Международные образовательные программы. Требования по иностранным языкам. Учебное пособие

Task 1.

Describe changes in technology that have affected your life, and explain what effect they have had on you as a student. Include details and examples to support your explanation.

Preparation time: 15 seconds Response time: 45 seconds

You may begin to prepare your response after the beep.

Task 2.

What kind of friend is better - one who is very similar to you or one who is very different? Which kind of friend do you prefer and why? Include details and examples in your explanation.

Preparation time: 15 seconds Response time: 45 seconds

You may begin to prepare your response after the beep. Please begin speaking after the beep.

Task 3.

The University of the Rockies is announcing its annual job fair. Read the announcement from the Career Services Center. You will have 45 seconds to read the announcement. Begin reading now.

Reading Time: 45 seconds

Financial Aid Office Announcement

Education Job Fair

Saturday, October 9 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Washington Center

The University of the Rockies has been offering our Placement Abroad Services for prospective teachers since 1980. This program is sponsored by the University of the Rockies’ Career Services Center. Originally initiated to provide American schools abroad with certified teachers, the Placement Abroad Services now includes the U of R Recruitment Fair, credential and referral services, and the ‘Careers in Education’ publication. We are dedicated to providing our graduates in Education the opportunity to meet and interview with recruitment staff from international schools. This service is free for all U of R students and alumni.

Now listen to two students as they discuss the announcement. Now get ready to answer the question:

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The man expresses his opinion about whether the woman should attend the job fair. State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for his opinion.

Preparation time: 30 seconds Response time: 60 seconds

You may begin to prepare your response after the beep. Please begin speaking after the beep.

Task 4.

Read the passage about misconceptions in mathematics. You have 45 seconds to read thе passage.

Begin reading now. Reading Time: 45 seconds

Mathematics and Children’s Misconceptions

Analyses of children's misconceptions in mathematics indicate that children have considerable difficulties in dealing with fractions. Given the choice of 50 percent and 25 percent, and asked to choose which number is higher, children will correctly choose 50 percent. However, given the choice of 1/2and 1/4, they will incorrectly choose 1/4. Their reasoning is that since 4 is a larger number than 2, 1/4 is larger than 1/2. Considering this misconception, it is highly likely that the correct answers they give to percentage questions aren't based on understanding the concept of percentages. Holding onto the misconception that 1/4 is a larger number than 1/2, the child often miscalculates the simple addition problem of 1/2 plus 1/2, coming up with the answer of 1/4 instead of 2/2 or 1.

Now listen to part of a lecture on this topic in a math education class. Now get ready to answer the question:

The professor describes the mistakes that are made in teaching children mathematics. Explain how these mistakes relate to the problems that children have in understanding fractions.

Preparation time: 30 seconds Response time: 60 seconds

You may begin to prepare your response after the beep. Please begin speaking after the beep.

Task 5.

Listen to a conversation between two students.

Now get ready to answer the question.

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The students discuss several ways to memorize vocabulary. Summarize the ways. Then state which of the ways you prefer and explain why.

Preparation time: 20 seconds Response time: 60 seconds

You may begin to prepare your response after the beep. Please begin speaking after the beep.

Task 6.

Listen to part of a lecture in an earth science class. Now get ready to answer the question.

Using the information in the lecture, explain the three atmospheric phenomena that the lecturer discusses.

Preparation time: 20 seconds Response time: 60 seconds

You may begin to prepare your response after the beep. Please begin speaking after the beep.

WRITING

Вразделе Writing проверяется способность тестируемого создавать письменные тексты требуемого объема согласно поставленной задаче. В данном разделе предлагается выполнить два задания:

1) интегрированное задание (ответ основывается на анализе текстов для чтения и аудирования);

2) свободное письменное высказывание

Винтегрированном задании представлены отрывок для чтения и аудирования на академическую тему, например, искусство, естественнонаучное направление и т.д. Максимальный балл получают эссе, которые соответствуют следующим требованиям:

1) в эссе присутствуют все важные аспекты, которые были упомянуты в представлены в двух отрывках;

2) информация, представленная в отрывке для чтения и аудирования, четко организована;

3) используются разнообразные лексико-грамматические структуры;

4) объем 150-225 слов.

Свободное письменное высказывание подразумевает написание сочинения на определенную тему, причем тестируемый, в основном,

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должен выразить свою точку зрения. Максимальный балл получают эссе, которые соответствуют следующим требованиям:

1)правильная организация;

2)ответ непосредственно на вопрос, представленный в задании;

3)используются разнообразные лексико-грамматические структуры;

4)объем около 300 слов.

Примеры вопросов в разделе Writing

(см. http://lengish.com/tests/toefl-24.html [13])

Task 1

Directions: You have three minutes to read and take notes from the reading passage. Next, listen to the related lecture and take notes. Then write your response.

