TOEFLスピーキング練習模試08
You have 15 seconds to prepare for the answer.
- Would you rather have the university assign a student to their room or would you rather choose your own roommate?
You have 45 seconds to record your answer.
Task 2 Integrated Speaking
Read a passage below. You have 50 seconds to read through:
A CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENT
The university has decided to discontinue the shuttle service it provides students. University authorities believe not enough students use the service. Running costs are also very high. The current shuttle route includes the campus and neighboring suburbs. The university wants to use the savings on the shuttle service to build a central underground parking lot to alleviate the parking shortage that students experience.
Now listen to the conversation below.
Prepare your answer in 30 seconds. Then answer the question below:
- Explain how the man feels about the university’s plan to do away with the free shuttle service. State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion.
You have 60 seconds to record your answer.
Task 3 Integrated Speaking
Read a passage below. You have 50 seconds to read through:
Ergonomic Design
Ergonomic design is the process of designing objects with reference to the design and characteristics of human beings that make their interaction easier. Using ergonomic design, businesses have designed their products for human use to avoid repetitive strain injuries, such as utilizing rubber handles, adding curves to chairs, and other features which match the more natural needs of human features while interacting with these products.
Now listen to the lecture below.
Prepare your answer in 30 seconds. Then answer the question below:
- Using the main points and examples describe Ergonomic design.
You have 60 seconds to record your answer.
Task 4 Integrated Speaking
Now listen to the lecture below.
Prepare your answer in 20 seconds. Then answer the question below:
- Using the main points and examples from the lecture, describe two types of slump.
You have 60 seconds to record your answer.
Sample Answer
I would rather have the university assign the students to their room for two reasons.
The first reason is you do not have the added stress of finding a roommate. Going to university is stressful and for some people making friends is even more stressful, so having to find a roommate could be difficult. It is easier for all students if the university just assigns a roommate to every room.
The second reason is choosing a roommate could cause problems amongst friends. What if three friends went to the same school, but each room could only fit two people. Well if the school assigns the roommates, then it will be fair for all three friends. Therefore, I would rather have the university assign the students to their rooms.
The university management wants to discontinue its free shuttle service because it is underutilized and costly to maintain. In the conversation, the man disagrees with the university’s strategy.
He thinks this plan will encourage even more students to use cars instead of free university transport and this will make traffic congestion on campus worse.
Secondly, he believes the university should rethink outdated route plans, do thorough research to find out where students actually live, and adjust the routes accordingly.
Finally, he believes keeping the shuttle service is the responsible environmental choice.
Ergonomic design makes the objects we interact with on a daily basis more comfortable and convenient to use. Making small improvements to the shape and material of chairs, handles, and other necessary items protects people from experiencing repetitive strain injuries.
The professor illustrates this idea by providing an example. Phones used to be held between a person’s neck and ear, but this awkward position could cause neck pain. The ergonomic design of headphones both reduces the chance of neck pain and also improves efficiency.
This example shows how a manufacturer can utilize ergonomic design by considering human anatomy to limit injuries or the possibility of pain.
During this lecture, the professor describes how there are actually two types of slumps, traditional and rotational. He describes these two types of slumps through a few examples. Although a slump is when a rock moves along a horizontal plane down a slope, that movement can occur in two different ways.
The first, a traditional slump, is when a landmass moves along a plane where there are usually faults or joints.
In the second type of slump, rotational, the slump moves along a curved surface. When this happens it causes the slump to rotate backward and thus the slope becomes less steep as the slump lifts up and becomes more parallel with the earth.
Therefore, depending upon the type of slope that a slump is descending, the professor explains that there are two different types of slumps with slightly varying characteristics.
Transcript
| Student 1: | I can’t believe the university management wants to do away with the free shuttle service! |
| Student 2: | Why? Don’t you think it is a good idea? |
| Student 1: | Definitely not! Can you imagine all the traffic jams on campus if you encourage even more students to use their cars? The streets leading to the underground parking lot will be packed and campus will be even more congested than it already is. |
| Student 2: | I feel campus is so jam-packed because there are not enough parking spaces. People waste so much time trying to find a parking spot. It is ridiculous! This could go a long way towards solving the problem. Also, why waste money on empty buses? |
| Student 1: | I don’t think discontinuing the service is the answer. Rethinking the routes is the solution. The buses only go to the neighborhoods close by where fewer and fewer students can afford to live. The university management should do a survey to find out where students actually live and change the route to accommodate them. |
| Student 2: | You have a point. |
| Student 1: | Yes, and, what’s more, keeping the buses would be a much “greener” choice! Universities should set an example when it comes to protecting the environment. |
| P: | Alright! In the world of ergonomic design, it’s all about human anatomy. In other words, it’s concerned with the “fit” between the user, equipment and their environments. It’s about taking account of the user’s interaction with equipment as an important consideration in the design process. |
| Now, proper ergonomic design has been acknowledged as an important design principle when it comes to preventing repetitive strain injuries and other pressure-related chronic pain, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability. | |
| We can often see the application of Ergonomic design from common tools we use everyday. Take the phone for example. A traditional phone requires the user to hold the phone with one hand, while slightly tilting their neck and pressing their ear against the phone’s receiver. This awkward strain in the neck can gradually cause chronic neck pain. With the use of Ergonomic design, the head phone was developed, which made the phone much easier and safer to use by allowing the user to keep their head upright while on the phone. This not only reduced the likelihood of developing chronic neck pain, but also improved work efficiency. And now you can see why more and more companies are incorporating ergonomic design into their products. |
| P: | Remember I said in the previous lecture that a slump is the downward slipping of a mass of rock moving on a more or less horizontal axis parallel to a slope from which it descends? Today, I want to point out there are actually two types of slumps. So… what are they and what are their differences? |
| First, we categorize a slump into two types: traditional slumps and rotational slumps. Both have different characteristics and causes. | |
| Traditional slumps occur when a detached landmass moves along a planar surface, which usually is faults or joints. In addition, traditional slumps can occur on bedding planes where a permeable layer overrides an impermeable surface. | |
| On the other hand, if the slumps move along a curved surface, we call the slide a rotational slide. Rotational slumps usually occur when a slump block slides along a concave-upward slip surface with rotation about an axis parallel to the slope. | |
| Unlike the traditional slumps, the direction of slumps is not always downward. In rotational slumps, the rotational movement causes the original surface of the block to become less steep. As a result, the top of the slump is rotated backward. |