[翻译]很多美国学校都接受雅思考试
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作者： Nancy Steinbach
译者： 栩哥哥
出处： http://xgg.34abc.com
几个星期前，我们谈了一下关于英语作为外语的考试，也就是托福考试。一位叫做Thida来自于柬埔寨的听众问美国的大学是否接受雅思考试（IELTS）。雅思考试是国际英语测试系统，由剑桥大学ESOL考试组提出的。
剑桥大学ESOL组认为，这个考试可以逼真准确地衡量出在教育、外来移民者和雇主方面的英语沟通能力。雅思考试测试学生的听力，阅读能力，写作水平和口语技巧。混合了口音和拼写，包括英式英语和美式英语。
这个考试被120个国家的政府代理处、学校和专业组织所使用。当然，包括美国。很多接受雅思考试的美国学校可以在这个网站查询到： http://ielts.org
有一些学校接受托福考试和雅思考试。但在卡罗莱纳洲的北部的杜克大学的研究所更喜欢雅思考试。
每个雅思考试的考生都会得到相同的听力部分和口语部分的试题，但考生可以在阅读考试和写作考试中进行选择— 文学性的或者普通考试。
听力考试需要30分钟，有40个问题会被录音录下来。
阅读考试需要60分钟。学生要写3段文字来回答40个问题。
写作考试也需要60分钟。学生必须写两篇小短文。第一篇至少要有140个词。另外一篇至少要有150个词。短的那篇是关于描述一件事物的；长的那篇是关于支持一个观点的。
口语考试小于15分钟。评分标准是基于考生和主考官的录音。
英文原文：
A few weeks ago, we talked about the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL. A listener in Cambodia named Thida asks if American colleges and universities also accept the IELTS exam. IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. It was developed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.
Cambridge ESOL says the test measures true-to-life ability to communicate in English for education, immigration or employment. The IELTS tests listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. It uses a mixture of accents and spellings, including British English and American English.
The test is used by government agencies, schools and professional organizations in one hundred twenty countries. And, yes, that includes the United States. The many American schools that accept the IELTS can be found on the Web at ielts.org.
Some schools accept both the TOEFL and the IELTS. But the graduate school at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, for example, says it prefers the IELTS.
The listening and speaking parts are the same for everyone who takes the IELTS. But people have a choice of reading and writing tests — either academic or general training.
The listening test takes thirty minutes. There are forty questions based on a recording.
The reading test takes sixty minutes. Students answer forty questions based on three written passages.
The writing test also takes sixty minutes. Students have to write two essays. One essay has to be at least one hundred fifty words long and the other at least two hundred fifty words. The shorter one is a description of something; the longer one has to support an argument.
The speaking test takes less than fifteen minutes. The score is based on a recorded talk between the student and a test examiner.