Productivity and Rewards

An important management principle is that when behavior is rewarded, it tends to be repeated. It follows that in many business enterprises, the approach to getting employees to work hard or improve productivity is to reward them with money or company stock. In addition, some enterprises use other forms of compensation such as special privileges or perhaps promotion or job reassignments or even company-paid luxury vacations and other bonuses in kind. All such rewards are usually tied in to some index of performance, which precisely calculates the relative amount of increased productivity.

Whatever the type of reward given, managerial consultants point out that the promise of such incentives improves employee attitudes, motivation, and productivity. Typical business handbooks describing compensation methods advocate giving the greatest rewards to those who perform the best. For example, a well-known academic text on incentives points out that "the closer the link between job performance and rewards, the greater the motivational effect."

Advocates of improving productivity through rewards tacitly accept that people are rather like physical bodies that require the application of some external motivating force to be set in motion. Furthermore, they argue that any such incentives must have a high perceived value to the employee and must also be perceived as within the reach of that person. If the productivity goal appears beyond the reach of the person striving for the reward, then the motivational effect will be lower and productivity may

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decline. But if the reward system is correctly structured, productivity experts argue, it is possible to persuade people to achieve remarkable results.

Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about. You have 20 minutes to plan and write your response.

Question: Summarize the points made in the lecture you just heard, explaining how they cast doubt on the points made in the reading.

Task 2.

Directions: Read the question below. You have 30 minutes plan, write, and revise your essay. Typically, an effective response contains a minimum of 300 words.

Question: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Childhood is the happiest time of a person's life.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

READING

Вразделе Reading проверяется способность экзаменуемого читать и понимать английский язык. Фрагменты для чтения подбираются согласно следующим темам: история, искусство, литература, экономика и т.д. Объем каждого фрагмента 600-700 слов. После прочтения каждого фрагмента для экзаменуемого предлагается 12-14 вопросов. Для выполнения всего раздела выделяется 60-80 минут.

Вданном разделе предлагаются вопросы следующих типов:

1)выбор правильной лексической единицы (vocabulary);

2)перефраз предложения (paraphrasing a sentence);

3)определение лексической единицы, которую замещает местоимение (referent);

4)вставить предложение в отрывок (inserting a sentence);

5)вопрос на понимание деталей (detail of fact);

6)вопрос на отсутствующую информацию (negative fact);

7)понимание скрытой информации (inference);

8)вопрос на причину использования информации (rhetorical

purpose);

9)резюме (summary);

10)таблица (table completion).

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Примеры вопросов в разделе Reading

(см. http://lengish.com/tests/toefl-22.html [14])

Directions

In this section, you will read three passages and answer reading comprehension questions about each passage. Most questions are worth one point, but the last question in each set is worth more than one point. The directions indicate how many points you may receive.

You have 60 minutes to read all of the passages and answer the questions.

Questions 1-12

Causes of Ice Ages

Geologists have shown that for about 80 percent of the past 2.5 million years, ice-age conditions have prevailed on the Earth's surface. During the past one million years, increased glacial conditions have run in cycles of approximately 100,000 years.

Many different factors may contribute to these increases in glaciation at regular intervals throughout Earth's more geologically recent history. The three most prominent factors probably relate to the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth. This varies over time for three main reasons. First, the planet wobbles* as it spins, due to the pull of the sun and moon. Furthermore, the Earth tilts* on its axis and the degree of tilt changes over time. Finally, the orbit of the Earth around the sun is elliptical and the length of the major axis of the ellipse changes over a period of about 100,000 years. A mathematician named Milutin Milankovitch discovered in the 1930s that the pattern of insolation, or sunlight, predicted by these eccentricities in the Earth's movement matched the period of the last several eras of intense glaciation.

These Milankovitch insolation cycles were the dominant theory in ice-age research for much of the twentieth century despite the fact that the match between periods of peak insolation and most intense glaciation were not exact. For example, a cycle of 400,000 years predicted by the Milankovitch theory has never shown up in the climate records obtained through the study of microfossils deposited on the sea floor. Also, recent analysis has shown that the insolation theory predicts peaks of sunlight at intervals of 95,000 and 125,000 years. Climatological data does not support this predicted sunlight peaking. Other damaging evidence was the indication of a precisely measured sudden rise in temperature at a water-

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filled cave in Nevada, which preceded the increase in solar radiation that was supposed to cause it.

These and other problems with the Milankovitch cycles led some researchers to seek alternative explanations for the cyclic arrival of extended ice ages. In the 1990s, it was discovered that the orbital inclination of the Earth to the sun and planets could also be responsible for climate changes. If we imagine a flat plane with the sun in the center and the planets revolving around it, the Earth slowly moves in and out of the flat plane by a few degrees, repeating the cycle every 100,000 years. Two scientists, Muller and MacDonald, have proposed that it is this orbital inclination which is ultimately responsible for the periods of glaciation and warming. They argue that because of the oscillation, the Earth periodically travels through clouds of debris, in the form of dust and meteoroids. Such debris could reduce the amount of solar energy reaching the surface of our planet, thus plunging it into regular cold periods.

