TRACK 3 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class. The class is discussing animal behavior.
Professor ..
OK, the next kind of animal behavior 1 want to talk about might be familiar to you.
You may have seen, for example, a bird that’s in the middle of a mating [……………………………………… ].
And, and suddenly it stops and [……………………………… ]—you know, it takes a few moments to
[…………………….. ]its feathers—and then returns to the mating ritual. This kind of behavior—this
doing something that seems completely out of place—is what we call a [ ]activity.
Displacement activities are activities that animals […………………………………….. ]in when they have
conflicting drives—if, if we take our example from a minute ago—if the bird is afraid of its
mate, it’s [ ], it wants to mate, but it’s also afraid and wants to run away, so
instead it starts [ ]itself. So the displacement activity, the, the grooming, the
straightening of its feathers seems to be an […………………………… ]behavior.
So what do you think another example of a displacement activity might be?
Male student
How about an animal that, urn, instead of fighting its enemy or running awav it [ ]a plant or a [ ]?
Professor
That’s a really good suggestion, Carl, but that’s called […………………………….. ]. The animal is
redirecting its behavior to another object, in this case, the plant or the bush. But that’s not an
irrelevant or [………………………. ]behavior—the behavior makes sense—it’s appropriate under the
[…………………….. ], but what doesn’t make sense is the object the behavior’s directed towards.
OK, who else? Carol?
Female student
I think I read in another class about an experiment, um, where an object that the animal was afraid of was put next to its food-next to the animal’s food—and the animal it was conflicted
between [……………………………………… ]the object, and eating the food, so instead it just fell asleep. Like
that?
Professor
That’s exactly what I mean. Displacement [……………………………….. ]because the animal’s got two
conflicting drives, two competing […………………………… ], in this case, fear and hunger—and what
happens is they [……………………………………………………………………………………….. ]each other—they [ ]each other out in a way,
and a third, seemingly irrelevant behavior surfaces … through a process that we call
[…………………….. ].
Now, in disinhibition, the basic idea is that two drives that seem to inhibit, to hold back a third drive, well, well, they get in the way of each other in a, in a conflict situation, and somehow lose control, lose their inhibiting effect on that third behavior… wh-which means that the [………… ]drive [ ]… it-it’s expressed in the animal’s behavior. .
Now, these displacement activities can include feeding, drinking, grooming, even sleeping.
These are what we call “comfort behaviors.” So why do you think […………………………………. ]activities
are so often comfort behaviors, such as grooming?
Male student
Maybe because it’s easy for them to do—I mean, grooming is like one of the most
[…………………….. ]things an animal can do—it’s something they do all the time, and they have
the-the [………………………. ]right there, on the outside of their bodies in order to do the groom
ing—or if food is right in front of them. Basically, they don’t have to think very much about those behaviors.
Female student
Professor, isn’t it possible that animals groom because they’ve gotten […………………………………… ]up a
little from fighting or mating? I mean, if a bird’s feathers get [………………………………. ], or an animal’s
fur – maybe it’s not so strange for them to stop and [………………………………….. ]themselves up at that
point.
Professor
That’s another possible reason, although it doesn’t necessarily explain other
[…………………….. ]such as eating, drinking, or sleeping. What’s interesting is that studies have
been done that suggest that the animal’s [……………………………………………. ]may play a part in
[…………………….. ]what kind of behavior it displays. For example, there’s a bird—the wood
[…………………………… ], anyway when the wood thrush is in an attack-[…………………………… ]conflict—
that is, it’s caught between the two urges to escape from or to attack an […………………………… ]—if
it’s sitting on a […………………………………………. ]branch, it’ll wipe its beak on its perch. If it’s sitting on a
[……………………….. ]branch, it II groom its breast feathers. The immediate environment of the
bird—its immediate, um, its relationship to its immediate environment seems to play a part in
which behavior it will display.
TRACK 5 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Listen to part of a lecture in a literature class Professor
All right, so let me close today’s class with some thoughts to keep in mind while you’re doing
tonight’s [……………………………………….. ]. You’ll be reading one of Ralph Waldo Emerson s best-known
essays, “[………………………………………. ],” and comparing it with his poems and other works. I think this
essay has the [………………………… ]to be quite [………………………… ]for all of you as young people
who probably wonder about things like truth, and where your lives are going … all sorts of [ …………………………… ]questions.
Knowing something about Emerson’s philosophies will help you when you read Self-Reliance.” And basically, one of the main beliefs that he had, was about truth. Not that it’s something that we can be taught… Emerson says it’s found within ourselves.
