留學英文 (Academic Study)


　
Exercise 9
I. Pre-Listening Exercise
II. Listening Exercise
III. Post-Listening Exercise

Purpose:

Describing academic background and achievements / 描述學歷背景及已獲成就

　

I. Pre-Listening Exercise [Top]

Check the meanings of the following words and expressions:

  • highly competitive
  • nationwide university entrance examination
  • overall academic ranking
  • cumulative GPA
  • attest to
  • strong analytical skills
  • research fundamentals
  • solid undergraduate training
  • equipped
  • rigorous
  • advanced study
    　

Consult page 45 of Writing Effective Study Plans by Ted Knoy for some of these definitions.

II. Listening Exercise [Top]
1. Listen to the conversation by pressing the "Play" button and then answering the following questions. Press the "Final score" button to check your quiz results.


1. Where was Bill admitted to in 1999?
A. the Department of Industrial Engineering at Feng Chia University
B. the Commerce Department at National Cheng Kung University
C. the Institute of Statistics at National Chung Cheng University

2. What was Bill’s cumulative GPA?
A. 3.0/4.0
B. 2.5/4.0
C. 3.95/4.0

3. What did Bill do after graduating from university?
A. He refused several employment offers in the financial sector
B. He refused several employment offers in the banking sector
C. He vacationed in Thailand for six months.

4. Why does Bill feel that the strong analytical skills and research fundamentals developed during university are important?
A. to get a good job
B. to score high marks on examinations
C. to conduct finance-related research

5. What kind of demands will Bill face during advanced studies in Finance?
A. light ones
B. rigorous ones
C. none at all

Score =

2. Listen to the story again as you read the audiotranscript on page 182 of Writing Effective Study Plans by Ted Knoy.

III. Post-Listening Exercise [Top]
1. Read the audiotranscript with a partner or change some of the information to adapt it to your situation.

2. Write a paragraph describing your academic background and achievements. View the accompanying Power Point presentation on details of how to write this paragraph.

3. Write four questions beginning with "Why" when asking someone about their academic background and achievements, and then answer them. The question does not have to come directly from the listening exercise.
Example: Why did Bill refuse several employment offers in the financial sector after graduating from National Cheng Kung University in 1999?
Answer: to conduct finance-related research
Example: Why did you decide to major in Nursing during your undergraduate studies?
Answer: Because I have been interested in helping people ever since I can remember.

4. Ask a person two questions beginning with "Why" about his or her academic background and achievements. Write down each question and its one or two sentence reply. You can select from among the following questions from the above listening exercise as models for the questions that you ask:
Why did Bill major in Finance at National Cheng Kung University?
Why did Bill choose National Cheng University to pursue a bachelor's degree in Finance?
Why has Bill decided to pursue advanced study in this field?
Why is Bill equipped to meet the rigorous demands of advanced study in Finance?
Why did Bill perform so well during his undergraduate studies?
Why did Bill concentrate on developing his analytical skills and research fundamentals?
Why did Bill refuse several employment offers in the financial sector after graduating from National Cheng Kung University in 1999?
Why did Bill take the highly competitive nationwide university entrance examination?
Why is Bill confident of his ability to meet the rigorous demands of graduate study?
Why does Bill feel that he can meet the rigorous demands of graduate study?

回留學英文 Academic Study