The advantage of this theory is that it is not confronted with several of the problems associated with the Milankovitch theory. In particular, the new theory fits well with the analysis of ocean sediments taken from eight locations around the world. This analysis yielded data clearly showing the peak of the last several ice ages with a period of 100,000 years and corresponding to the periods when the Earth's oscillating inclination takes it through clouds of extraterrestrial debris.

However, many researchers in this field are not yet persuaded by the inclination hypothesis. The main problem is that the amount of dust that falls to the ground when the Earth travels through space debris is relatively small - not enough to produce radical climate changes. Volcanic eruptions, for example, release much greater amounts of ash and dust and have relatively little effect on climate. Supporters have countered that the byproducts created by the dust as it vaporizes on entering the atmosphere cause subtle changes to the energy levels. Nevertheless, the necessary physical proof has yet to be found to convince the skeptics.

1.The word ‘prevailed’ in the passage is closest in meaning to

•ruled

•existed

•survived

•triumphed

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2.What can be inferred from paragraph 2 about the factors that contribute to glaciation?

•They affect the Earth's spin.

•They are geologically recent.

•Оnly three factors relate to levels of sunlight.

•Other factors than those relating to the sunlight affect ice buildup.

3.The phrase ‘these eccentricities’ in the passage refers to all of the following EXCEPT

•the various movements of the Earth as it spins

•the degree of change in the Earth's tilt over time

•the pattern of insolation matching the Earth's movement

•the changing distance to the sun during the Earth's elliptical orbit

4.Scientists accepted the Milankovitch theory even though

•the peaks of sunlight occurred at intervals of 95.000 and 125.000 years

•the peaks of insolation and intense glaciation did not match

•there were climate records of a 400,000-year cycle

•there were microfossil deposits on the sea floor

5.In paragraph 4, why does the author suggest the image of a flat

plane?

•To help the reader visualize the positions and movements of the heavenly bodies

•To demonstrate to the reader how the Earth orbits the sun

•To support the argument that the orbital inclination increases tilting

•To show how the Milankovitch theory doesn't explain the cyclical changes in climate

6.The word ‘it’ in the passage refers to

•such debris

•solar energy

•the surface

•our planet

7.In paragraph 4, the author explains that

•Milankovitch did not know about the orbital inclination of the Earth

•glaciation occurs when the orbital inclination has entered a new cycle

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•the Earth always travels through clouds of debris after moving out of the plane by a few degrees

•the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth's surface causes the changes of temperature

8.What problem in the Milankovitch theory was mentioned as being explained by the Muller and MacDonald theory?

•The climate records obtained by studying microfossil deposits not matching his predicted cycle

•The irregularities of the Earth's movements through orbital inclinations not following any pattern

•The Earth's spin wobbling in relation to the Earth's oscillating inclination

•The peak in the ice ages occurring at intervals between 95,000 and 125,000 years instead of 400,000

9.The word ‘persuaded’ in the passage is closest in meaning to

•convinced

•discouraged

•affected

•challenged

10.What problem is associated with the Muller and MacDonald theory?

•The amount of debris that is released from volcanoes is proportional to the amount of interstellar dust.

•The amount of ash from volcanoes and space dust that vaporizes in the atmosphere is too small.

•The amount of dust entering the atmosphere is less than the amount of ash and dust released by volcanoes.

•The by-products created by vaporized space dust cause relevant changes to the energy levels.

11.Look at the four squares [?] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?

When the Earth is at its furthest from the sun, less sunlight reaches the surface.

Choose the letter of the square that shows where the sentence should be added.

Many different factors may contribute to these increases in glaciation at regular intervals throughout Earth's more geologically recent history.

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[A]The three most prominent factors probably relate to the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth. This varies over time for three main reasons. First. the planet wobbles as it spins, due to the pull of the sun and moon.

[B]Furthermore, the Earth tilts on its axis and the degree of tilt changes over time. [C] Finally, the orbit of the Earth around the sun is elliptical and the length of the major axis of the ellipse changes over a period of about 100,000 years. [D] A mathematician named Milutin Milankovitch discovered in the 1930s that the pattern of insolation, or sunlight, predicted by these eccentricities in the Earth’s movement matched the period of the last several eras of intense glaciation.

12.Directions: Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the flaws in the ice-age theories to which they relate. TWO of the answer choices will NOT be used. This question is worth 4 points. Write the letter of the answer choices in the spaces where they belong. Refer to the full passage.

Answer Choices

A)Data of climate records not coinciding with predicted intervals of sunlight

B)Temperature rises occurring before the increase of sunlight

C)The irregularities of the Earth's movement during its orbit around the sun

D)The inconsistency between the periods of sunlight and glaciation

E)The relatively mild effect of volcanic eruptions on the climate

F)The orbital inclination of Earth through clouds of debris

G)The relatively small amount of interstellar debris reaching Earth

H)The lack of clear support from ocean sediment data

I)The lack of physical evidence in support of the effects of the inclination hypothesis

Flaws in the Milankovitch Cycles Theory

1)

2)

3)

4)

Flaws in the Muller and MacDonald Theory

1)

2)

3)

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