English for Academic Purposes:

Academic ListeningPart 1 - English for Academic Purposes:
　　IntroductionThis programme was first broadcast in 2001.
　　This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript 1 of the programme.
　　ANNOUNCER:
　　It’s time for Academic Listening - a series for students at English-speaking universities.
　　Imagine: today is the first day of your uni life … How do you feel? Excited and confident? Or maybe a little anxious? How do you think you’ll cope? And how can you make the learningexperience easier? For an insight, join Susan Fearn and members of the World Service class of 2001.
　　Susan: Well, if you think you might have problems, don’t worry. You’re not alone.
　　CLIP: StudentsAngelica: Entering into the English speaking educational system for me was quite a change -the main problem was understanding lectures - academic English is quite high level of speakingtherefore the first was to become familiar with the listening understanding.
　　Constant: I think the pronunciation of English people is not the same as I learned at school - Icome from Ivory Coast, it's in West Africa - the teacher in my country had a French accent -the teacher of English - and it's not the same accent here, so I think the pronunciation, theaccent is quite different .
　　Emma: You know how to express yourself in your own language - you know what you wantto say but it's difficult to put it in the exact words.
　　Susan: In this series we’ll enter the world of further education and focus particularly onsome of the linguistic 2 problems experienced by students like you. And we’ll tryto identify strategies for coping with study in another language. Students andteachers will share their tips on effective learning, and give advice on some of the pitfalls 3 to avoid. There’ll be a mix of theory, practice and personal experience.
　　In this first programme, we focus on a special kind of English course, designedto prepare students for their studies. It’s called EAP.
　　CLIP: Christine ReevesEAP is actually studying English for Academic Purposes.
　　Susan: Christine Reeves teaches at Bell Norwich, a language school in the East of England.
　　CLIP: Christine ReevesThat means studying English - the kind of English that you're likely to need to cope with life and studying at a British University or any other English speaking university - it could be theUnited States it could be Australia - and it prepares them and gives them necessary skillswhich enable them to manage their studies.
　　Susan: English for Academic purposes is a particular kind of English – used by aparticular group of people. If you speak Academic English, you’ll know aspecial vocabulary associated with your subject, and you’ll be used to writing orspeaking in a particular way. You’ll know how to structure an essay or areport, for example; and you’ll be familiar with the language used in lectures,seminars and tutorials.
　　If you study EAP, you’ll practise special language skills for studying at a highlevel, and you’ll gain a number of useful strategies to make your learning more effective. Christine Reeves again.
　　CLIP: Christine ReevesMost EAP courses would cover various components 5 （组件）- for example here at Bell thecomponents we would always cover would be study skills, the students would also do quite aheavy component 4 of writing, there would be a lecture, a weekly lecture, and there wouldnormally be a component of social English to help them manage at the bank, for example, thatsort of thing.
　　Susan: An EAP course introduces you to the special language associated with theacademic world – common words, expressions, particular structures. Itprovides a range of advanced study skills.
　　A good EAP course will give you training in general English as well. Duringyour university course, you’ll lead a double life. On duty: as a student -grappling with academic ideas in academic English… and off-duty, in everyday situations, using less formal English. It’s not unusual to have problems in bothareas.
　　CLIP: StudentsConstanza: I would like to be more fluent with my speaking because I've got ideas in my mindbut I don't have enough language to transmit my ideas - that's my problem.
　　Jose Arturo: In the case of English language, there are many different accents, and when youlearn the English in your country, you only learn the English prepared for learning English -that is a more careful accent, that is not very fast. And when you come here - honestly,sometimes I can't understand anything. Some people speak fast, some people speak with notcare of stressing the words that they say, so sometimes it's very difficult to follow them.
　　CLIP: Christine ReevesInitially the problems they face are probably of an academic nature, for example they go tolectures and they find that they can’t understand, or they can’t take notes very quickly. They have quite a lot of reading to do and don't know how to cope with it. On top of that it could betheir first experience of living in another country, so they're unfamiliar 6 with some of thesystems that we have here, like registering with a doctor, and then just basically making friends- they could feel incredibly lonely and isolated 7. These are the problems they’ll face whenstarting university.
　　Susan: Simon Williams teaches EAP in the Language Centre at University College,London. He believes that difficulties experienced by language learners inlectures and other academic situations occur chiefly because they just don’thave enough mental energy.
　　Talk aCLIP: Simon WilliamsThe sort of problems that non-native speakers might have are summed up in one word, andthat's “overload”. The listener is paying so much attention to decoding 8 words that theyrecognise and phrases that they recognise – it's almost like trying to do a word-by-wordtranslation. You can’t translate in that way. You have to get a global picture, as well aslooking at individual items. The student pays so much attention to the language that they missout on the content. They’re looking at the vehicle, rather than what the vehicle contains.
　　Susan: As well as coping with new vocabulary and lecturers who speak quickly andwith unfamiliar accents, you may find it very difficult to listen out for the mainpoints of a lecture and take notes at the same time. So what can you do?
　　CLIP: Simon WilliamsGet hold of some texts, perhaps over the internet, or through a library, or through journals ormagazines that might be available in newsagents, or through friends, and then study recurringspecialist words in those texts; but also look at the kind of structures the kinds of organisationused, because different subjects typically use different organisation 9 or genres 10 to put thingstogether.
　　Susan: Preparation is the key. Be prepared! According to Simon Williams, studentscan make their academic life much easier by getting to know specia list vocabulary in advance. And Simon Williams advises students to obtain anEnglish-English dictionary, and maybe a subject dictionary（字典） - of Medicine, ofLaw, of Linguistics 11. Listening to the radio, watching TV - these are all methodsof improving both general and specialist English – as members of our WorldService class will tell you.
　　CLIP: StudentsConstant: I'm a computer engineer and so I always use internet and most of the websites arein English so I think internet is a very good way to improve your English. I think especially thereading - reading and vocabulary.
　　Constanza: I usually watch TV programmes in English so it helped me with listening andsometimes when I watch TV I prefer to use subtitles 12 in English too - so you can practisetogether listening and reading.
　　Jose Arturo: Try to read books related with your subject. Even material you already know inyour language because some people can say 'oh that book, I know it, I've already read it inSpanish three times'. You have to read it in English to see if you notice substantial differences.
　　Susan: During this series we’ll focus on some of the strategies you can use to improveyour listening ability and your performance in other academic situations. We’vesaid already that preparation（准备） is important. Simple things like looking upspecialist vocabulary, reading the course outline, looking at the title of a lecture,for example, they can all help you predict its language and content. Here’s anexample of this from some research carried out by R. Anderson and colleagues.
　　It illustrates 13 that “prior information about a text” can help you to makepredictions about its content and influence your interpretation 14. Here, “priorinformation” comes in the form of the title.
　　CLIP: Actor's voiceA Prisoner Plans His EscapeRocky slowly got up from the mat, planning his escape. He hesitated a moment and thought.
　　Things were not going well. What bothered him most was being held, especially since the charge against him had been weak. He considered his present situation. The lock that heldhim was strong, but he thought he could break it.
　　Susan: Now here’s that story again – same words – and same actor! - only the title haschanged. Notice how this new “prior information” changes your interpretationof individual words and overall content.
　　CLIP: Actor's voiceA Wrestler 15 in a Tight CornerRocky slowly got up from the mat, planning his escape. He hesitated a moment and thought.
　　Things were not going well. What bothered him most was being held, especially since thecharge against him had been weak. He considered his present situation. The lock that heldhim was strong, but he thought he could break it.
　　ANNOUNCER:
　　That was your introduction to English for Academic Purposes presented by Susan Fearn. Atthe beginning of the programme, Susan invited you to reflect on some of the problems thatEAP students experience - and asked you to think about how they might cope. I wonder howaccurate your predictions were. Next time you listen to some English - whether it’s a radioprogramme or a university lecture - listen out for clues about what’s coming next… and see ifit helps.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）




