PASSAGE 1
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(Student)  Excuse me. Can you help me, please?2 t  D3 i4 s% S7 I' D% m  p

+ d6 E1 a7 \" D: O% k( z6 X! F5 `(Librarian) That’s why I’m here. What do you need?4 O- `0 O: G( I# S9 d' H

9 K  W- x8 x7 b: f# ^2 f(Student)  I need to find a specific magazine, and I’m not sure where to look.
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(Librarian) How old is the magazine you need to find?
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Is it a recent magazine—less than a year old —or is it an older magazine?7 R' U1 x5 X0 Q- X& P, u# ^2 k
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(Student)  You need to know how old the magazine is to find it?; @) y, y* Y' x+ n: r. K; [) K! {

, g8 q5 p4 o3 R+ r- ^; \$ R7 O& o' H(Librarian) That’s why I asked. The more recent magazines—those that are less than a year old—are in the Magazine Reading Room, on the second floor. But after a year, magazines are bound together and put in hard covers, and the bound magazines are on the third floor.
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# ]6 W# j* e# Q0 f) b7 f& W(Student)  Well, the magazine I want to find is more than a year old, so that means that I need to go to the second floor, oh, excuse me…what am I saying?…The third floor.) z! C% X( b3 l, w1 i; I- x; C, g

3 r+ _0 f0 Z9 @8 G, x  q(Librarian) That’s right. The third floor.0 L4 O$ E* W: ]: \6 e( |# h
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(Student)  Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.9 `# M  D" Z6 R! [$ G- ]

. K2 n% o, l# l2 v2 g6 M5 F(Librarian) You’re quite welcome. Fell free to come by any time.

PASSAGE 2

(Woman) Hey, Sam, I have a question for you.

(Man)   (Laughs) All you have to do is ask.

(Woman) I think it’s a pretty easy question. All I need to know is how I can get a copy of my transcript. I need one for a scholarship I’m applying for.

(Man)   Oh, I think I can handle that one. You need to go to the registrar’s office to get a copy of your transcript.

(Woman) That’s all there is to it? I just go to the registrar’s office and ask for a copy of my transcript, and I’ll get it?

(Man)   Well, it’s not quite that easy. You need to go to the registrar’s office and fill out a form, a transcript request form. Then you turn in the form with a ten-dollar fee.

(Woman) That doesn’t sound like it’ll take too long.

(Man)   I hope you don’t need the transcript too soon.

(Woman) I need it within a week.

(Man)   Well, you may get lucky…but don’t count on it.

(Woman) I really need it within a week, or else I won’t be able to turn the application in on time, and that means I won’t get a scholarship.

(Man)   Well, if I were you, I’d get over to the registrar’s office immediately. And it wouldn’t hurt to explain that you need the transcript right away. But I wouldn’t count on it. I don’t think transcripts are processed that quickly.

(Woman) I’ll get over there right now and see what happens.

PASSAGE 3

(Man 1) The next animal we need to discuss is the opossum. The opossum is another kind of marsupial.

(Woman) A marsupial? Oh no, I think we’re supposed to know what that is.

(Man 2) We are. A marsupial’s an animal that carries its young in a pouch.

(Woman) A marsupial? Oh, no, I think we’re supposed to know what that is.

(Man 2) We are. A marsupial’s an animal that carries its young in a pouch.

(Woman) Oh, that’s right. It’s like a kangaroo.

(Man 2) Exactly.

(Woman) And young opossums stay in their mother’s pouch for what, a few days?

(Man)  No, not exactly. It’s about two months. Then, when the babies are about two months old, they come out of their mother’s pouch, but they don’t go very far. For the next few months, they go everywhere with their mother.

(Man 2) They just ride along on their mother’s back.

(Woman) So young opossums spend the first two months in their mother’s pouch and the next two months hanging on her back?

(Man 1) You’ve got it. Now, aren’t opossums animals that play dead?

(Man 2) Oh, I don’t think it’s opossums that play dead…Oh, wait a minute…Maybe it is. We do talk about playing possum if we’re talking about pretending that we’re asleep or dead.

(Man 2) Exactly.

(Woman) So when an opossum’s frightened by an attacker, it doesn’t run away?

(Man 2) No, it doesn’t. It just rolls over on its back, kind of curls up, and pretends it’s dead.

(Woman) I guess it’s just hoping the attacker will think it’s dead and will go away and leave it alone.

PASSAGE 4

(Professor) Today we’ll be discussing the planet Venus, which is the second planet in our solar system. I’m sure you all know which planet is the third planet in our solar system. Yes, Beth?

(Beth)     Is Earth the third planet?

(Professor) You don’t sound too sure of your answer, Beth…but, yes, that’s true. Venus is the second planet in our solar system, and Earth is the third. Venus is almost the same size as our Earth, which is the fifth largest planet in, ah, the solar system. The planet Venus is easily visible in the sky from Earth, although not always as a complete sphere. It goes through some phrases, just like the Moon. Sometimes it’s fully visible, like a full moon, sometimes it’s half visible, and sometimes it’s only a small crescent. When do you think Venus is the brightest, when it’s fully visible or when it’s a crescent? Mark?

(Mark)    Well, it makes sense that it would be the brightest when it’s fully visible.

(Professor) Well, things aren’t always as they seem. Try again.

(Mark)    You mean, Venus is actually brighter when it’s only a small crescent than when it’s fully visible?

(Professor) That’s exactly what I mean…. Now, does anyone know if Venus is a hot or cold planet?…What would you expect since Venus is closer to the Sun than our planet is?

(Beth)     Since it’s so close to the Sun, I think it would be very hot.

(Professor) And it is. The temperature there can reach almost to 500 degrees centigrade. What is this in Fahrenheit?…
            Anyone?…Come on, we’ve talked about this before.

(Mark)     I think that’s around 900 degrees Fahrenheit.

(Professor)  Yes, it is. Now, we’ve said that the temperature on Venus is quite hot, and the temperature there is hot because Venus is so close to the Sun. But that’s not the only reason that Venus is so hot. It’s also hot for another reason. Does anyone know? Could it be the atmosphere? What is its atmosphere made of? Beth?

(Beth)     Its atmosphere’s almost entirely carbon dioxide.

(Professor) Yes, that’s right, Beth, and this type of atmosphere holds in the heat from the Sun extremely well….Now, let’s talk about the clouds that cover Venus. As you know, Venus is visible to us on Earth, but it’s not actually the planet that we see; it’s the clouds. The surface of Venus can’t be seen, even with a telescope, because of the clouds that surround the planet. What can you tell me about the clouds that cover Venus?

(Mark)    Uh…the clouds around Venus?

(Professor) Yes, I’m asking about the clouds around Venus. I want to know about the clouds around Venus.

(Mark)    Do you want to know what they’re made of? They’re made of carbon dioxide. No…wait a minute. The atmosphere’s made of carbon dioxide…. The clouds are made of sulfuric acid.

(Professor) That’s right. The clouds on Venus are actually made of sulfuric acid. These clouds help to contribute to the brightness of Venus in our sky. When Venus appears to shine so brightly, it’s because the light of the Sun is reflecting off Venus’s clouds of sulfuric acid.