VOA慢速英语20061130a

EDUCATION REPORT - Higher Education in US: Many Schools Accept the IELTSBy Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, November 30, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

A few weeks ago, we talked about the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL. A listener in Cambodia named Thida asks if American colleges and universities also accept the IELTS exam. IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. It was developed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations¹.


Cambridge University

Cambridge ESOL says the test measures true-to-life ability to communicate in English for education, immigration or employment². The IELTS tests listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. It uses a mixture of accents and spellings, including British English and American English.

The test is used by government agencies³, schools and professional organizations in one hundred twenty countries. And, yes, that includes the United States. The many American schools that accept the IELTS can be found on the Web at ielts.org.

Some schools accept both the TOEFL and the IELTS. But the graduate school at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, for example, says it prefers the IELTS.

The listening and speaking parts are the same for everyone who takes the IELTS. But people have a choice of reading and writing tests -- either academic or general training.

The listening test takes thirty minutes. There are forty questions based on a recording⁴.

The reading test takes sixty minutes. Students answer forty questions based on three written passages.

The writing test also takes sixty minutes. Students have to write two essays. One essay has to be at least one hundred fifty words long and the other at least two hundred fifty words. The shorter one is a description of something; the longer one has to support an argument.

The speaking test takes less than fifteen minutes. The score is based on a recorded talk between the student and a test examiner.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. A link to the IELTS Web site can be found at www.unsv.com. You can also find MP3 files and transcripts⁵ from our Foreign Student Series. Next week our subject will be the GMAT, a test for getting into graduate programs in business and management.

If you have a general question for our series, write to [email protected]. I'm Barbara Klein.

1 examinations   

n.检查( examination的名词复数 )；考试；考查；试题

参考例句：

• He had been forced to incriminate himself in cross-examinations. 他在盘问中被迫受到牵连。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Examinations are hanging over her head—that's why she can't sleep at nights. 她大脑里想的都是考试，所以晚上无法入睡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 employment   

n.雇用；使用；工作，职业

参考例句：

• A large office requires the employment of many people.一个大办事处需要雇用好多人员。
• The state of employment in this city is improving.这个城市就业状况正在改善。

3 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

5 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句