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TOEFL Listening Comprehension TranscriptNarratorListen to two roommates talking about fraternities.
Eddie: Oh hi, Marlon. I didn't hear you come in.
Marlon: Shower's too loud. Boy, you sure take long ones. Doesn't your mother complain?
E: Every time. She says I double the water bill.
M: I can believe it.
E: But a shower doesn't use nearly as much water as taking a bath does. 'Course, you wouldn't know- you don't use either one.
M: Haw! You'd know if I didn't. You wouldn't be able to breathe in here right now. What's the occasion?
E: It's Rush Week, my man. I've got a fraternity to check out tonight. Omega Theta.
M: Omega Theta? Really? They rushed you? That's a feather in your cap- Everybodys says they're really cool.
E: Yeah, they are. But they've also got a good reputation for academics, too. They've got the highest GPA on Fraternity Row..
M: Hmm- that means you're gonna have to keep up your average, too.
E: Yeah, but I figure that'll be easier to do with a little help from some Omega Theta friends.
M: You've got friends there?
E: I will if I join. They've got a pretty strict study regimen: everyone gets assigned a tutor- an upper-class brother- kind of an academic buddy system. They say it works good.
M: Sounds good if you need that.
E: And I do. I'm not a self-starter at all. Left to myself, I tend to fiddle around and get nothing done.
M: Me too, I guess- if I go to the library or the coffee shop to study, I do better, but if I sit around here, I just dawdle. I listen to music or pick at the guitar or, uh, anything to avoid getting down to my assignments.
E: That's why I think Omega Theta is a good idea.
M: But what about the really important stuff?
E: Huh? What's that?
M: Their parties! They don't have much of a rep as a party house.
E: No, they don't.
M: Well? Isn't that the main reason for joining a fraternity- to party and meet girls?
E: (laughs) For some guys, I guess so, yes. I like to party too, but not every weekend like the Delta Taus do. Now, that's a real animal house- talk about reputation!
M: Yeah, probably a little much for me, too, when I think about it. We gotta stay a bit serious, after all- we've gotta find jobs when we leave here!
E: Anyway, Omega Theta does throw a good party or two along the way, just before Christmas and Easter break- and at Halloween, of course.
M: Oh boy! I hope you'll invite me to that one! I love Halloween parties!
E: Sure, if I can- but I haven't even been invited to join yet.
M: Oh yeah, I forgot. Well, I want to hear how it goes tonight.
E: You bet. Reception's at six-thirty, dinner's at seven. There'll be some talking and a tour of the house and some one-on-one. No alcohol, I think. So I should be back here by nine-thirty or ten at the latest. Then I'll spill all.
M: Hey! I just thought of something! If you join Omega Theta and move into their house, what am I gonna do for a roommate?
E: No, no, you're stuck with me for a while yet in any case. They don't have freshman residents, just upper classmen., and not a lot of those. It's not a big house.
M: How many are staying there anyway?
E: I dunno- about a dozen or so, I think. I think they've got five or six bedrooms. Everybody else is in the dorms or off campus. But they've got a big hall that'll hold thirty or forty brothers for meetings and cram sessions and things.
M: Huh! Well, I don't want to hold you up. It's almost six o'clock now.
E: What? Yipes! I gotta go get dressed and get outta here!
M: I'll leave you to it. I'm going over to the Campus Club and see if there's a good movie on.
E: Don't you have anything better to do?
M: Naw. No one's rushing me tonight. Maybe it's the garlic I ate at lunch.
E: (laughs) Couldn't be your personality, could it?
M: Thanks. You're my pal, too. Lock the door when you leave, will you?
E: Yep. See you about ten?
M: If the movie's over. If there is one. Otherwise, I'll just be hanging out back here.
E: OK. See you later.
M: See you. Have fun!
Excerpt from the TOEFL test listening conversationMarlon: ...Well, I want to hear how it goes tonight.
Eddie: You bet. Reception's at six-thirty, dinner's at seven. There'll be some talking and a tour of the house and some one-on-one. No alcohol, I think. So I should be back here by nine-thirty or ten at the latest. Then I'll spill all.
M: Hey! I just thought of something! If you join Omega Theta and move into their house, what am I gonna do for a roommate?
E: No, no, you're stuck with me for a while yet in any case. They don't have freshman residents, just upper classmen., and not a lot of those. It's not a big house.
M: How many are staying there anyway?
E: I dunno- about a dozen or so, I think. I think they've got five or six bedrooms. Everybody else is in the dorms or off campus....
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