Making Inferences & Predictions

Questions 1 through 2. Listen to a conversation between a student and his adviser.

M: Excuse me, Mrs. Lyons, do you have a minute?

W: Yes, how are you, Bruce?

M: Fine, I guess. But I’m having a hard time keeping up in geometry. I think I’d better get out of the class and
try again next quarter.

W: Let’s have a look at the preliminary list for next quarter. Hmm. I’m afraid geometry won’t be offered
again in the spring.

M: Oh, no.

W: If you feel your workload is too heavy now, why not drop your history class? You could easily get that
course again. It’s offered every quarter.

M: Oh, all right. If I drop history, maybe then I’ll be able to catch up in geometry. Thanks, Mrs. Lyons.

W: You’re welcome, Bruce. Good luck!

1. Why does the student go to see his adviser?
2. What will the student probably do?
   
   Questions 3 through 4. Listen to a conversation between two students.
   M: I ran into a problem when I tried to register by telephone. I got a message that said I had an outstanding charge on my account that needed to be paid before I could complete my registration.
   W: What does that mean?
   M: I’m not sure. A recorded voice just said I had to go to the Student Accounts Office.
   W: Do you have any idea what it could be about?
   M: The only thing I can think of is last quarter my roommate broke the shower door in our suite, and maybe they billed me by mistake.
   W: Oh, I’ll bet that’s expensive. You’d better go to the accounting office and try to clear it up.
   M: Yeah, and I’d better make sure my roommate pays for the damage. I do need to register for next quarter.
3. What is the man’s problem?
4. What will the man probably do?
   
   Questions 5 through 7. Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.
   W: Professor Pollard?
   M: Yes?
   W: I’ve … um … I registered for your psychology course for summer session. But I have to go to Vancouver and won’t be back until June 25.
   M: Oh. That means you’ll miss the first week.
   W: I know. Could I … um … make up the work when I get back?
   M: That would be kind of a problem. It’s like this … we’ll cover the important basics during the first week. And you’ll be forming study groups and starting to plan your research projects. The first group report is due on the 25th.
   W: Would I still be able to join a group?
   M: I don’t think that would be fair to the others in your group. Summer session is only six weeks, and you can’t afford to get a late start.
   W: That’s OK. I understand. Will you teach this course again in the fall?
   Mm: Yes. In fact, in fall semester there’ll be two, maybe three sections.
5. Why does the student go to see her professor?
6. What does the professor imply?
7. What will the student probably do?
   
   Questions 8 through 10. Listen to a conversation between two students.
   M: I haven’t seen you around lately. Where have you been hiding yourself?
   W: I live off campus now, in Forest Glen.
   M: Oh, those are the apartments in Glenwood that the university owns, right?
   W: Right, and would you believe they don’t cost much more than the dormitories?
   M: I didn’t realize that. But how did you manage to get in Forest Glen? I thought it was just for married
   students.
   W: Three of the buildings are for married people only, but anyone can live in the rest. And the best part of it is I can ride the city bus for free! All I had to do was show my rent receipt to the transit company, and they gave me a bus pass that’s good for the whole semester!
   M: Maybe I’ll look into that. I might save some money on parking.
   W: Why not? The apartments are nice and spacious, and you wouldn’t even need your car.
8. What are the students mainly discussing?
9. What can be inferred about the woman?
10. What will the man probably do?

Questions 1 through 2. Listen to an art instructor talk about composition.

Composition is the organization of shapes and forms into a whole—an expressive whole. The elements of composition—line, shape, tone, and color—need to be well arranged, need to be ordered. They need to be coherent … just like the words and phrases and sentences in a piece of writing.

All paintings have a compositional element. Successful paintings sort of suggest the third dimension, the sense that the design goes beyond the picture frame. A picture’s unity—which includes the shapes, tones and colors—is linked to what the
artist has to say. The artist’s message is strongest when it’s clear. A composition is better if it says one thing strongly than if it tries to say too many things. A crowded composition is sort of fussy and splintered and lacks unity. Even a painting of a single object needs thoughtful composition so the character of the object is present in every shape.