So this truth … the idea that it’s in each one of us … is one of the first points that you’ll see
Emerson making in this […………………………. ]. It’s a bit [……………………….. ], but he s very into, ah,
into each person believing his or her own thought. Believing in yourself, the thought or [ ]that’s true for you.
But actually, he ties that in with a sort of universal truth, something that everyone knows but
doesn’t [……………………… ]they know. Most of us aren’t in touch with ourselves, in a way, so we
just aren’t capable of [………………………………………………………………………… ]profound truths. It takes [ ]… people
like, say, Shakespeare, who are unique because when they have a […………………………………….. ]of this
truth—this universal truth—they pay [……………………………… ]to it and express it, and don’t just
dismiss it like most people do.
So, Emerson is really into each individual believing in, and trusting, him- or herself. You’ll see
that he writes about… well, first, [……………………………… ]. He criticizes the people of his time, for
[…………………….. ]their own minds and their own wills for the sake of conformity and
[…………………….. ]. They try to fit in with the rest of the world, even though it’s at odds with
their beliefs and their identities. Therefore, it’s best to be a [………………………………….. ]to do your own
thing, not worrying about what other people think. That’s an important point—he really drives this [ ]home throughout the essay.
When you’re reading I want you to think about that, and why that kind of thought would be [ ]to the readers of his time. Remember, this is [………………………………………………………………………………. ]. Self-reliance
was a novel idea at the time, and United States citizens were less [……………………………………….. ]about
themselves as individuals and as Americans. The country as a whole was trying to define itself Emerson wanted to give people something to really think about. Help them find their own way and, ah, what it meant to be who they were.
So, that’s something that I think is definitely as relevant today as it was then … probably, uh …
especially among young adults like […………………………………… ]. You know, uh, college being a time to
sort of really think about who you are and where you’re going.
Now, we already said that Emerson really [……………………………. ] nonconformity, right? As a way to
sort of not lose your own self and [………………………………….. ]in the world? To have your own truth and
not be afraid to listen to it? Well, he takes it a step further. Not conforming also means, ah, not conforming with yourself, or your past. What does that mean? Well, if you’ve always been a certain way, or done a certain thing, but it’s not working for you anymore, or you’re not
content—Emerson says that it’d be foolish to be [………………………………………. ]even with our own past.
Focus on the future, he says: that’s what matters more. [……………………………….. ]is good! He talks about
a ship’s […………………………………. ]—and this is one of the most famous bits of the essay—how the best
voyage is made up of [………………………… ]lines. Up close, it seems a little all over the place, but
from farther away the true path shows, and in the end it justifies all the turns along the way.
So, don’t worry if you’re not sure where you’re headed or what your long-term goals are—stay true to yourself and it’ll make sense in the end. I mean, I can attest to that. Before I was a
literature professor, I was an [……………………………………. ]. Before that, I was a newspaper
[ ]. My life has taken some pretty interesting turns, and here I am, very happy
with my experiences and where they’ve brought me. If you rely on yourself and trust your own [ ], your own interests, don’t worry. Your path will make sense in the end.
TRACK 7 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.
Professor
Hey Jane. You look like you’re in a hurry .. .
Student
Yeah, things’re a little [………………………… ].
Professor
Oh, yeah? What’s going on?
Student
Oh, it’s nothing … Well, since it’s your class … I guess it’s OK … it’s, it s just that I’m having trouble with my group project.
Professor
Ah, yes. Due next week. What’s your group doing again?
Student
It’s about United States Supreme Court [………………………….. ]. We’re looking at the impact of recent
cases on property rights, municipal land use cases, zoning [……………………………… ]…
Professor
Right, OK … And it’s not going well?
Student
Not really. I’m worried about the other two people in my group. They re just sitting back, not really doing their fair share of the work, and waiting for an A. It’s kinda stressing me out,
because we’re getting close to the [………………………….. ]and I feel like I’m doing everything for this
project…
Professor
Ah, the good ole “[……………………….. ]” problem.
Student Free rider?
Professor
Oh, it s just a term that […………………………………. ]this situation: when people in a group seek to get the
benefits of being in the group without contributing to the work… Anyway, what exactly do you mean when you say they just sit back? I mean, they’ve been filing their weekly progress reports with me…
Student
Ves, but I feel like I’m doing […………………………. ]of the work. I hate to sound so negative here but
honestly, they’re taking credit for things they shouldn’t be taking credit for. Like last week in the library, we decided to split up the research into three parts, and then each of us was
[……………………… ]to find sources in the library for our parts. I went off to the stacks and found
some really good [………………………………… ]for my part, but when I got back to our table they were just
goofing off and talking. So I went and got material for their […………………………… ]as well.
