Skill D

01 Campus Life
M: Are you campaigning for the senate this year?
W: I hadn’t thought about it. What does it involve?
M: Student senators decide what to do with the money we pay in
student fees, and they deal with all of the organizations at the university. Stuff like that.
W: Who’s eligible to run?
M: You have to be a full-time student and have at least a 2.0 GPA.
W: So, if you are elected, are you in until you graduate?
M: No, it’s just a year. Then, you can be re-elected. You can be kicked
out, too, if you don’t attend the meetings.
W: Sounds interesting. I’ll mull it over.

02 Economics
W: Money is something that can be exchanged for goods and services.
It has several uses. One is that it is a medium of exchange. It is
a lot easier to do business in a money-based economy than a
barter-based one. Currency, or money, gives people a lot more
flexibility in spending than trying to buy things with chickens or
bags of grain. Money is also a way to measure value. When things
are given a monetary value, we can compare their costs and values.
Thirdly, money is an asset. We can put aside some money and
use it at a later date.



03 Music
M: A chord is the sound created when three or more different
notes or pitches are played simultaneously or relatively close
together. Some combinations of notes are more popular than
others, so normally only those three-note groups that are commonly
used are called chords. On top of that, different genres of music
tend to favor some chords over others. For example, power
chords are often used in hard rock. They involve only two pitch
classes. This is why power chords are common in this genre.
Rock music involves a lot of distortion, and the power chords can
avoid a lot of surplus noise.



04 Campus Life
M: Excuse me, sorry, how do I know which textbooks I need?
W: It’s listed in the course schedule for some classes, but it’s best
to go to the first class and get the syllabus to be sure. Textbooks
are pretty expensive. You don’t want to buy one you don’t need.
M: OK. Are there any used textbooks?
W: Usually. They’re half off and are stacked next to the new ones.
Look for the blue label. First come, first served.
M: Uh huh. If I get the wrong book, can I get a refund?
W: Yes, within seven days of purchase. However, you must bring
back the receipt, and the book must be in the same condition
as when you bought it.



05 Ecology
M: Three major biomes will be on the test: the tundra, the desert,
and the grasslands. Let’s go over them. The tundra is a polar desert
--- little precipitation, long cold winters, no trees, and a full range
of daylight hours, from 0 to 24 hours. Grasslands are found
inland, have hot summers and cold winters. Grasslands get 15-30
inches of rainfall annually. And remember that there are two
types --- tallgrass and shortgrass. Tallgrass grasslands have thick
fertile soil. Shortgrass grasslands have thinner soil. Deserts are
located within 20-30 degrees of the equator. They have hot
days, cold nights, and little rainfall --- only about 1-10 inches of
rain per year.



06 Religious Studies
W: So, welcome to Religion and Morality. I hope you are all as
excited to learn about this topic as I am to teach it! We will be
spending a lot of time discussing what, if anything, the connection
between religion and morality is. A lot of our moral vocabulary
originally came from religious institutions. Religious groups today
often make ethical prescriptions for their followers, take public
stances, and participate in political activism on several key issues.
God, of course, is a huge question. We will begin with the
assumption that there is at least one God who is good. Later,
we will examine the opposite assumption, that there is no God.
The big question is what implications these assumptions have
regarding morality.



07 Campus Life
W: Remember, these swimming drills are not for fitness. They are
for recovery.
M: I understand. I’m not trying to get in shape.
W: That’s right, and that’s important because you don’t want to
overdo it.
M: So, I should swim slowly?
W: Yes. You should be very relaxed and keep your heart rate down.
M: So, what is the goal of these sessions?
W: The most important thing is getting your balance. The goal is to
have perfect form throughout the session. Your neck and spine
should be aligned at all times.
M: How is that possible?
W: Only your hips and your chin rotate.
M: OK, I’ll try.



08 Botany
W: The fruit of a rose is called the hip. Most rosehips are red, but
a few species, like pimpinellifolia, have dark purple or black hips.
Each hip typically contains five to twenty-five seeds enclosed by
stiff hairs. The hips of some species, particularly canina and
rugosa, are very high in vitamin C, making them a vital food
source for some birds. Now, I’m sure you are all well aware that
most rose plants have thorns. They are usually hook-like and
have evolved to help these plants hang on to other plants when
growing over them. The rugosa and pimpinellifolia species,
however, have tight clusters of straight spines instead --- perhaps
to inhibit sand erosion.

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