Listening audioscript

3. WHY DOES THE STUDENT GO TO THE OFFICE? 
4. WHAT ARE THE SPEAKERS MAINLY DISCUSSING?
PASSAGE THREE 
Page 153
[ mp3 013-014] 
Questions 5 and 6. 
Listen to a student consulting a professor. 
(Professor) 
OK. So, what exactly did you need to see me about today? 
(Student) 
Uh…I’ve been looking up information about the three different lakes you 
assigned to me—with an emphasis on how each lake was formed—and 
I’m just not sure if I’m approaching the assignment correctly. 
(Professor) 
I’m not sure I understand…. Are you asking me if you should approach 
the assignment in terms of the formation of the three lakes?

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(Student) 
Yes, that’s sort of right. I guess I’m not clear on if you want me to present 
the different ways that the lakes formed, or you want something more. 
(Professor) 
Well, simply put, the answer is that I want more. I’d like you to do the 
research and determine what else you could discuss besides just 
presenting a demonstration on their formation.
(Student)
I’ve already done a lot of research and, you know, I’ve noticed that each 
one of them has a claim to being the biggest lake in the world. I was 
considering discussing this and trying to provide examples of why each 
lake can be called the biggest lake. 
(Professor) 
A-ha! You’re already ahead of the bunch. That is what I was hoping you 
would expand upon in your presentation.
(Student) 
Great! And, um, since I’ve already looked so much of this material up, 
would you mind answering a few more questions before I write up the 
assignment?
(Professor)
No, not at all. Go ahead. 
(Student) 
Well, Lake Baikal is the deepest, so it has the most water, and Lake 
Superior is the biggest if you measured it by surface area. But they’re the 
biggest in these ways only if you don’t count the Caspian Sea as a lake. 
(Professor)
Mhmm…but do you know why you might not define the Caspian Sea as 
a lake? 
 
(Student)
Ha-ha, I was getting to that. First of all, it’s between Europe and Asia and 
borders a few different countries, including Russia. Scientists think that it 
used to be connected to the world’s oceans, but it got cut off when the 
land was uplifted by movements of the Earth’s plates. That’s why you 
could say it isn’t really a lake. It’s not fresh-water. 
(Professor)
Exactly. It’s the world’s largest inland body of water, but it’s salt-water. 
(Student)
So, I’m thinking I should find some visual diagrams of the formation of all 
the lakes. Maybe some aerial shots of the lakes or even diagrams of their 
formation. I think they’ll really drive the point home about how they all 
had different beginnings. Then I was going to use a chart to write out the 
facts about their size and features. 
(Professor)
This all sounds good, but don’t forget that it is crucial for you to 
understand... in detail… the formation of each lake
(Student) 
Oh, I know…I found out that Lake Baikal is in Russia, and it formed over 
a rift in the Earth’s crust—where it cracked apart. That’s why it’s so deep. 
In fact, I read that it’s so deep that you could fit all of the water from all 
five of the Great Lakes into it. And I also read that, uh, that the original 
formation of Lakes Baikal and Superior was similar. A really long time 
ago, Lake Superior also formed out of a fault. But the big thing that made 
it the way it is now was glaciers. They, you know, were sort of cutting out 
valleys, but I guess the glaciers were also pushing down the Earth’s crust 
with their weight and leaving a dent that was filled with water. 
Um…anyway, glaciers carved out all of the lakes, but in the case of Lake 
Superior, there was already a sort of channel for the glaciers because of 
the original fault…. 
(Professor) 
Look, I think you have a very good grasp of the assignment. Have you 
thought about how to introduce your presentation? 
AM3: 
I was thinking of starting with something like, “How can three different 
lakes all be the biggest in the world?” 

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(Professor)
I like it! OK, I think we’re done here, you know what you’re doing.