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[TOEFL] Task 6_Practice 1_1

LECTURE READING

I will read aloud the lecture below. Please listen and take notes.

READ

Have you ever wondered why our voices change as we grow older? Over the years, a human body undergoes a lot of changes. One of them is the depth of voice. There are two reasons as to why human voice changes over time: the age of vocal cords and the size of larynx. Larynx or the voice box is a part of the respiratory system that is used to breathe, talk, and swallow. It is a system of different muscles that supports and moves the vocal cords inside it.
The age of a human’s vocal cords causes big changes. As a person ages, the vocal cords ages too. People experience the first major shift on their voices when starting to become an adult. That’s the time when our voices start to deepen. That is a sign that the vocal cords are aging. Most people’s voices stay almost the same for about 50 years after the start of becoming an adult. However, as people grow older, they experience signs relating to aging voice called presbyphonia.
Next is the size of the larynx. The voice is produced through the sound waves of the vocal cords. The bigger the vocal cords, the deeper the voice is. Men have bigger larynges than women. This is the reason why men’s voices are bigger and deeper than that of women’s. When larynges and vocal cords grow, they create bigger sound waves which makes their voices bigger and deeper as they age.

READING PRACTICE

Now, please read aloud the lecture above.

COMPREHENSION CHECK 1

Please answer the questions using the information and examples from the lecture.
What is the professor talking about in the lecture?

ANSWER 1

The professor is talking about

CHECK YOUR ANSWER 1

We will check the sample answer. Please repeat after me.

SAMPLE ANSWER 1

What is the professor talking about in the lecture?
The professor is talking about the reasons why the human voice changes as people grow old.

COMPREHENSION CHECK 2

What is the main idea of the lecture?

ANSWER 2

According to the professor,

CHECK YOUR ANSWER 2

We will check the sample answer. Please repeat after me.

SAMPLE ANSWER 2

What is the main idea of the lecture?
According to the passage, a human body undergoes a lot of changes as people grow old and one of those changes is the depth of voice.

COMPREHENSION CHECK 3

What are the two supporting ideas introduced in the lecture?

ANSWER 3

The professor presents

CHECK YOUR ANSWER 3

We will check the sample answer. Please repeat after me.

SAMPLE ANSWER 3

What are the two supporting ideas introduced in the lecture?
The professor presents the two reasons as to why human voices change over time: the age of the vocal cords and the size of larynx.

COMPREHENSION CHECK 4

Please explain the first supporting idea using the example given.

ANSWER 4

First, the professor

CHECK YOUR ANSWER 4

We will check the sample answer. Please repeat after me.

SAMPLE ANSWER 4

Please explain the first supporting idea using the example given.
First, the professor uses the start of becoming an adult as an example. He says that the start of becoming an adult is the time when people experience the first major shift on their voices. And that it is a sign that the vocal cords are aging.

COMPREHENSION CHECK 5

Please explain the second supporting idea using the example given.

ANSWER 5

Second, the professor

CHECK YOUR ANSWER 5

We will check the sample answer. Please repeat after me.

SAMPLE ANSWER 5

Please explain the second supporting idea using the example given.
Second, the professor differentiates the size of men and women’s larynges as an example. He explains that the larger size of men’s larynges is the reason why their voices are deeper than that of women’s.

COMPREHENSION CHECK 6

Please explain what you learned through this lecture.

ANSWER 6

Through this short lecture, I learned

CHECK YOUR ANSWER 6

We will check the sample answer. Please repeat after me.

SAMPLE ANSWER 6

Please explain what you learned through this lecture.
Through this short lecture, I learned that there are two reasons as to why our voices change as we grow older. The age of our vocal cords deepens our voices and it starts before becoming an adult. I also learned that the depth of the voice depends on the size of the larynx. This is the reason why men have deeper voices than women.

Eiken Pre 1_7

DIRECTIONS

Please look at the comics below and narrate the story.
This is a story about a man who left his phone at home.
You have 1 minute to prepare.

PREPARATION

(1 minute to prepare)

DIRECTIONS

You have 2 minutes to narrate the story.
Describe each picture in 3 sentences.
Your story should begin with the sentence below:
One day, a man was on his way to work.

