TOEFL listening: Two seminar classmates discussing their classwork

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TOEFL Listening Comprehension Transcript
Narrator
Listen to two seminar classmates discussing their classwork.

Colleen: Ah, there you are. Hi, Jared.

Jared: Hi, Colleen. You still got time?

C: Yes, I've got almost an hour. My next class isn't until three-thirty. That should be enough time, shouldn't it? We haven't got that much to decide now.

J: Depends how it goes. We've got our topic, but we haven't divided up the workload yet. And we haven't even discussed how to approach it, really.

C: I thought one of us was going to take the coelenterates and the other was going to do the sponges. Seems pretty simple.

J: Yeah, well, that's fine for the basic research, but don't forget that we've got to make the presentation together. We can't just be 'stings' and 'squirts', like Laurel and Hardy. We're going to have to field questions from the rest of the seminar- and from Doctor Mankiewicz, too!

C: Yeah, and they can be brutal! So?

J: So- we both have to have a pretty good grasp of the whole thing, the overall picture. Don't forget that the key word is 'comparative'- 'A Comparison of the Adaptive Evolution of the Coelenterata and Porifera'. It's not just how jellyfish've evolved and how sponges've evolved, but a, an analysis of their comparative success.

C: So I guess we need to get together and really look at that together, don't we?

J: Yes, we sure do. And it's going to take some thinking, because I don't think we're going to find all that much material on this idea.

C: There're whole books on invertebrate evolution....

J: Yeah, but each phylum is kind of looked at independently, you know- at least they are in the texts I've been looking through.

C: Which are?

J: Hyman's 'Invertebrates'. McEdward's 'Ecology of Marine Invertebrates'. McEdward's really good- he's got a lot of fascinating examples- but he doesn't really look at one phylum versus another in term of relative, uh, relative success. He just marvels at their individual, uh, creativity.

C: Well, that's good stuff....

J: But we're gonna have to take it a step further than that.

C: Well, look- we're still beginning with each of us researching a phylum, aren't we?

J: Yes, yes, that's still a good starting point for sure, but-

C: I know, so let's get going on that then, learn something about these critters, and then try to put it together after we've got an idea what we're talking about. We've got six weeks to do this thing, so why don't we, well, bulldoze our way through this first part in, say, two weeks? And then plan to get together a lot after that to intercalate what we've found out. And get some original ideas.

J: Yeah, OK. We can, like, mini-present to each other and see what angles we can come up with. Put four weeks into that, and we might have something.

C: So, what do you like?

J: Huh? What do I what?

C: Which ones you want- sponges or jellyfish?

J: Oh. Yeah. Huh! Y'know, they're actually both very intriguing. Amazing beasts. Frankly, though, the coelenterates look pretty daunting- there's such a, you know, range of forms and behaviour. The sponges seem much more manageable. But what about you?- I'm easy, really.

C: Ha! That's funny- to me, the Porifera seem kind of boring. They're so, so...sessile. They just sit there and filter. They remind me of my grandfather. (Laughs)

J: (Laughs) I like that. Stick it in the presentation!

C: Maybe. Anyway, I'll be happy to take the jellyfish- they interest me much more.

J: OK. Say, this is working out well so far.

C: Yeah, but the hard part comes later. So, shall we look at our schedules and see if we can arrange a regular time to meet?

J: Uh, sure. Once a week?

C: For now, yeah, that's enough, I guess.

J: Well, how about this time?

C: Um....yeah, that'll be good for me. So... Tuesdays at one p.m.?

J: Fine. Uh...here?

C: This'll be OK, I think. Not too noisy after lunch hour.

J: All right, then I'll see you next week, on the seventh. No! I'll see you in the seminar on Thursday, won't I? (Laughs)

C: (Laughs) Yep. Gotta go.

J: Right. Thanks. Later.


Excerpt from the TOEFL test listening conversation
Colleen: So, what do you like?

Jared: Huh? What do I what?

C: Which ones you want- sponges or jellyfish?

J: Oh. Yeah. Huh! Y'know, they're actually both very intriguing. Amazing beasts. Frankly, though, the coelenterates look pretty daunting- there's such a, you know, range of forms and behaviour. The sponges seem much more manageable. But what about you?- I'm easy, really.

C: Ha! That's funny- to me, the Porifera seem kind of boring. They're so, so...sessile. They just sit there and filter. They remind me of my grandfather. (Laughs)

J: (Laughs) I like that. Stick it in the presentation!

C: Maybe. Anyway, I'll be happy to take the jellyfish- they interest me much more.

J: OK. Say, this is working out well so far.

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