University Listening

Exercise 1 - ESL University Identification of Spoken Word Order

Use the following link to listen to the recording of the five groups of five words each and decide
which option (A-D) in the five questions in this test has the correct order.

https://soundcloud.com/excellent-esl-4u/esl-university-word-order-identification

1) Which is the correct order for group of words one?

A) Scholarship, Register, Sorority, Matriculation, Fail
B) Register, Sorority, Matriculation, Fail, Scholarship
C) Scholarship, Fail, Register, Matriculation, Sorority
D) Matriculation, Fail, Sorority, Register, Scholarship

2) Which is the correct order for group of words two?

A) Matriculate, Postgraduate, College, Grant,
Undergraduate
B) Postgraduate, College, Grant, Undergraduate,
Matriculate
C) Matriculate, Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Grant, College
D) Grant, Undergraduate, College, Postgraduate, Matriculate

3) Which is the correct order for group of words three?

A) Freshers’ week, Room and board, Law school, PhD, Faculty
B) Room and board, Law school, PhD, Faculty, Freshers’ week
C) Freshers’ week, Faculty, Room and board, PhD, Law school
D) PhD, Faculty, Law school, Room and board, Freshers’ week

4) Which is the correct order for group of words four?

A) Department, Grade Point Average, Homecoming, Room and board, Assignment
B) Grade Point Average, Homecoming, Room and board, Assignment, Department
C) Department, Assignment, Grade Point Average, Room and board, Homecoming
D) Room and board, Assignment, Homecoming, Grade Point Average, Department

5) Which is the correct order for group of words five?

A) Textbook, Minor, Bursary, Lecturer, Student loan
B) Minor, Bursary, Lecturer, Student loan, Textbook
C) Textbook, Student loan, Minor, Lecturer, Bursary
D) Lecturer, Student loan, Bursary, Minor, Textbook

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 University Listening
Exercise 2 - ESL University Listening Identification of Vocabulary Meaning

Use the following link to listen to the recording of the meanings of the five vocabulary words and
decide which word out of the options (A-D) in each question matches the meaning.

https://soundcloud.com/excellent-esl-4u/esl-university-vocabulary-meaning-identification

1) What is the meaning of the first definition in the recording?

A) Syllabus
B) Curriculum
C) Spring break
D) Freshers’ week

2) What is the meaning of the second definition in the recording?

A) Sandwich course
B) Major
C) Audit
D) Session

3) What is the meaning of the third definition in the

recording?
A) Undergraduate
B) Certificate
C) Tutor
D) First degree

4) What is the meaning of the fourth definition in the recording?

A) Registrar
B) Semester
C) Enroll
D) Education

5) What is the meaning of the fifth definition in the

recording?
A) Term
B) Financial aid
C) Sophomore
D) Department

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 University Listening
Exercise 3 - ESL University Listening Comprehension

Use the following link to listen to the recording of the passage about university and answer the
following five questions.

https://soundcloud.com/excellent-esl-4u/esl-university-listening-comprehension-passage

1) What is one of the purposes of freshers’ week?

A) To help freshers find the best accommodation.
B) To make freshers feel at home.
C) To introduce freshers to the campus facilities.
D) To inform freshers about the grading system.

2) Who holds most of the events during freshers’ week?

A) The student societies.
B) The student union.
C) The lecturers.
D) The administration staff.

3) How many student societies does a fresher usually join during freshers’ week?
A) Up to a dozen.
B) Only one or two societies.
C) At least two societies.
D) None.

4) What activities can a fresher do besides

attending freshers’ week?
A) Visit their parents.
B) Enjoy the local sights.
C) Work full time.
D) Work part time.

5) What commitments should a fresher not

miss during freshers’ week?
A) Hangout with seniors.
B) Going to the cinema with new friends.
C) Meeting with members of student
societies.
D) Scheduled meeting with lecturers and
administration.

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 University Listening
Exercise 4 – Dictation

This exercise is a dictation activity. You need to listen to the following recording of the spoken
passage and write it down. The passage has been read two times in the recording. The first is at a
slow reading speed, and the second has pauses after every few words and the punctuation has been
spoken as well. Listen to the recording several times if you need to.

https://soundcloud.com/excellent-esl-4u/esl-university-dication-passage

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 University Listening
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 University Listening
Answers

Exercise 1 – 1) B, 2) A, 3) B, 4) D, 5) C

Exercise 2 – 1) C, 2) B, 3) B, 4) C, 5) D

Exercise 3 – 1) C, 2) B, 3) A, 4) D, 5) B

Listening Comprehension Passage

Freshers’ Week

In UK universities, new undergraduate students or freshers are asked to join a lot of events that are usually organized in a week and
therefore it is called Fresher’s week. All the events are arranged in such a way that they will enable students to get to know each other and
find their way around their campus. That way, they can get used to studying and living as university students.

Most events during freshers’ week are run by the student union, some are free and some require you to pay a small fee. In some
universities and colleges, there could be more than 400 events to attend, which can be overwhelming for freshers. Of course, it is
impossible to attend all of them. It is likely that there is at least one activity each day that attracts your interest. Other than that, you
might want to do something else outside your campus, such as enjoying the local sights or go to a café.

Also during freshers’ week, you will be introduced to student societies and you can pick one or two that suit your interest. Usually, some
students join a dozen societies during freshers’ week and stick to one that becomes their favorite after the first few meetings. If you want
to join more than one student society, you should consider the time and energy that you will put into the activities. Depending on your
availability and priority, you can participate as much or as little as you like.

A week full of activities can make you tired at some point. When this happens, you can just stay in your room to take a rest or do relaxing
activities like listening to music or watching a movie. Do not push yourself too hard. Save your energy to attend scheduled meetings with
lecturers, tutors and administration staff if you have not done it. They will not be impressed if you do not turn up because you are too
sleepy or too tired to get up from your bed.

Dictation Passage

Tips to Stretch Your Student Budget

Attending university is an expensive business. According to a research, a student average living cost is expected to hit £9,250 a year. Food
and accommodation use up a lot of it, but with some careful planning you can save an adequate amount of money for a social life.

Start with making an expenses sheet, on which you can write down all of your sources of income and record all of your spending, including
library charges, cell phone bills, cinema tickets, etc. To better track your spending, keep a small notebook with you or if any, collect the
receipts during the day and add them to the sheet in the evening. This way, you can find out where you could be saving, such as cutting
down fast food delivery and make your own sandwiches.

An easy way to stretch your budget is by looking out for student deals at retailers, restaurants, bars or at the cinema. You may want to
often check student-focused discount websites like studentbeans.com, amazon.co.uk and snapfax.co.uk for national and regional offers.

If you are not good at saving money, maximize your income. Four out of 10 undergraduate students in the UK manage to have a job while
at university. You can take a part-time job which is less than 15 hours a week in term time and a full-time job during holidays.

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