ANSWER

eiken-pre-1-1-7---benette-highres

QUESTION 1

Please look at the fourth picture.
If you were the boss, what would you be thinking?

ANSWER

QUESTION 2

Now, I will ask you another question. Please give 2 reasons to support your answer.
Do you think employees should not be allowed to use their phones during working hours?

ANSWER

QUESTION 3

Now, I will ask you another question. Please give 2 reasons to support your answer.
Do you think businessmen should focus on quantity over quality?

ANSWER

QUESTION 4

Now, I will ask you another question. Please give 2 reasons to support your answer.
Do you think schools should have beauty contests?

ANSWER

Intermediate Business: Dealing with Deadlines

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

Let’s practice some expressions. Please read them aloud.
READ

Use the following expressions for setting deadlines:

  1. Our team report for today covers the status of our recent project.
  2. For today, we are going to talk about the status of our recent project.

To inform the team about project updates:

  1. You have five days to complete this project.
  2. We have until the end of this month to accomplish the project.
  3. We have three more weeks to complete the project.

In case the project would be accomplished after the set deadline, we could use the following expressions:

  1. Due to some reasons, I am afraid I could not make it to the deadline.
  2. I apologize, but we can’t complete this work by the date that you have requested.
READING ALOUD

Let’s read the dialogue. I will be Mr. Evans and you will be Mr. Davies. After reading it once, we’ll switch roles.
READ

 

Mr. Davies calls for a team meeting lead by Mr. Evans to hear the latest updates about their ongoing project.


Good afternoon, Mr. Evans. I apologize for taking a few minutes of your time today. I would like to talk to you regarding the project that I assigned you last week. How is it?
 
 
No worries, Mr. Davies. As of now, I have done 70% of the project. However, I find it hard to accomplish the project at a faster pace because I need to acquire some information from other managers to finish some parts.
 

 
Is that so? I guess I was not able to foresee that problem. It turns out that the extent of the project is bigger than I anticipated. I think we could make some adjustments regarding the deadline for the project. How much time would you need within two weeks to accomplish the project?
 
 
The original deadline is on Monday. I guess I would need additional three days to fully accomplish the project. It will be done by Friday next week. Would that be fine, Mr. Davies?
 

 
Absolutely, Mr. Evans. I agree with the three-day extension of the project’s deadline. I am expecting to see the accomplished report on the project on Friday morning. I know you won’t let me down.
 
 
Thank you. Noted on that, Mr. Davies. You have my word.
 
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Please answer the questions based on the dialogue.
ANSWER

1. Why does Mr. Evans find it hard to accomplish the project?
Answer: ________________
2. What adjustment did they make regarding the deadline for the project?
Answer: ________________
GUESS THE MEANING

Choose the correct meaning of the underlined word in each sentence.

ANSWER
  1. b. to succeed in doing or finishing something
  2. a. to expect or to prepare for something before it happens
  3. c. to expect a future situation or event

ANSWER

  1. The manager was able to accomplish the given task before the deadline.
    1. to make a progress report
    2. to succeed in doing or finishing something
    3. to receive feedback
  2. The company was able to anticipate the decrease in their production this week.
    1. to expect or to prepare for something before it happens
    2. to give new information
    3. to change something to make it better
  3. The manager was not able to foresee the problems before they affected the team’s performance.
    1. to introduce major changes
    2. to stop expectations on something
    3. to expect a future situation or event
CONVERSATION PRACTICE

Let’s talk. Please answer my questions.
ANSWER

1. Have you ever missed a deadline at work or at school? What did you do to make up for it?
Answer: ________________
2. Do you think not meeting the deadline is fine as long as the task is accomplished? Why? Why not?
Answer: ________________
3. Why do you think it’s important to set a deadline?
Answer: ________________
SITUATION QUESTIONS

Please tell me what you will do given the following situations.
ANSWER

1. While working on a project, you noticed that the deadline of the project given by your manager is tomorrow. However, you are having a tough time and you still need an extension of two days to accomplish the most important part of the project. How would you tell your manager about it?
Answer: ________________
2. You gave a task to one of the employees you are currently training at work. The task should be finished by the end of the month. How would you tell the employee about the task’s deadline?
Answer: ________________
3. You have to complete a project, and the deadline of that project is on the day you have scheduled you short vacation. What would you do?
Answer: ________________