Professor
Hmm, you know you shouldn’t do that.
Student
I know, but I didn’t want to risk the project going down the [……………………………. ].
Professor
I know Theresa and Kevin, I’ve had both of them in other courses … so I’m familiar with their work, and their work habits.
Student
I know, me too, and that’s why this has really surprised me.
Professor
Do you … does your group like your topic?
Student
Well, I think we’d all rather focus on cases that deal with personal [……………………………………………. ]—
questions about freedom of speech, things like that—but I chose property rights…
Professor
You chose the topic?
Student
Yeah, I thought it would be good for us, all of us. to try something new.
Professor
Maybe that’s part of the problem—maybe Theresa and Kevin aren’t that [……………………………….. ]about
the topic—and since you picked It… Have you thought… talked to them at all about picking a
different topic?
Student
But, we’ve already got all the sources. And it’s due next week. We don’t have time to start from
[……………………… ].
Professor
OK, well, I’ll let you go ’cause I know you’re so [……………… ]. But you might… consider
talking to your group about your topic choice …
Student
I’ll think about it. Gotta run. See you in class.
TRACK 8 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Listen to part of a lecture in a geology class.
Professor
Now, we’ve got a few minutes before we leave for today. So I’ll just touch on an interesting subject that I think makes an important point. We’ve been covering […………………………………………………………………………… ], and
different types of rocks, for the last […………………………….. ]weeks, but next week we’re going to do
something a little bit different. And to get started I thought I’d mention something that shows
how, uh, as a [……………………….. ], you need to know about more than just rocks and the structure
of [……………………… ]matter. Moving rocks. You may have heard about them.
It’s quite a [………………………… ]. Death Valley is this desert plain … a dry [………………………………… ]in
California, surrounded by mountains, and on the desert floor are these [……………………………….. ]rocks
… some of them hundreds of [……………… ]… and they move! They leave long
[……………………… ]behind them tracks you might say—as they move from one point to another.
But nobody has been able to figure out how they’re moving because no one has ever seen it
happen. Now there are a lot of [………………………….. ], but all we know for sure is that people aren’t
moving the rocks. There’re no […………………………………… ], no tire tracks, and no heavy
[…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ]—like a [……….. ], uh, nothing was ever brought in to move these
heavy rocks.
So what’s going on? Theory number one: wind. Some researchers think powerful, uh,
[……………………… ]might move the rocks. Most of the rocks move in the same direction as the
[……………………… ]wind pattern, from southwest to northeast. But some, and this is interesting,
move straight west, while some [………………………… ]… or even move in large [………………………….. ].
Hmmm .. . how can that be? How ’bout wind combined with rain? The ground of this desert is
made of clay. It’s a desert, so it’s dry. But when there is the [……………………………………. ]rain, the clay
ground becomes extremely [………………………… ]. It’s hard for anyone to stand on, walk on.
So, one theory was that perhaps when the ground is slippery, high winds can then move the
rocks. But five or ten years ago a team of scientists tested that [………………………………………….. ]. They
experimented by flooding an area of the desert with water, and then trying to establish how much
wind [……………………….. ]would be necessary to move the rocks. They calculated that it would
take winds of at least [………………………… ]an hour to move the rocks. And since winds that strong
don’t occur anywhere on Earth, they […………………………… ]that the wind wasn’t the cause, even with
[……………………… ]ground. Now, more recent research suggests that it would take winds of only
[……………………… ] miles an hour, not [……………………………… ], but even winds that strong don’t occur
in Death Valley. So the original experiment’s conclusion that wind is not the [ ] seems right.
Here’s another possibility: ice. It’s possible that rain on the desert floor could turn to thin
[……………………… ]of ice when temperatures drop at night. So, if rocks, uh, become
[……………………… ]in ice, um, OK, could a piece of ice with rocks in it be
[……………………… ]around by the wind? Makes sense, but there’s a problem with this theory too.
Rocks [……………………… ]in ice together would have moved together when the ice moved. But
that doesn’t always happen. The rocks seem to take [……………………………… ]routes. Nevertheless, ice
is probably involved, we just don’t quite know how yet. And of course there are other
[…………………………. ]. Maybe the ground […………………………. ], or maybe the ground itself is shifting,
tilting. Maybe the rocks are moved by a [……………………………. force. Uh, but sadly, all these ideas
have been eliminated as possibilities. There’s just not enough [……………………………. ].
