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TOEFL Listening Comprehension TranscriptNarratorListen to a conversation between an upperclassman and a freshman coed.
Upperclassman: You look lost.
Freshman coed: That''s because I am.
U: What''re you looking for?
F: I''m trying to find Q22. Building Q22.
U: Q...?
F: It''s supposed to be behind the Flagler Arts Hall here, but there''s nothing there but trees that I can see.
U: Can''t see the forest for the trees, huh? Where''d you get that map?
F: Oh, it''s from our orientation guide. I didn''t want to carry the whole thing around with me, so I just tore out the map. (chuckles)
U: Huh. Good idea. Can I see?
F: Sure. Here. See- we''re here, Circle Road, right? And here''s the Arts Hall, right here, number eighteen....
U: Yeah...mmm....
F: And then Q22 is right- here. Behind it.
U: Yes, but...which way are we facing? Look- Circle Road curves around the Arts Hall, and we''re...uh...we''re here, on the left side of the building, see?
F: Huh? Oh...then...Q22 must be...around to the...right of the Hall from here.
U: C''mon, let''s check. I''ll go with you.
F: Thanks, but you don''t have to....
U: Naw, that''s OK. I''m curious.
F: Thanks, then.
U: (supposing) You''re a freshman, aren''t you?
F: How''d you guess? (laughs)
U: (laughs) ''Cause I was one myself a couple of years ago. I couldn''t find my physics laboratory till the second week.
F: Really? (laughs)
U: Yeah, and it was in a Quonset, too.
F: A what?
U: A Quonset- a Quonset hut- that''s what the ''Q'' stands for. It''s an old US Army hut.
F: An Army hut? Was this a military base before?
U: No. (laughs) After the Second World War, all the GIs came home, and a lot of them went back to college on the GI Bill.
F: What''s that?
U: The GI Bill? Oh, the government offered returning soldiers almost a...an almost free education. And the state universities were flooded with students. They were...they suddenly needed a lot of extra classrooms and dormitory space. And the federal government responded by giving them a lot of, well, temporary structures that were no longer needed by the military. Perfect recycling, eh? And there''s one now! Q22!
F: Wow! That''s a funny-looking thing. It looks like the top half of a big sewer pipe or something.
U: Yep, not very elegant, I''m afraid- but very practical. And cold in the winter; the thing''s poorly insulated. But they were a good quick fix to the problem of growing enrollment.
F: Jeez- they set these up in the fifties, and we''re still using them in 2009? These things are more than fifty years old. And they''re temporary?
U: Yeah. (laughs) But as long as they keep saving money for the university.... Oh, there''s not near as many Quonsets as there used to be. SFU expanded a lot in the 1970s with the baby boomers, so they built a lot of new buildings then and got rid of a lot of the Quonsets. But there''s still a few around, stuck in the bushes.
F: Like my music class here. Look at this thing: it''s made of corrugated iron! The acoustics actually might be pretty good, though, with this arched roof.
U: What kind of music class?
F: Oh, it''s part of my practicum. They put us right into the SFU student orchestra, and that practices here once a week.
U: A good thing they stuck you out in the woods here, then. You won''t be bothering anyone with the noise.
F: Noise? We make byoo-ti-ful music!
U: What do you play?
F: French horn.
U: One of those, uh, curled things?
F: Yeah.
U: Well.... Anyplace else you''ve gotta find?
F: Nope. I''m ready for my first class now, I think. Sure is a big campus, though.
U: Yeah. We''re a land grant college. The federal government gave it all this land in the beginning. And there''s still a lot left that they haven''t developed yet. The agriculture school uses it for pasture.
F: Pasture?
U: Sure- they''ve got livestock- cattle, horses, you know. SFU operates a farm right on campus. That''s where the student cafeteria gets its fresh eggs every day. And some of its hamburger.
F: You''re kidding.
U: Not at all. You''ll see. Take a walk out to the south end of campus some Sunday. It''s like a stroll in the country. It''s great!- very relaxing after a tough exam.
F: Huh. OK, I will. Thanks. And thanks for your help finding the, the...what?
U: Quonset hut.
F: Oh yeah, ''quonset hut''.
U: No problem. See you around.
F: Deal.
Excerpt from the TOEFL test listening conversationUpperclassman: What''re you looking for?
Freshman coed: I''m trying to find Q22. Building Q22.
U: Q...?
F: It''s supposed to be behind the Flagler Arts Hall here, but there''s nothing there but trees that I can see.
U: Can''t see the forest for the trees, huh? Where''d you get that map?
F: Oh, it''s from our orientation guide. I didn''t want to carry the whole thing around with me, so I just tore out the map. (chuckles)
U: Huh. Good idea. Can I see?
F: Sure. Here. See- we''re here, Circle Road, right? And here''s the Arts Hall, right here, number eighteen....
U: Yeah...mmm....
F: And then Q22 is right- here. Behind it.
U: Yes, but...which way are we facing? Look- Circle Road curves around the Arts Hall, and we''re...uh...we''re here, on the left side of the building, see?
F: Huh? Oh...then...Q22 must be...around to the...right of the Hall from here.
U: C''mon, let''s check. I''ll go with you.
F: Thanks, but you don''t have to....
U: Naw, that''s OK. I''m curious.
F: Thanks, then.
U: (supposing) You''re a freshman, aren''t you?
F: How''d you guess? (laughs)
U: (laughs) ''Cause I was one myself a couple of years ago. I couldn''t find my physics laboratory till the second week.
F: Really? (laughs)
U: Yeah, and it was in a Quonset, too.
F: A what?
U: A Quonset- a Quonset hut- that''s what the ''Q'' stands for. It''s an old US Army hut.
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