托福听力听写练习 TOEFL LISTENING conversation

Original listening material is from toefl test.
Red marked places are mistakes I made when recording.

Listen to part of a conversation between a student and a university employee.

Oh, hello… can I help you?

Um… yeah… I’m looking for Professor Kirk. Is he here? I mean, is this her office?

Yes, you are in the right place - Professor Kirk’s office is right behind me - but no, she is not here right now.

Uh, do you know when she’ll be back?

Well, she is teaching all morning. She won’t be back until… let me check, she won’t be back until… after launch. That’s when she has her office hours. Perhaps you can come back then?

Oh, unfortunately no. I have class this afternoon, and I was really hoping to talk to her today.

Hey, do you know if … she is still accepting any more students into her introduction to biology class?

You want to know if you can take the class.

Yes, if she is letting any more students sign up, I’d like, I’d like to join the class.

Introduction to biology is a very popular class, especially when she teaches it. A lot of students take it.

Yeah, that’s why the registrar said it was full. I’ve got the form the registrar gave me, um… with me to get her permission to take the class. It’s all filled out except for her signature. I’m hoping she’ll let me in even though the class is full. You see, I’m senior this year and this’ll be my last semester, so it’s my last chance.

Oh, wow, really? I mean, most of the students fulfill the science requirement the first year.

Well, I mean, um… to be honest, I kept putting it off. I’m not really a big fan of science classes in general, and with the labs and everything. I’ve not quite found the time.

Your advisor didn’t see anything?

Well, to tell you the truth, she’s been after me to take a class for a while, but I’m double majoring in art and journalism and so my schedule’s been really tight with all the classes I gotta’ take, so somehow I never…

Well, perhaps you could leave the form with me and I’ll see if she’ll sign it for you?

You know, I appreciate that, but maybe I should explain the problem to her in person? I didn’t want to do it, but… I guess I have to send her an e-mail.

Hmm, you know, not all professors check their emails regularly. I’m not sure whether professor Kirk does it or not? Here is an idea, why don’t you stick a note explaining your situation under her door and ask her to call you if she needs more information?

Hey, that’s a good idea; and then I can leave the form with you- if you still don’t mind…

托福听力听写练习 TOEFL listening anthropology

The Original listening material is from ETS online.
Red marked places are the mistakes I made when recording.

Anthropology

Listen to part of a lecture in an anthropology class.

Okay, I want to start today by talking about calendars. I know, some of you are thinking it’s not all that fascinating, right? But listen; the next time you look at a calendar, I want you to keep something in mind. There are at least tree natural ways to measure the… the passage of time- by day, by month and by year. And these are all pretty easy to see, right? I mean, a day is based on one rotation of earth. A month is how long the moon takes to move around the earth. And a year is the time it takes for Earth to move around the Sun, right? So they are all based on natural events, but the natural clocks of Earth, the Sun, the Moon run on different times, and you can’t divide any one of these time periods by another one without having some messy fraction left over. I mean, one lunar month- that’s the time it takes for Moon to move around the Earth- one month is about 29.5 twenty-nine and a half days, not really a nice round number. And one year is little more than 365 days. So these are obviously numbers don’t divide into each other quite neatly. And this makes it pretty difficult to create some sort of tidy calendar that really works.

Not those different cultures haven’t tried. Have any of you ever been to Stonehenge. No… you know that amazing circle of giant stones in England? Well, if you ever go, and find yourself wondering why this culture way back in prehistory England would go to so much work to construct this monumental ring of enormous stones, …well, keep in mind that a lot of us think it was designed, at least partially as calendar- to mark when the seasons of the year begin, according to the exact day when the sun comes up from a particular direction. I have colleagues who insist it’s a temper, maybe, a tome … but they can’t deny it was also used as a calendar… probably to help figure out, for example, when farmers should begin their planting each year.

The Mayans, in Central America, also invented a calendar, but for a different purpose. The Mayans, especially the royalty and priests, wanted to look at long cycles of history - so the calendar the used had to be able to count far into the future as well as far into the past. And not only were the Mayans keeping track of the natural timekeepers we mentioned before - earth, the sun, and the moon - but another natural timekeeper: the planet Venus.

