(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
TOEFL Releases New App for English Test
Students around the world wanting help with the TOEFL English test have a new tool: a mobile app.
The "TOEFL official app" became available last week. Users can download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
TOEFL stands for 'Test of English as a Foreign Language.' Students must pass the test to get into many universities in the United States and other English-speaking countries.
It is made up of four parts: reading, listening, writing and speaking.
Test-takers will be able to use it for everything from registration and test preparation, to receiving their scores and requesting health-related accommodations.
"What we wanted to do through the app is to meet them where they are on their own terms and schedule, and on the devices they increasingly prefer to use," said Srikant Gopal.
He leads the TOEFL program at the non-profit Educational Testing Service, or ETS, and recently spoke with VOA about the new app.
After downloading the app, users can get material to help prepare them for the test.
They can also register to take the test. And, the organization says, users can see their test scores and send reports to schools they wish to attend.
Students also can search for the test centers near where they are, as well as find open seats for the test. This works through Google maps.
The app will be available everywhere in the world, except China.
Gopal said that TOEFL has a "very different registration system (and) a very different kind of arrangement with the Chinese authorities."
Companies in China must go through the Chinese National Education Examinations Authority. TOEFL has not decided yet whether it will work on such an app for China.
The TOEFL program has also introduced several test-based changes in recent months.
It has been cut from three and a half hours long to three hours long. The new, shorter test started in August.
TOEFL has reduced the number of questions in three of four parts of the test. The same language skills will be tested, and scoring stays the same, as well.
The test preparation materials will be changed over the next several months.
But all the existing official materials can still be used, because the test content has not changed.
The Reading section now includes three to four passages with 10 questions each. The section takes 54 to 72 minutes.
The Listening section now has three to four lectures with six questions each, as well as two to three conversations with 5 questions each. The section takes 41 to 57 minutes.
The Speaking section now has four questions instead of six. The section takes a total of 17 minutes.
The Writing section remains unchanged. It has two essay questions, which take a total of 50 minutes.
Also, the 10-minute break between the Listening and Speaking parts of the test remains the same.
Test-takers will be now able to get their scores more quickly. Students taking the test after October 26 can get their scores online in six days instead of 10.
The official score report will now also be sent to colleges and universities as early as nine days after the test date.
Another recent change is the so-called 'MyBest' scores. The company permits test-takers to use the highest scores they have achieved on each part of the test.
The scores must be from tests taken within the last two years. Students can use the app to send these 'MyBest' reports to universities.
The MyBest score "shows not just the student's performance in one single (test), but their potential" over time, Gopal said.
He said MyBest scores are popular with test-takers and schools alike. Universities like the MyBest because it can increase the number of qualified applicants.
More than 10,000 institutions accept TOEFL test scores from foreign students.
TOEFL is offered in over 150 countries around the world. It is mostly internet-based.
In places where internet connections are not strong, students take a paper version of the test.
I'm Jonathan Evans.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. made up of 由......构成；包含；
Food is made up of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
食物由碳水化合物、蛋白质和脂肪构成。
2. prefer to 更喜欢；宁可；
I still prefer to play in defence.
我还是更喜欢打防守。
3. a total of 总共；总计；
The companies have a total of 1,776 employees.
这些公司总计有1776名员工。
4. more than 多于；超过；
He has been mugged more than once.
他已是不止一次被抢劫了。
参考译文
托福发布英语测试新应用
对于世界各地想要帮助自己提高托福英语考试的学生来说，他们现在都有了一款新工具：移动应用。
“托福官方应用”于上周面世，用户可以从苹果应用商店或谷歌游戏下载。
托福是“英语外语考试”的缩写，学生必须通过该考试才能进入美国和其他英语国家的许多大学。
托福由读、听、写、说四部分组成。
考生将能够用它进行所有操作，包括从注册和考试准备到接收分数，以及请求与健康相关的住宿。
“我们想通过这个应用来满足他们的需求，在他们自己的学期和时间表上，用他们越来越喜欢的设备，”斯里·坎特戈帕尔说。
他是非盈利教育考试服务机构（ETS）托福项目的负责人，最近他与美国之音就这一新应用进行了交流。
下载应用程序后，用户可以获取帮助他们准备测试的材料。
他们也可以报名参加考试。此外，该组织表示，用户可以查看他们的考试成绩，并将成绩单发往他们希望就读的学校。
学生们还可以就近搜索考试中心，并找到空位进行考试，这项功能可以通过谷歌地图来实现。
该应用将在世界各地提供，但中国除外。
戈帕尔说，托福与中国当局有着“非常不同的注册制度和考试安排”。
中国公司必须通过中国国家教育考试局批准，托福尚未决定是否会为中国开发这样的应用。
托福项目在最近几个月也引入了一些基于考试的变化，
它已经从三个半小时缩短到三小时。更短的新版测试从8月份开始使用。
托福四部分的考试中，有三部分的问题数量都减少了。将测试同样的语言技能，分数也将保持不变。
考试准备材料将在未来数月内更换。
但是，所有现有的官方资料仍可以使用，因为测试内容没有改变。
阅读部分现在包括三到四个段落，每个段落有10个问题，用时为54到72分钟。
听力部分现在有三到四段话，每段话有六个问题。还有两到三个对话，每段对话有五个问题。用时为41到57分钟。
口语部分以前有六个问题，现在变为四个，总用时为17分钟。
写作部分保持不变，有两个作文题，总用时为50分钟。
此外，听力测试和口语测试部分之间原有的10分钟休息时间保持不变。
考生现在可以更快地拿到分数了。10月26日之后参加考试的学生，可以在6天内在线获得分数，而不用等10天。
官方成绩单最快也将在考试当日九天后发送给各个院校。
最近进行的另一项调整是所谓的“我的最佳”分数功能。该公司允许考生对于考试中的每部分测试，使用他们取得的最高分数。
分数必须来自过去两年内的考试，学生可以使用该应用向大学发送这些“我的最佳分数”成绩单。
戈帕尔说，“我的最佳”分数不仅显示出学生在一次考试中的表现，而且还显示了他们的潜力”。
他说“我的最佳”分数很受考生和院校的欢迎。大学喜欢这项功能，因为它可以增加合格申请者的数量。
一万多所院校接受外国学生的托福考试成绩。
托福在全球150多个国家开设，主要基于互联网。
在互联网连接不畅的地方，学生们要参加纸质版的考试。
乔纳森·埃文斯报道。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