1. What does the instructor imply about composition?
2. With which statement would the instructor most likely agree?
   
   Questions 3 through 6. Listen to part of a talk in a biology class.
   Biology is considered one of the natural sciences. It is the science of life and life’s processes. And like life, science is better understood by observing it than by trying to create a precise definition. Over the next fifteen weeks, we will be observing the science of biology.
   In many ways, biology is the most demanding of all sciences. This is partly because living systems are so complex. Biology is also a multidisciplinary science. It requires knowledge of chemistry, physics, and mathematics. And of all the sciences, biology is the most linked to the social sciences and humanities.
   The word “science” comes from a Latin verb meaning “to know.” Science is a way of knowing. It emerges from our curiosity about ourselves and our world. Striving to understand is one of our basic drives.
   Who are scientists? Scientists are people who ask questions about nature and who believe that these questions can be answered. Scientists are explorers who are passionate about discovery.
   This course has something for all of you to discover. If you’re a biology major or a pre–medical student, you’ll discover ways to become a better scientist. If you’re a physical science or engineering major, you’ll discover in biology many
   applications for what you’ve learned in your other science courses. And if you’re a non–science major, you’ve chosen a course in which you can sample many disciplines of discovery.
3. What is the main purpose of the talk?
4. According to the professor, why is biology the most demanding of all sciences?
5. What does the professor imply about scientists?
6. What is probably true about the students in this course?
   
   Questions 7 through 10. Listen to a lecture in a botany class. The professor is talking about plant hormones.

The word “hormone” is derived from a Greek verb that means “to excite.” Hormones are found in all multi–cellular organisms and function to coordinate the parts of the organism. A hormone is a chemical signal. It’s produced by one part of
the body and is then transported to other parts of the body, where it triggers responses in cells and tissues.

The concept of chemical messengers in plants first emerged from a series of classic experiments on how plant stems respond to light. Think about this. A houseplant on a windowsill grows toward light. If you rotate the plant, it will soon reorient its growth until its leaves again face the window. The growth of a plant toward light is called phototropism. In a forest or other natural ecosystem where plants may be crowded, phototropism directs growing seedlings toward the sunlight that powers photosynthesis.

Some of the earliest experiments on phototropism were conducted in the late nineteenth century by Charles Darwin and his son, Francis. The Darwins observed that a grass seedling could bend toward light only if the tip of the shoot was present. If the tip was removed, the shoot would not curve toward light. The seedling would also fail to grow toward light if the tip was
covered with an opaque cap.

The Darwins proposed the hypothesis that some signal was transmitted downward from the tip into the part of the stem that controlled growth. Later experiments by other scientists studying phototropism led to the discovery of chemical
messengers that stimulated growth in the stem. These chemical messengers were hormones.

7. What do plant hormones do?
8. What can be inferred about phototropism in plants?
9. Which grass seedlings would probably NOT bend toward light?
10. What can be inferred about the tip of a plant’s stem?

Questions 1 through 2. Listen to a conversation between two students.

W: Have you finished your paper for anthropology yet?

M: No, I haven’t even started. I’m having trouble coming up with a good idea. We’re supposed to describe the cultural characteristics of a group, but any group I can think of would seem too artificial. I don’t know much about any one cultural group.

W: Of course you do. Write about your own culture!

M: But that’s my problem. I don’t really have a culture.

W: That’s ridiculous! Everyone has a culture. What about the culture of your family? Or your high school? Or
your hometown?

M: I grew up in a small town where almost everyone works in the orchards.

W: Bingo! Write about the culture of the orchard community.

M: I never thought of that. Well, why not? It’s something I know a lot about.

1. What is the man’s problem?
2. What will the man probably do?
   
   Questions 3 through 4. Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.
   M: Professor Martin, I will have to miss class tomorrow.
   My great aunt passed away and her funeral is tomorrow.
   W: Oh, let me offer my condolences to you and your family.
   M: Thank you. My aunt was a wonderful lady. Ah, so would it be possible for me to take the test next
   week?
   W: Of course. Eric handles all make–ups. He’s the instructional aide for our department. Can you stop by the office today and make an appointment with him?
   M: Sure. Would he be there now?
   W: He should be. He works every day.
   M: Then I’ll do it right now. Thank you, Professor Martin.
   W: You’re welcome, Jerry. Take care.
3. Why does the professor say this:
   “Oh, let me offer my condolences to you and your family.”
4. What will the student probably do next?
   