Venus rises in the sky as the morning star every 584 days, and the Venus cycle was incorporated in the Mayan calendar. So the Mayan kept track of long periods of time, and they did it accurately, in fact, that their calendar is considered about as complicated and sophisticated as any in the world.

Now, the ancient Chinese believed very strongly in astrology- the idea that you can predict the future events based on the positions of the stars and the planets like, say Jupiter. Incidentally, the whole Chinese system of astrology was based on the fact that the planet Jupiter goes around the Sun once every twelve years, so one orbit of Jupiter lasts for 12 of our earth years. Apparently that’s why the Chinese calendar has a cycle of 12 years, you know, like “the year of dragon”, “the year of tiger” and so on… all parts of the twelve year astrological cycle that we get from the orbit of Jupiter.

Calendars based on the orbits of other planets, though, are a lot less common than those based on the cycle of the Moon, the lunar month. I could mention any number of important cultures around the world that have depended on lunar calendars, but there really isn’t time. So, let’s go right to the calendar that’s now used throughout most of the world- a solar calendar- based on the number of days in a year. This calendar is mainly derived from the one of the ancient Romans derived a couple thousand years ago. I mean, the Romans- with more than a little help from the Greeks - realized that a year actually lasts about 365 and a quarter days. And so they decide to round off most years to 365 days but make every fourth year into a leap year. I mean, somehow, you have to account for that extra one fourth of a day each year, so every four years, they made the calendar one day longer. By adding the leap year, the Romans were able to make a calendar that worked so well – that, with a few minor adjustments, this calendar is still widely used today.

lynnwood road test lynnwood路考

    这次路考终于考过了，很开心。LYNNWOOD的路考基本上就是在DRIVE LICENSE OFFICE 旁边的小区里完成，PARALLER PARKING 是在外面的停车坪里考的，就是树立了几个桩子，留出一个停车位的那种。上周末去那附近转了下，在坪里练习了平行停车，很有帮助。
      考官上的话，如果可以选择的，男考官比女考官要宽容些；NATIVE SPEAKER比其他国家的移民考官要容易过些，因为英语没口音。我上次的考官是个50多岁的女考官，不知道是哪个国家的移民，有点像亚裔，但肯定不是华裔，英语口音很重，却又不是我熟悉的那种口音的，我有两次没有听懂指令。她很不友善，在考车过程中，我有操作不当的地方，她就在那一个劲的叹气，或者是口里嘀嘀咕咕的，搞得本来就很紧张的我更加紧张了。这次这个考官是个男考官，他就很好，只在一边发指令，然后观看记录，不会让人紧张，更不会让人反感。从评分上来看，上次那个女考官更是把所有的大分都扣掉了，左转说我转大了，扣去了6分，右转说我没看，扣6分，平行停车我停进去了，没有碰到CURB，没有撞到杆子，只是离后面的距离有点近，倒进去之后没有调整距离，也是4分全扣了。今天这个考官的评分就要客观公正的多。BACK AROUND CORNER我转的有点大，距离大了，他就扣2分，并没有全扣掉。考完之后，考官把该注意的几点都跟我解释了，这对以后开车也有帮助的。一个是开的有点慢，扣2分，另一个是整体表现，扣2分，机械操作扣2分，是因为我有两次刹车的操作不是很缓慢平稳。

托福听力 听写练习 conversation TOEFL LISTENING

The original listening material is from TOEFL IBT online.
Red marked places are the places I made mistakes when I typed it while listening.

Listen to part of a conversation between a student and a professor.

Sandy, how is class been going for you this semester?

Oh, it’s great. I really like your business psychology class, but I have one major concern about the last assignment, you know- the one where we have to interview a local business owner, uh, I mean, entrepreneur?

Are you having trouble coming up with interview questions?

