TOEFL  - Speaking
Question 5
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Directions: For this task, you will listen to a dialogue. You will hear a question about it. You will then have 20 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.

 

 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Question

Narrator: Listen to a conversation between two students.

 

Student 1(female): Matt, I need your help.

 

Student 2(male): What do you need help with?

 

Student 1: I need to talk with my advisor about my schedule for next semester, but he hasn’t been around lately. I don’t know what to do.

 

Student 2: Well, why don’t you just schedule an appointment with him?

 

Student 1: I tried that several times, but he always misses them. Either his assistant tells me he just had to rush out the door for a meeting, or he’s out of town doing research.

 

Student 2: How about you schedule an appointment with one of the other advisors, or find out when the walk-in appointment hours are for the office?

 

Student 1: One of the reasons I chose my current advisor is because he’s a little famous, and he’s really really helpful with my classes. He’s also very knowledgeable about my major concentration.

 

Student 2: Well, it might be useless, but why don’t you try sending him an e-mail explaining your situation, and note to him how many appointments he has missed with you?

 

Student 1: Yeah, I could try that.

 

Student 2: Another idea is finding out when he teaches class, and then show up right after his class to talk to him.

 

Student 1: Hmmmm.

 

Student 2: And I know you might not want to think about it, but maybe you should just consider changing your advisor all-together to someone more reliable and less famous.

 

Narrator: Now get ready to answer the question.

 

Narrator: The students discuss several possible solutions to the woman’s problems. Describe the problem. Then state which solution you prefer and explain why.

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The woman’s problem is that she isn’t able to talk with her academic advisor. Her advisor is really good at helping her with her classes and is also very knowledgeable with the woman’s major concentration. But, the woman now can’t talk with her advisor. She just can’t find him. Whenever the woman goes to the professor’s office, she isn’t there. This is because the advisor is a little famous and always has meetings and research to do. I think that I prefer the choose a different advisor solution. This student really needs the help of someone who just isn’t there. If she needs help with her classes or with her schedule for next semester, and her advisor isn’t there, what should she do? The professor may be a little famous, but he is also very unreliable.