I bet you’re saying to yourself, well, why don’t scientists just set up video […………………………………. ]to
record what actually happens? Thing is, this is a protected [………………………………… ]area, so by law,
that type of research isn’t allowed. Besides, in powerful windstorms, [………………………………… ]camera
equipment would be destroyed. So why can’t researchers just live there for a while until they observe the rocks moving? Same reason.
So where are we now? Well, despite some recent progress, we still don’t have definite answers. So all this leads back to my main point. You need to know about more than just rocks as
[……………………… ]. The researchers studying moving rocks, well, they combined their
knowledge of rocks with knowledge of wind, ice, and such, uh, not successfully, not yet, but y’know … they wouldn’t even have been able to get started without, uh … earth science
understanding. Knowledge about wind … storms … you know, [………………………………. ]. You need to
understand [……………………….. ]. So for several weeks, like I said, we II be addressing geology
from a wider perspective. I guess that’s all for today. See you next time.
TRACK 10 TRANSCRIPT
Narrator
Listen to part of a discussion in a United States government class.
Professor
OK, last time we were talking about [……………………………………… ]support for the arts. Who can sum up
some of the main points? Frank?
Male student
Well, I guess there wasn’t really any, you know, official government support for the arts until the
[……………………… ]century. But the first attempt the United States government made to, you
know, to support the arts was the Federal Art Project.
Professor
Right. So, what can you say about the project?
Male student
Um, it was started during the [………………………….. ], um, in the [……………………….. ], to employ out-
of-work artists.
Professor
So was it successful? Janet? What do you say?
Female student
Yeah, sure, it was successful—I mean, for one thing, the project [………………………………… ]a lot of, like,
community art centers and, uh, galleries in places like rural areas where people hadn’t really had [ ]to the arts.
Professor
Right.
Male student
Yeah, but didn’t the government end up wasting a lot of money for art that wasn’t even very good?
Professor
Uh, some people might say that, but wasn’t the primary […………………………………. ]of the Federal Art
Project to [………………………… ]jobs?
Male student
That’s true. I mean, it did provide jobs for thousands of […………………………… ]artists.
Professor
Right, but then, when the United States became involved in the Second World War, unemployment was down, and it seemed that these programs weren t really necessary any longer.
So, moving on … we don’t actually see any […………………………………. ], well, any real government
[…………………….. ]in the arts again until the early […………………………… ], when President Kennedy
and other politicians started to [………………… ]for major funding to support and
[…………………….. ]the arts. It was felt by a number of politicians that, well, that the government
had a [ ]to … uh, support the arts as sort of, oh what can we say, the soul, or
spirit of the country. The idea was that there’d be a federal […………………………… ], uh, financial
[…………………….. ]to artists and artistic or cultural [……………………………………….. ]. And for just those
reasons, in [………………………. ], the National Endowment for the Arts was created.
So, it was through the NEA, the National Endowment for the Arts, um, that the t would develop, would be promoted throughout the nation. And then, individual states throughout the country
started to establish their own state arts [……………………………… ]to help support the arts. There was
kind of a cultural […………………………….. ]—and by the mid-[…………………………. ], by 1974 I think, all
[…………………….. ] states had their own arts [………………………… ], their own state arts councils that
worked with the federal government, with corporations, artists, performers, you name it.
Male student
Did you just say [………………………. ]? How were they involved?
Professor
Well, you see, corporations aren’t always [……………………………… ], they might not support the arts
unless … well, unless the government made it attractive for them to do so, by offering
corporations tax [………………………. ]to support the arts—that is by letting corporations pay less in
taxes if they were […………………………………… ]of the arts. Uh, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.,
you may, maybe you’ve been there, or Lincoln Center in New York. Both of these were built
with [……………………….. financial support from corporations. And the Kennedy and Lincoln
Centers aren’t the only examples—many of your cultural establishments in the United States will
have a [………………………….. ]somewhere acknowledging the support, the money, they’ve
[……………………… from whatever corporation. Yes, Janet?
Female student
But aren’t there a lot of people who don’t think it’s the government’s role to support the arts? Professor
Well, as a matter of fact, a lot of [………………………………….. ]who did not believe in government support
for the arts, they wanted to do away with the agency [………………………………….. for that very reason—to
get rid of governmental support—but they only succeeded in taking away about half the annual
[……………………… ]. And as far as the public goes .. . well, there are about as many individuals
who disagree with government support as there are those who agree – in fact, with artists in
particular, you have lots of artists who support—and who have [……………………………………. from this
agency, although it seems that just as many artists […………………………… ]a government agency being
involved in the arts for many different reasons—reasons like they don’t want the government to control what they create. In other words … the arguments both for and against government
funding of the arts are as many and, and as […………………………… ]as the individual styles of the
artists who hold them.