Well, just it is. I mean, I worked on my high school newspaper for years, so I actually have great questions to ask. The thing is… I’m new to the area and I don’t know people off campus. So I was wondering if… well, could you possibly give me the name of someone I could interview?

You don’t know anyone who owns a business?

Well, yeah, back home. My next-door neighbors- they own a shoes store, and they are really successful-but they are not local.

Well, it wouldn’t be fair to the other student if I gave you the name of a contact- but I could help you figure out one way to find someone on your own. Let’s see…Do you read the local newspaper?

Sure, whenever I have the time.

Well, the business section in the newspaper often has stories about local business people, who have been very successful. If you find an article, you could call the person who was profiled.

You mean, just call them up…out of blue, asking them if they’ll talk to me?

Sure, why not?

Well, aren’t people like that awfully busy? Too busy to talk to a random college student?

Many people enjoy telling the story of how they got started. Remember, this is a business psychology class, and for this assignment, I want you to get some real insight about business owners, their personality, what drives them to be become an entrepreneur?

Like how they think?

And what motivates them, why did they start their business? I’m sure they’d talk to you, especially if you tell them you might start a business someday.

I’m not sure I’d have the guts to do that. Opening a business seems so risky, so scary.

Well, you can ask them if they feel that way too.

Now you just need to find someone to interview to see if your instincts are correct. 

托福听力听写练习 professor and a student

The original listening material is from ETS online.
Red marked places are the mistaken I made while typing it.

Professor and a student.

Hi, professor Haskel. Can I talk to you for a second?

Of course, nancy, come on in. Do you have a question about the lecture?

No. Actually, I was hoping to ask your advice.

Sure. What about?

Well, I’m applying for a grant from the geographic institute. And i wanna get the wording for my

application just right, especially the grant proposal part. Have you , have you ever applied for a grant?

More times than I can count. Let’s see what you’ve got so far.

Um, ok, this is a draft of my application and here is the description of the grant.  They have money available for students to study the traffic patterns in the city.

Okay, I see urban geography.

Right, I’m interested in foot traffic, actually, you know, how people walk to work in the city, here in Boston. I got statistics.

So People who already live here.

Or people who take a train in, and then walk to work from the station. Since the city raise the bus feras, I mean, they want a bu lot. I want to see whether that costs a lot people to walk before they have to take the bus. Anyway.

Ok, let’s see. Uh, well, you already have everything you need, but you may want to start with the proposal research itself. What your area of study is, what you will do with the money, why you deserve it, rather than starting out by outlining your education. Of course, they still wanna know about that, but you want them to know right away why you apply for the grant.

Oh, I didn’t realize that.

Yes. I’ve been on the committees that review grant applications. The applications that jump right into the subject matter are much easier to follow. Otherwise, the committee has to read through and figure out why you need the money and…

So, I should start off with my proposal research to get their attention.

Exactly. Grab their attention. Tell them right away, you want to study foot traffic in the city. Also mention what research you’ve already done, what your statistics have shown, what research you still need to do.

So when do I tell them about my background?

Well, after you explain why you need your grant money, then you describe your background to show how it’s prepared you for this research.

That should be easy. Just about every class I’ve taken as prepared me for this.

Okay, good. But remember the committee will be reading dozens of applications. The clearer it is, the better.

When is the due?

By the end of the month. So I have some time.

Ok, tell you what. Once you rewrite it, most some parts around? And then, I’ll take a look at it again before you submit it.

So, basically just reorganize it.

Right.

I’m glad I came to see you before I turn this in. I guess that I have to do some more work on it.

Well, it’s not exactly like something we teach courses in.

Okay, professor, thanks for your help.

You are welcome.

托福听力材料听写 Art aprreciation

用ETS-iBT ONLINE的听力材料做了个听写练习，红色标示部分为自己听写时的错误部分。

The original Listening material is from ETS-iBT online.
I listened it and tried to typ it down.
Red marked places are the places I made mistakes.

Art Appreciation

Listen to part of a lecture in an art appreciation class. The professor has been discussing the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer.