点击收听单词发音  






1
transcript

  
 


n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书


参考例句：





A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。












2
linguistic

  
 


adj.语言的，语言学的


参考例句：





She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。












3
pitfalls

  
 


（捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误


参考例句：





the potential pitfalls of buying a house 购买房屋可能遇到的圈套
Several pitfalls remain in the way of an agreement. 在达成协议的进程中还有几个隐藏的困难。












4
component

  
 


n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的


参考例句：





Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。












5
components

  
 


（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分


参考例句：





the components of a machine 机器部件
Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。












6
unfamiliar

  
 


adj.陌生的，不熟悉的


参考例句：





I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。












7
isolated

  
 


adj.与世隔绝的


参考例句：





His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。












8
decoding

  
 


n.译码，解码v.译（码），解（码）( decode的现在分词 )；分析及译解电子信号


参考例句：





We cannot add any other memory to this system without further decoding. 如果不增加译码，就不能使系统的存贮容量有任何扩展。 来自辞典例句
Examples using the 8250 will be presented in hardware section to clarify full-decoding schemes. 在硬件一节中有应用说明全译码方案8250的例子。 来自辞典例句












9
organisation

  
 


n.组织，安排，团体，有机休


参考例句：





The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。












10
genres

  
 


（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )


参考例句：





Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译












11
linguistics

  
 


n.语言学


参考例句：





She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。












12
subtitles

  
 


n.说明字幕，印在外国影片上的对白翻译字幕，译文对白字幕；小标题，副标题( subtitle的名词复数 )；（电影的）字幕


参考例句：





subtitles for the deaf and the hard of hearing 为耳聋和听力不佳者打出的字幕
a Polish film with English subtitles 附有英语字幕的波兰影片












13
illustrates

  
 


给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明


参考例句：





This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分












14
interpretation

  
 


n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理


参考例句：





His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。












15
wrestler

  
 


n.摔角选手，扭


参考例句：





The wrestler tripped up his opponent.那个摔跤运动员把对手绊倒在地。
The stronger wrestler won the first throw.较壮的那个摔跤手第一跤就赢了。