新托福听写训练 第29期

Listen to a conversation between two students.

M:I really like my sociology¹ class. It's a seminar² on methods in sociology.

W:That doesn't sound some terribly exciting.

M:I thought so too at first. But after we being reading different research studies, we found out about the conclusions, their finding³ and we also discuss the details of how they did the study. Some of reading has been fascinating⁴.

W:For example?

M:Well, we just read the study that was done in an elementary school. A school where a lot of students were failing. When the researchers went into the school, they thought they would find out how teachers low expectations contributed⁵ to students doing so poor in the school.

W:I think I've heard of that. Then when students don't perform well in the school, it's called self-fulfilling something.

M:Right, self-fulfilling prophecy⁶. But in this school, there was one first grade teacher. They called her Ms.A who had very positive affect on students. The researchers talk to the students after they become adults and examine the students' school records. Students who had been in Ms.A's class were much more like to do well in the school and they were more likely to be successful as adults than students who had been in the other first grade classes in that school.

W:What was the teacher's secret? Did researchers ever find out?

M:She just didn't give up on anyone no matter how long it took to reach them. She also communicated to the students how important education is. The adults in the study all mentioned this when they were interviewed some 20 years later.

1 sociology   

n.社会学，社会关系学，群落生态学

参考例句：

• He is studying sociology.他正研究社会学。
• A pioneer of legal sociology in Germany was Max Weber.德国法律社会学的先驱是马克斯·韦伯。

2 seminar   

n.研究小组，研讨会，(大学的)研究班

参考例句：

• The seminar aims to provide an overview on new media publishing.研讨会旨在综览新兴的媒体出版。
• The seminar was to discuss diversification of agriculture.该研讨会讨论的是农业多种经营。

3 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

4 fascinating   

adj.迷人的，吸引人的，使人神魂颠倒的

参考例句：

• Your ideas are fascinating to me.你的这些主意对我来说是有吸引力的。
• The very style of the book is fascinating.这本书的风格本身就会引人入胜。

5 contributed   

捐献( contribute的过去式和过去分词 )； 捐助； 撰稿； 投稿

参考例句：

• Before closing I want to mention all those who contributed so generously. 在我结束讲话的时候，我想提一下所有慷慨捐赠的人。
• His research has contributed enormously to our understanding of this disease. 他的研究对我们认识这一疾病贡献很大。

6 prophecy   

n.预言，预言能力

参考例句：

• His prophecy has now come true.他的预言果然应验了。
• Apollo was the Greek god of the arts,prophecy,medicine and light.阿波罗是希腊神话中主管艺术、预言、医药和光明之神。