One of the things that attract people to Vermeer’s work is that he is able to so clearly capture a moment in time on canvas. His paintings are often likened to photographs in this way, like his painting called the art of painting which shows a simply scene but with such subtlety of detail that fills the picture with meaning. A word about (And what about) the title though; The painting is sometimes referred to with other titles like ‘the artist in his studio’, and ‘allegory in painting’. But there is a good reason to call it ‘the art of painting’. Vermeer didn’t keep his paintings. He generally used them to pay his debts except for this one. He held on to it after he finished it. So it must have held the importance to him. But after his death in 1675, his wife gave the painting to her mother. And in the legal documents that’s associated with the transfer, it was referred to as a painting in which is depicted ‘the art of painting’, okay? So, let’s take a look. What we see is an artist’s studio? The artist, his back is toward us, so we don’t see his face. Maybe it's supposed to be Vermeer himself. He is painting a portrait of a young woman. She is standing by a window wearing… she is got a laurel wreath on her head. Now, in ancient Greece, crowns made of laurel branches were rewarded to poets who’d achieved a certain honor or distinction, and also to atheletic, victors of athletic contests. They conferred glory and honor on their wears. She is also wear… holding, sorry, she’s holding some kind of horn, enn, kind of trumpet. Now trumpets are used to spreading or announcing the fame of the worldly people. So, a lot of artists of Vermeer’s time used them in their paintings to symbolize fame. And she is holding a book, in her… with her left hand, eee, possibly  the works of the Greek historian Thucydides. The laurel wreath, the book, and the trumpet, suggests that the woman is Clio, the ancient Great Muse of history, the Greek’s goodness of history. You see, using one of the nine sister Muses from Greek’s mythology was a popular device in 17^th century’s paintings, which supports that’s part of why she’s identified as Clio. She is also been identified as the personification of the concept of fame. So, several concepts seem to converge in her, fame, history and glory. On the table there is a mask, which is a symbol for artistic imitation. And, and behind her is a map, a tapestry with a map of Netherland in 17^th century, another object connected with fame. As Vermeer’s home, that’s would be the area where artist’s fame could spread. So, how are we to understand all the symbolism? The standard interpretation is that the artist we see is painting a picture of the Muse—Clio. He is capturing the image of fame and honor. Suggesting that this, the artist’s job is honorable. Maybe the painting is a statement to about the honor of making art that artists hold or should hold as a special place in society, which was an issue that was debated at that time. What a role was the artist in society, whether painters should be recognized as crafts people like carpenters, or as uniquely creative people special, like poets? So, the painting seems to be paying honor to the art of painting, seems that artistic imitation should confer fame and honor upon paintings. Now, that’s the common wisdom, they received opinion about this painting, so to speak. But, look again at the young woman, doesn’t she look rather, I don’t know, relaxed, casual, indifferent to the artist? In Greek mythology, Muses are goddesses who inspire people to achieve greater things. They are ideals. Does she look like embodiment of the ideal, like someone to inspire the artist? Well, some of the observers say that her poses were very Muse-like. In fact, that’s rather odd. She’s holding that trumpet awkwardly, like she is unfamiliar with it. And she is gazing downward at something on the table, like what’s really interest to her. It’s an odd thing to be looked at. So, her face doesn’t convey the sense of goddess, but of a human. So, maybe she is not a Muse at all, which will give the painting entirely different meaning. Maybe what Vermeer’s saying, and this alternative interpretation is fairly new. Maybe its meaning is that the artists whose intent on achieving fame and glory will be focused on the wrong things. He’s got the wrong goals. Maybe Vermeer’s saying that the artists would be going down the wrong path if they’re inspired by the visions of glory and fame, instead of by trying to see and capture what’s real, what’s human, which is what artists are to focus on.

