Section 4: Listening Test

Part A: Note-taking and Gap-filling

　　OK. Today we’re going to begin our discussion of nonverbal communication. Now, experts in the field of communication estimate that somewhere between sixty and ninety percent of everything we communicate is nonverbal. Can that possibly be true? After all, we put so much emphasis on our words when we’re trying to communicate something. There’s enormous emphasis in all our interactions on words. What about this sixty to ninety percent that is supposedly nonverbal? What does that mean exactly?

　　OK, let me ask you to think about some of the ways in which you communicate nonverbally, just the broad areas. Maybe we should begin by mentioning an obvious one and that’s what we call body language, that is, what we are saying by our posture, the way in which we hold ourselves; our gestures, that is, use of our hands; our facial expressions, all the things that say something to the other person, not through words, but simply by how we present ourselves, how we move. Let’s see, our eye contact, for example, is one that we may not think of right away, but, it’s extremely important, and our tone of voice. And how about the meaning of touch? Touch communication, that is, who has permission to touch whom and under what circumstances.

　　A very important point that I’d like to make is that nonverbal communication is difficult enough to study and understand in one’s own culture, but it becomes extremely complicated when we are trying to understand how nonverbal communication functions in another culture, that is, one we’re unfamiliar with. I mean, after all, if we’re learning about another culture and learning the language of that culture, another language, what do we learn but words, the meaning of words and how they fit together and the pronunciation of words. So that, when we learn French, we can take our dictionary and look up “fromage,” or when we learn German, we can find out what “Kase” is. But there’s no dictionary of nonverbal communication. So, where do we find out what a certain toss of a head means? Or a certain blink of the eye? Or, the physical distance between people? And it’s very easy to misinterpret these cues or to miss them altogether. If you’re puzzled by what’s happening to you in a foreign culture, it’s probably the nonverbals that are causing the communication problem.

　　So, the nonverbals are probably responsible for most cross-cultural confusion. Let me give you one or two examples of how this can happen. A simple one is with eye contact. Americans tend to think that looking directly into another person’s eye is appropriate, and that if you look away or look down, you may be avoiding responsibility, or showing disrespect. And, and this is considered to be negative. We learn to “look me straight in the eye!” Look me straight in the eye. Now in some other cultures, it’s a sign of disrespect to look at another person straight in the eye. In Japan, for example, there’s much less direct eye contact than in the United States. So, something as simple as that can cause great confusion.

　　Ah, to give another cross-cultural example from Japan, I can tell you that when I first began working in Japan, I was awfully confused because I was paying attention to what was said to me rather than to the nonverbal cues. There were times when I would ask him things like, for instance, “Can we allow students in the dormitory to stay out later at night?” And often the response I would get verbally was: “Maybe we could do that.” I always interpreted this as a green light, because “maybe” for me verbally means “Maybe! Yes! Probably! Let’s find a way!” After all, he hadn’t said no.

　　But actually my Japanese colleague didn’t want to embarrass me by speaking the word “no” directly, which would be considered impolite in his culture, he was telling me “no” by saying “maybe” and giving me other cues with his body language, such as his posture and his tone. Whether he said “Well, maybe!” meaning “Maybe yes!”, or “maybe” meaning “maybe not.”, had to do with, perhaps, whether he looked embarrassed, or uncomfortable when he said that. That’s probably the most important lesson of nonverbal communication I have learned. (717 words)

(請監考老師……)

Part B: Listening and Translation

Sentence 1.

With online shopping, we can purchase what we need more quickly and efficiently; we can now deal with retailers over the Internet instead of waiting in lines at shopping malls. (30 words)

Sentence 2.

Urbanism promotes urban violence, political instability, crime and aggressive behavior. Rapid population growth in urban areas also perpetuates poverty. Another major issue being created is the breaking of the traditional family structure.    (32 words)

Sentence 3.

Some very alarming new statistics published by the local government last week show that the number of teens who drink is on the increase, 26% as compared with 16% ten years ago. (32 words)

Sentence 4.

The performance of the Australian economy has weakened over the past two years, and for 2014 as a whole it grew by just 0.4%, marking its slowest expansion since the start of the global financial crisis. (36 words)

Sentence 5.

Technology has not so much changed the process of seeking employment as enhanced it. You can research employment not just in your city, but also in your state, your region, your country, and even other countries. (36 words)

Passage 1:

Among universities, Harvard stands out. With its great tradition, its remarkable network of 300,000 alumni, Harvard has never had as much potential as it does now. And yet, great and proud institutions, like great and proud nations at their peak, must surmount a very real risk: too much caution and complacency. At such a moment, there is temptation to seek comfort and consensus over progress and clear direction, but this would be a mistake. We must seize this moment with vision and boldness. To do otherwise would be a lost opportunity. If Harvard can find the courage to change itself, it can change the world. (105 words)

Passage 2:

Regular crime surveys are undertaken in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The 2012 survey in England and Wales asked respondents for information about how crime had affected them in 2011. It estimated a total of 15 million crimes in that year, the majority of which were against property. Violent crime accounted for only 5 percent of the total, while 36 per cent involved vehicles, 9 per cent were burglaries and 30 per cent other forms of theft. These surveys indicate that many crimes go unrecorded by the police, mainly because not all victims report them. A new survey is in progress. (102 words)

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