   Questions 5 through 7. Listen to a conversation between two students.
   M: I can’t believe how much my books cost this semester! I just spent over one hundred dollars in the
   university bookstore, for only four books! And I still need the book for chemistry. That one costs fifty–five dollars! It’s a little more than my budget can handle at the moment.
   W: Science books are always out of sight. But did you know there’s another bookstore in the Pioneer
   District? They carry used copies of most of the textbooks for the university.
   M: I wonder if they’d have my chemistry book. I need the third edition.
   W: I found all of my books there. You can sell any kind of book, too, not just textbooks.
   M: That’s not a bad idea. Where did you say that was again?
5. What is the man’s problem?
6. What can be inferred about the man?
7. What will the man probably do?
   
   Questions 8 through 10. Listen to a conversation in a campus pharmacy.
   W: Hello. I’m here for an allergy medication. The nurse sent me—I think her name was Margaret—in the
   student clinic. She said I didn’t need a prescription, and that you would know the right medication. It’s for allergies, for my itchy nose and burning eyes. I’ve been having sneezing fits, and it’s driving me crazy.
   M: All right. I think she means the new product, the really strong one.
   W: Maybe that’s the one. She says it really works for allergies.
   M: All right. We have—you have a choice actually of capsules or tablets. There’s no difference in price.
   W: It doesn’t matter. Hmm … capsules, I guess.
   M: All right. Now, this is a powerful drug, so you need only—no more than two capsules every six hours.
   And you shouldn’t drink alcohol, drive a car, or operate machinery.
   W: Uh oh! I have a big test tomorrow! I don’t know … if this is going to make me drowsy … Do you have
   anything else that’s effective but won’t knock me out?
   M: Nothing that will relieve your symptoms like this drug. Why don’t you—you could take two capsules
   three or four hours before your test. That way, the drug’s still working, but the drowsiness has mostly worn off when you take your test.
   W: Okay. Well, I guess I have no choice. I can’t start sneezing during the test.
8. What does the man imply about the medication?
9. Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.
   “Uh oh! I have a big test tomorrow! I don’t know … if this is going to make me drowsy … Do you have anything else that’s effective but won’t knock me out?”

What can be inferred about the woman?

10. What will the woman probably do?

Questions 1 through 6. A historian has been invited to speak to an urban studies class. Listen to part of the lecture.

The agricultural revolution of ten thousand years ago started the great shift from rural to urban living. As human settlements evolved from simple groups of huts to larger villages, and then to towns and cities, their basic pattern changed.

The early rural villages grew naturally—sort of organically—as if they were plants or bushes, and buildings
were clustered near water sources, and around village gardens, with trees for shade and pastures for animals.

A lot of us yearn to escape to these simpler, more romantic settlements of the past. But there are probably more of us who have a powerful urge to explore new ideas and to build bigger and better structures. We now have super–settlements called cities. Our city planners and architects have converted the organic pattern of the village into a geometrically perfect grid. Our natural habitat has been transformed into an expanse of hard, straight surfaces, with stone and metal and concrete and glass.

Of course, the city is still a wonderful place for stimulation, for opportunity, and for cultural interaction. In
fact, you could say the city is our most spectacular creation. And, believe it or not, it still has elements of the rural past.

In the average North American city, about one–third of the surface is given to streets and buildings. The rest is covered by trees and grass—foresters call it the urban forest—meaning all the trees in city parks, the trees planted along streets and
highways, and the trees in people’s yards. The extent of this forest is sort of amazing—two–thirds of our urban space.

The concept of a tree–lined village green has a long history, but one of North America’s first public parks—that was sort of created as a unified project—was Central Park in New York City. Central Park was designed by landscape architects
Olmsted and Vaux in the late nineteenth century. They took their inspiration from the gardens of European estates and the romantic landscape paintings from that period.

