Listening audioscript

1. WHAT IS IMPLIED ABOUT THE MATH PLACEMENT TEST? 
2. WHAT IS THE STUDENT MOST LIKELY GOING TO DO? 

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LPREP IBT 3 E AudioScript 
56
 
PASSAGE TWO 
Page 203
[ mp3 077-078] 
Questions 3 and 4. 
Listen to a conversation between a professor and a student. 
(Professor)
Thanks for stopping by. 
(Student)
No problem. Why did you want to see me? 
(Professor)
I need to go over the outline and resource list for your term paper. 
(Student)
The outline for my term paper? … Is there a problem? 
(Professor)
Well, you have a very current topic and lots of interesting ideas here, but, 
well, I guess that’s part of the problem. 
(Student)
I 
don’t… 
(Professor)
What I mean is, global warming is incredibly controversial, and the 
resources on the list you submitted are mostly from the Internet. 
(Student)
You said that Internet sources were OK. 
(Professor)
Some Internet sources, and only those from reputable organizations. 
You’ve got a lot of resources here that are funded by political 
organizations. Look, this is such a controversial topic that the Internet is 
overflowing with opinions, facts out of context, arguments…um, even 
outright lies, speculation, and accusations. It’s just not the best place to 
get information that is unbiased. I mean, there’s unbiased information out 
there, but groups with their own political agendas on both sides are trying 
to look more legitimate than they are. You need to go to the library and 
probably ask a librarian to filter your sources in order to find more 
professional studies.
(Student)
OK, I can do that, but even if I sort out the ones I have now, won’t the 
studies by climate scientists be biased, too? 
(Professor)
Well, Pete, you really have to go with the assumption that scientists are 
operating in good faith and doing their best to apply solid scientific 
principles to get results. Look, you don’t have to agree with my opinion 
on this, but I want you to challenge yourself by challenging me. I’m aware 
of a lot of the arguments you’re making in your outline, and some are 
totally legitimate…but, others have really been put to rest by later 
studies. I want you to get access to some of those studies and sort of 
…um, sift out the stuff that’s just being repeated but that we know isn’t 
true. There will still be enough points for you to argue against taking legal 
action to make drastic regulatory changes. 
(Student)
But if I have to take out whole arguments, then I basically have to redo 
my entire outline. 
(Professor)
Yes, that’s true. But that’s why I ask for the outline and resource list so 
early. I’ve learned from teaching this course before that there can be 
bumps, and so I require early submittal and put aside time for meeting 
with everyone. As a matter of fact, you’re the third of five students I’ve 
got scheduled for this afternoon. 
(Student)
So, do you want me to take out all of the Internet sources? 
(Professor)
Filter them. Check the background on the authors and sponsoring 
organizations. Eliminate the older ones, clearly biased ones, ones that 

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LPREP IBT 3 E AudioScript 
57
repeat a lot of arguments that you find to be untrue. Once you get some 
of the later studies from the journals at the library, I think you’ll find that 
the filtering will become easier. 
(Student)
Well, part of the reason I have so much Internet research is that it’s not 
that easy for me to get to the library because I have a job in the evenings 
after my classes.
(Professor)
There’s a way to deal with that. The first time you go to the library, go 
and see a research librarian. This is the person who can show you how 
to access the library’s database over the Internet, and then you can do 
searches and even read a lot of the studies from…um, from almost 
anywhere if you happen to be working on a computer. 
(Student)
Oh, really? I didn’t know that; it would certainly be more convenient to 
work from home. So then when is my new resource list and outline due?
Don’t tell me it’s next week. 
(Professor)
Really now…wouldn’t that be kind of harsh if I knew people were going to 
have the same problems as they always do? Pete, just check the 
syllabus or the webpage. It has all the due dates. But like I said, this isn’t 
the first time I’ve assigned these papers, and you haven’t done anything I 
don’t anticipate and come with a schedule for. There’s still plenty of time 
in the semester to work on the final version, even if you end up getting rid 
of most of the Internet resources you have now. 
(Student)
OK, then. It kind of feels like starting all over, but I’ll check the due dates.
(Professor)
It’s not starting over at all. You’ve learned a lot—I can tell by what you 
put into your outline. And all this initial investigation is really going to help 
you do really effective searches for more recent scientific studies. You 
know what you’re looking for. The librarian will be able to help you a lot 
more now that you have some background information.