鸟鸣涧 王维

人闲桂花落，
夜静春山空。
月出惊山鸟，
时鸣春涧中。

渔歌子 张志和 唐

西塞山前白鹭飞，
桃花流水鳜鱼肥。
青箬笠，绿蓑衣。
斜风细雨不须归。

找到两个视频，大家可以对比下繁体中文和简体中文，台湾国语和大陆普通话。
很难得，第一个视频中还有吟唱方式和解说。

暮江吟 白居易 唐

一道残阳铺水中，
半江瑟瑟半江红。
可怜九月初三夜，
露似珍珠月似弓。

卜算子 咏梅 毛泽东

风雨送春归，
飞雪迎春到。
已是悬崖百丈冰，
犹有花枝俏。
俏也不争春，
只把春来报。
待到山花烂漫时，
她在丛中笑。

夜宿山寺 李白 唐

危楼高百尺，
手可摘星辰。
不敢高声语，
恐惊天上人。

chinese PINYIN lesson video

I found this chinese lesson video.
It's a video for beginners but it's very useful.
It helps you to know how the chinese PINYIN structured.
I'm looking for somen chinese teaching videos for my kid,
I hope you will like them.
Please share with me if you found any good teaching videos for English and German!
Thanks a lot!

找到一个很有趣的视频-DON NORMAN让人快乐的好设计

I found  an interesting video about emotion and design.
It's very funny speech and a good learning material for listening.
And it was translated into Chinese.
Enjoy!

如何能买到便宜合算的国际机票

谈谈如何买便宜合算的国际机票，算是生活经验总结吧。

1， 如果可以的话，选择机票淡季出行。

    国际机票有旺季与淡季之分，淡季出行，需要定机票的人少， 机票就便宜；相反，旺季订票的人多，机票就贵了。一般而言，暑期和圣诞节是国际机票的旺季，可以选择避开这个时间段出行；而4月，10月等都是机票的淡季，可以考虑这个时间出行。

2， 如果出行时间已定，早订票比晚订票更实惠，货比三家是王道。

    很多时候出行时间是固定的，这样的情况下，一般来说越早确定行程越好，早订票更实惠。订票的流程无非是询价，付款，出票三个环节，要想订到实惠的机票，就要多方询价，确保自己选到当时的最低报价。出票公司有时候比航空公司官网的机票价格便宜，可以多询问几家。我一般先去航空公司官网查价格，心理有个底，然后去票务公司询价，选寻问到的最低价格购买。有些网站把票务公司的联系方式都集中在一起，可以供大家在同一时间多加询价，节省时间，我常用的是这两个网站。
http://www.travelsuperlink.com/cnagent
http://www.iflychina.net/airfare/travelagents
其实问过一两次之后，就大概知道哪几家会比较便宜些，以后买就直接询问那几家就可以了。两外有些本地的票务公司不再这些网站上，价格也可能会比较实惠，有时间可以询问下。

游山西村 陆游 宋

莫笑农家腊酒浑，
丰年留客足鸡豚。
山穷水复疑无路，
柳暗花明又一村。
箫鼓追随春社近，
衣冠简朴古风存。
从今若许闲乘月，
拄杖无时夜扣门。

十一月四日风雨大作 陆游 宋

僵卧孤村不自哀，
尚思为国戍轮台。
夜阑卧听风吹雨，
铁马冰河入梦来。

卜算子 咏梅 陆游 宋

驿外断桥边，寂寞开无主。
已是黄昏独自愁，更著风和雨。
无意苦争春，一任春芳妒。
零落成泥辗作尘，只有香如故。

示儿 陆游 宋

死去元知万事空，
但悲不见九州同。
王师北定中原日，
家祭无忘告乃翁。

钗头凤 陆游 宋

红酥手，黄藤酒， 满城春色宫墙柳。
东风恶，欢情薄，一怀愁绪，几年离索。
错！错！错！
春如旧，人空瘦，泪痕红悒鲛绡透。
桃花落，闲池阁，山盟虽在，锦书难托。
莫    莫    莫！

蝶恋花 庭院深深深几许 欧阳修 宋

庭院深深深几许，
杨柳堆烟，帘幕无重数。
玉勒雕鞍游冶处，
楼高不见章台路。
雨横风狂三月暮，
门掩黄昏，无计留春住。
泪眼问花花不语，
乱红飞过秋千去。