Central Park was set in a rectangular site covering over 800 acres in the middle of Manhattan Island. By the nineteenth century, the original forest was long gone. The area had been used as a common pasture for farm animals, but eventually it
deteriorated into a kind of urban wasteland, dotted with garbage dumps.

Olmsted and Vaux transformed this wasteland into something like its original appearance, with rolling hills, grassy meadows, and woody thickets with thousands of trees. The result is sort of an oasis in the middle of steel and stone. Central Park has been called “the city’s lung” because of its purifying effect on the air, not to mention its effect on the human psyche. It remains one of the best examples of what we can do with the open spaces of our cities.

When you look at how far we’ve come as humans, when you consider that we’ve developed something called civilization, you come to realize that the finest evidence of our civilization is the city. The city is a symbol of experimentation and creation, a place where we can come together for work and entertainment, for art and culture, for wonder and opportunity. And, like the rural villages of the past, the city is where we come together to share cultural experiences with other humans—indeed, to define what it is to be human.

1. What topics does the speaker discuss?
2. How did early rural villages differ from the cities of today?
3. What is the urban forest?
4. Why does the speaker talk about New York City?
5. Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.
   “Olmsted and Vaux transformed this wasteland into something like its original appearance, with rolling hills, grassy meadows, and woody thickets with thousands of trees. The result is sort of an oasis in the middle of steel and stone. Central Park has been called ‘the city’s lung’ because of its purifying effect on the air, not to mention its effect on the human psyche. It remains one of the best examples of what we can do with the open spaces of our cities.”

What does the speaker imply about New York’s Central Park?

6. What is the speaker’s opinion of the city?

Questions 1 through 6. Listen to a discussion in a biology class.

W1: Various species of Pacific salmon make a round trip from the small streams where they hatch, to the sea, and then back to the stream of their origin, where they spawn and die. This round trip is known as the salmon’s run. The end of the salmon’s run is the beginning of the next generation. Pacific salmon hatch in the headwaters of a stream. As fry, the fish then migrate downstream via rivers, and eventually to the ocean, where they require several years to mature. While in the sea, salmon from many river systems school and feed together. When mature, the salmon form into groups of common geographic origin and migrate back toward the river they emerged from as juveniles.

M: Is it true that they find their way home by their sense of smell?

W1: During the first stage of their return, they navigate by the position of the sun. But later, when they reach the river leading to their home stream, their keen sense of smell takes over.

M: Just what is it that they can smell? The other fish?

W1: The water flowing from each stream carries a unique scent. This scent comes from the types of plants, soil, and other components of that stream. This scent is apparently imprinted in the memory of a salmon fry before it migrates to the sea.

W2: I had a real shock when I was hiking once. I was looking at a waterfall, and I saw a salmon jump up,
about ten feet! At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes. But then I saw another one do it! And then several more! It was an awesome sight.

M: They must have an incredibly powerful instinct.

W1: The survival of their species depends on their ability to get home and reproduce. And, of course, other
species depend on the survival of the salmon. Salmon provide an important link in the food web. They spend 90 percent of their lives in the ocean, where they feed on plankton, shrimp, and small fish. When they make their return journey, they carry nutrients from the ocean back to the rivers and streams.

M: I used to live near a river, and the eagles would gather for the salmon run every year. They’d gorge
themselves on all the salmon that had just spawned.

W1: Nothing is wasted in nature. After the salmon spawn, their carcasses feed birds, mammals, and
vegetation—and even their own newly hatched offspring.

1. What is the discussion mainly about?
2. What does the professor mean when she says this:
   “This round trip is known as the salmon’s run. The end of the salmon’s run is the beginning of the next generation.”
3. According to the discussion, how do salmon find their way to their home stream?
4. Listen again to part of the discussion. Then answer the question.
   “I had a real shock when I was hiking once. I was looking at a waterfall, and I saw a salmon jump up, about ten feet! At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes. But then I saw another one do it! And then several more! It was an awesome sight.”

Why does the student say this:

“At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

5. According to the discussion, why are salmon an important link in the food chain?
6. What can be concluded from this statement:

“Nothing is wasted in nature. After the salmon spawn, their carcasses feed birds, mammals, and vegetation—and even their own newly hatched offspring.”