上一篇：托福备考第50天——TPO Extra 1 Listening ③
阅读并高亮后的结果：
Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.
Student: Hi, uh...Professor Anderson... wondering if you had a couple minutes...
Professor: Of course, Paula...
Student: Thanks... uh, you sent me a letter recently about doing, uh, an honors project-inviting me to come in and talk about...
Professor: Right, right, well as your academic advisor, its my job to look out for your academic interests, and based on your grades, and some very positive feedback I've heard from your professors, I wanted to formaly invite you to consider doing an honors project...
Student: Yeah.. well, thanks ..uh, actually l kinda wanted to ask you ..quite frankly-like how much work it ould probably be? l mean, I 'm gonna be spending a lot of time applying to law schools next semester and....
Professor: Well, let me tell you how it works...and then you can decide from there.
Student: OK.
Professor: Basically, the honors project is an opportunity to do..some in-depth work on a topic you're interested in before graduating college. You register for the class, but it doesnt work the same way a regular class does. You find a professor who you want to work with; you ask the professor-a sort of mentor who's knowledgeable on the topic youre interested in, the topic you're gonna write your honors thesis on...
Student: Writing a thesis? That's part of the project? Ah like how many pages are we talking?
Professor: Usually about 50... but it's a valuable experience, writing a thesis paper.
Student: So, basically, after l register for the class, I need to ask a professor who'll sort of help me...
Professor: Actually, you need to do that-a professor needs to agree to oversee your honors project-before you register.
Student: Oh, OK...
Professor: l mean, l know it sounds kinda daunting, but that's what the professor's there for-to help guide you through the different steps of the process an...uh..most students are very pleased with the experience.They're able to demonstrate advanced research skill, which is important; especially in your case, writing an honors thesis would be a big plus ...
Student: You think so?
Professor: Absolutely. Especially considering your plans, since you're applying to law schools. It shows initiative that you've done well as an undergraduate, to be allowed to do the honors project...that you're able to work independently and, of course, you would graduate with honors...
Student: Yeah, it does sound good. lt's just, you know, I've never written something like that before, so...
Professor: Well you choose something you're interested in. Maybe you can even expand a shorter research paper from another class or ...
Student: So , like, maybe.….You know, l took this course from Professor Connelly, his course on Comparative Governments last semester and,uh...did pretty well-I wrote a paper actually, on polical parties in Venezuela and-and he seemed to like my research. Anyway, he, uh, l got an A in the course.
Professor: Good, so it sounds like you do have a general dea for a topic, and you might know what professor you want to work with. And look, it's still a couple weeks before registration, maybe you should talk to Professor Connelly and then get back to me.
Student: Yeah, l will-thanks.I'll come by again sometime next week.
Professor: That's fine. Good luck.
简析：
这个conversation是advisor发起邀请的，这个女学生是来回应invitation的。这个顾问，也就是Professor Anderson，想给这个学生一个honor project。但是学生并没有写过论文，很担心能不能写好。顾问告诉她，这个project可以根据你自己的学术兴趣，找个教授当导师来监督你完成，这会对她进入law school有很大的帮助，准确地说是一个非常大的plus分数项目。学生告诉顾问，她和Professor Connelly相处得不错，上个学期在这个professor的class下面得了A，并且她有兴趣扩展这个研究。顾问觉得可行，他要求这个女生先去找Professor Connelly谈一下这个项目，然后再回来告诉他。
不熟悉的单词：
- mentor 导师
- thesis 论文
- oversee 监督
- daunting 令人生畏的使人畏惧的;令人胆怯的;让人气馁的; 使胆怯;使气馁;使失去信心
- initiative 倡议;新方案;主动性;主动权
- Venezuela 委内瑞拉(南美洲北部国家)
值得注意的表达方式：
- honors project 荣誉项目
- kinda 有点
- in-depth work 深入的工作