A m b r I d g e university press

PRACTICE TEST 2
the library but the discussion at the tutorial is very important. This doesn’t mean
that you shouldn’t go to the lectures though!
Other factors to be particularly concerned about are the structure of essays and
delivery of written material and in particular I would like to mention the question
of plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking other people’s work without acknowledging it,
that is, without saying where it comes from. Of course all essays are based on
research done by other people but you must remember to attribute the work to the
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original writer. And while it’s a good idea to work with other people don’t hand
in work which is exactly the same as your friend’s work because we will notice! If
you don’t acknowledge the source of your information then you run the risk of
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failing the subject or in very serious cases you might be denied entry to the university.
Last but not least, stay in touch with us. If things are getting you down, don’t
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go and hide. Come and talk to us about it. That’s what we are here for. Right,
global
thank you very much for coming along today.
under-
standing of the talk
SECTION 1
C = Counsellor
K = Kate
L = Luki
C:
Hi there, Kate. Come on in. How are you today?
K:
Fine thanks.
C:
Hi, Luki. How’s things?
L:
OK.
C:
Well, as I explained on the phone, I’m a Counsellor here at the Student
Services section of the university and I’m interviewing overseas students to
help me draw up a guide for new students so I’d be grateful if you could tell
me a little about your time since you’ve been here in Cambridge.
K:
Right.
L:
Good idea.
C:
Now, Kate let’s start with you. OK, um this is your second semester isn’t
It? Could you tell us something about your first impressions of the town
when you arrived?
K:
Yeah well first of all I was struck by how quiet it is here in the evening
Example
Repeat
C:
Yes, I suppose Cambridge is a quiet place. Where did you live when you first
arrived?
K:
Well, I went straight into student accommodation; it was a kind of student
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hostel.
C:
Ah right, so you didn’t have to worry about doing your own cooking or
anything like that?

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Tapescripts
K:
No, but sometimes I wished I had! The food at the hostel was awful.
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C:
Oh dear. But how were the other students?
K:
To be honest I haven’t managed to make many friends even though the place
is full. People seem to keep to themselves; they’re not really very friendly.
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C:
Oh I’m sorry to hear that. Well, what about the actual course? You’re
studying … uh?
K:
I’m doing a Masters by coursework in Environmental Studies.
C:
Ah, right, and how are you finding that?
K:
Yeah, well, it’s been pretty good really. I’ve enjoyed the course, but I feel
there hasn’t been enough contact with the lecturers. They all seem to be
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incredibly busy. The only chance I’ve really had to talk to them was on the
field trip.
C:
Well that’s no good. Could anything be done to improve the course in your
opinion?
K:
Well … I think it would be helpful to have meetings with lecturers on the
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course. Say once a fortnight — something like that.
C:
Regular meetings. Yes that could certainly help. Now Kate, we’ll come back.
to you in a minute, but I’d just like to ask Luki some questions.
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C:
Luki, Where are you from?
L:
I am from Indonesia.
C:
And how did you find Cambridge when you first arrived?
L:
Well, I like it here. I think the city is very beautiful.
C:
What about your accommodation? Was that OK?
L:
Yes, OK. At first I stayed with a family for three months. They were very
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kind to me but they had three young children and I found it difficult to
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study
C:
Right, I see.
L:
So after three months I moved out and now I live with two other students in
a student house. It’s much cheaper and we like it there.
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C:
Good, and what about your studies? What are you studying?
L:
I’m doing a Bachelor of Computing.
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C:
Computing. I see. Um, apart from the language difficulties, if you can
separate them, how have you found the course?
L:
OK, but …
C:
Yes, go on.
L:
Well, the main difficulty for me is getting time on the computers in the
computer room. It’s always busy and this makes it very hard to do my
practical work.
C:
Yes, I’m sure it would. Can you reserve time in the computer room?
L:
No, you can’t … but it would certainly help if we could reserve computer
time.
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C:
Yes. I’ll look into that and see if something can’t be done to improve things
over there. Now let’s go back to Kate...

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Practice Test 2