they would if they were alone. But, and this is interesting, the study also showed that certain
common behavior— things people typically do, like . . . making mistakes when you’re learning
something new . . . that behavior pattern will also increase. So in other words, when we’re learning
to type, and we know we’re being watched, we’ll type faster, but we’ll also make more mistakes.

Explain how the examples of tying shoes and learning to type demonstrate the principle of audience
effects. After you hear the question, you’ll have 30s to prepare your response and 60s to speak.
 Speaking 5

Listen to a conversation between a student and her geology professor.

Man : Mary, I’m so glad I ran into you.

Woman : Oh, hello, Professor Jensen.
Man : Listen, I know it’s a short notice . . . and maybe you’ve already made plans for spring
break . . . but . . . one of my students just dropped out of the field trip to the Smithson
River Caves. You’re next on the waiting list, so now there’s room for you to come along.
Woman : You’re kidding! I didn’t think there was a chance . . . and . . . well, it’s a three-day trip,
right? I agreed to spend next week helping Professor Clark set up the new museum
exhibition. I think she’s really counting on me.
Man : Yeah, three days. But you know . . . if you’d rather come on the field trip, why not speak
with her and see if she has anyone to replace you?
Woman : Yeah, I’d hate to miss out on the caves. I’ll definitely ask Professor Clark if there’s
someone else who could help her.
Man : You know . . . we don’t leave until Wednesday. If you still have to help out, any chance
you could get the museum setup done before then?
Woman : Oh yeah . . . not until Wednesday . . . so then, yeah . . . maybe that’s possible too.

The speakers discuss two possible solutions to the woman’s problem. Describe the problem and the
two solutions. Then explain what you think the woman should do and why. After you hear the
question, you’ll have 20s to prepare your response and 60s to speak.

Speaking 6

Now listen to part of a talk in an economics class.

So let’s talk about money. What is money? Well, typically people think of coins and paper “bills” as
money . . . but that’s using a somewhat narrow definition of the term. A broad definition is this:
money is anything that people can use to make purchases with. Since many things can be used to
make purchases, money can have many different forms. Certainly, coins and bills are one form of
money. People exchange goods and services for coins or paper bills, and they use this money . . .
these bills . . . to obtain other goods and services. For example, you might give a taxi driver five
dollars to purchase a ride in his taxi. And he in turn gives the five dollars to a farmer to buy some
vegetables . . . But, as I said, coins and bills aren’t the only form of money under this broad
definition. Some societies make use of a barter system. Basically, in a barter system people
exchange goods and services directly for other goods and services. The taxi driver, for example,
might give a ride to a farmer in exchange for some vegetables. Since the vegetables are used to pay
for a service, by our broad definition the vegetables are used in barter as a form of money. Now, as I
mentioned, there’s also a second . . . a narrower definition of money. In the United States only coins
and bills are legal tender—meaning that by law, a seller must accept them as payment. The taxi
driver must accept coins or bills as payment for a taxi ride. OK? But in the U.S., the taxi driver is not
required to accept vegetables in exchange for a ride. So, a narrower definition of money might be
whatever is legal tender in a society, whatever has to be accepted as payment.

Using points and examples from the talk, explain the two definitions of money presented by the
professor. After you hear the question, you’ll have 20s to prepare your response and 60s to speak.