FACIAL RECOGNITION

In this section, you will hear academic lectures. In the exam you will hear each lecture once
before you look at the questions. In this practice test you can control the audio yourself. You can
also see the script of the conversation.
C Facial curves change over time.

1. Where does the TV show Las Vegas take

place?

D Nodal points cannot be measured

A In a shopping mall
B In a police department
C In a casino

4. What is the problem with the 3D

technology?
A It can only be used when the individual

D In a crime lab

is directly facing the camera

B The image might change over time

2. What is a faceprint?
A a code which identifies a face
B distinctive curves in the face
C a 2D image of the face
D the number of nodal points on the face

C Its impossible to match a 3D image to a

2D image
D It cannot distinguish between identical
twins

5. Which TWO elements below can be

3. Identify TWO problems with 2D facial
recognition from the list below.
A It is not effective if a picture is dark.
B The person in the photograph must face
the camera.

measured by Skin Biometric technology?

A the curve of someones chin
B the texture someones skin
C the existence of lines on the face
D the distance between the eyes

6. Which of these faces will the Skin Biometric System be UNABLE to identify?

Script
of these, and they include distance
Lecturer: Hello class, so today were

between the eyes, the length of the

going

jaw, the width of the nose, things like

to

be

looking

at

facial

recognition, and to the different sorts

that.

of

facial

used to create a numerical code, and

recognition. Now before we start, can

this is called a faceprint. This system

any of you tell me where we can see

is good, because it can compare two

facial recognition in action? Yes, you

dimensional

at the back?

photographs. The problem is that the

technology

that

go

into

These measurements can be

images,

such

images have to be controlled.

Student: In the TV show Las Vegas?

as
The

person has to be staring straight at

the

camera,
in

there
facial

must

be

no

expression

or

Lecturer: Yes, well youre right. In this

variance

popular TV show, the security team

lighting,

pull images of the individuals from

these

their surveillance system and run the

effectiveness of the system. So they

image through a data base to identify

had to come up with another way.

because

any

parameters

variance

reduces

in
the

the person. In that way, all the card

counters and blacklisted gamblers can

So the new way of recognising faces is

be escorted from the poker tables. It

by using a 3D model.

It has better

looks easy on TV, but in the real

accuracy,

3D

world, facial recognition is a tricky

detects distinctive features in the

business. So lets start with the more

face, such as the curves of the eyes,

traditional

nose and chin features which do not

methods

of

facial

allegedly.

recognition.

Every face has peaks

change

and

and

be

measured at the sub-millimetre level.

translated into what is termed as

Interestingly, a 3D image can be taken

nodal points. Each face has about 80

not only from a live scan but also from

valleys,

these

can

over

time.

imagery

These

are

a 2D photograph. And another good

resolution, and if there is glare from

thing about the 3D system is that it

the sun.

can recognise a person from a range

of angles, the person doesnt have to

So, now weve covered the main types

be directly facing the camera, as in 2D

of facial recognition, well move on to

technology.

its uses. Now, has anybody here ...

Once again, the system

gives each individual a unique code

a set of numbers that represents the
face.
Its easy to match a 3D image to
another 3D image, if you already have
a 3D image in your database. Its less
easy to match 3D images to 2D
images. But what they can do is pull
certain measurements from the 3D
image, such as size of the eye and so
forth, and use this to convert the 3D
image into a 2D image, and this
image can be more easily compared
to the 2D images in the database.
But its not just the measurements
which can be used to recognise faces.
Theres

also

new

development

called Skin Biometrics. This uses the

uniqueness of skin texture to get its
results. The process takes a picture of
a patch of skin, and the system will
then identify any pores, lines, moles,
blemishes and other features of skin
texture. This method can be used to
identify

identical

twins,

something

that cannot be done with the 3D

technology. Its other advantages over
3D imagery are that its insensitive to
changes
smiling

in
and

compensate

expression,
so
for

blinking,

forth,

and

changes

in

can
facial

features such as the growth of a

beard, or wearing glasses.

Its not

perfect, though, as it is sensitive to

lighting conditions and poor camera

STUDENT
AND
UNIVERSITY ADVISOR

A: May I ask why you chose to come

to

Narrator

Kryptos

University

in

the

first

place?

Listen to a conversation between a

student and a university advisor and
fill in the blanks. The student is trying

S: Sure. Um, well, the main reason is

you have a great
school. And

to decide where to go to school next

the second reason is that I...I wanted

year.

to get away from home.

Advisor: Now, then, Mr., uh, Vickstad.
How can I
?

A: You're right, Mr. Vickstad, we do

have an excellent business school.

Student: Well, I'm thinking about

transferring, but I'm, I'm
... I

But, so does Central. The thing is,

you've got
a year under your
belt here now.

, you'll be

was hoping you could help me make a

starting from scratch.

decision.
A: I'll try. Where are you

of

S: Yeah, I know that. But I'm a little bit

familiar with Central, 'cuz I had older

transferring to? And why do you want

friends who went there, and I visited it

to leave Kryptos U?

before I came here.

S:

Um...I'm

thinking

of

going

to

Central University, because it's in my

. I've uh, been kind of

A: You know,
the

hardest.

year is usually
I

remember

how

homesick I was my first year. I'll tell

here this year, and I haven't

you, I was ready to pack it in after the

made many friends...I just feel so

first two weeks. But the longer I

stayed, the more
I felt. By

lonely. So, I thought that uh, maybe,

it'd be better to be closer to my

senior year, I was glad I chose to stay.

parents and friends and all.

S: Really? Did it get a lot better your
A: I see. And would you keep the

sophomore year?

same major if you transferred? What

is it...
?

A: Yes, it did. You might well find the

same is true for you. Also, even
though your credits here will transfer,

S: Yeah, I would. The credits I've

you will have to take extra courses,

earned here will transfer to Central.

because

I've already checked.

Central
has
different
. You'll probably have to go to

school for an extra year.

S: Hmm...I hadn't thought about that.

I'll have to check into it. Maybe I
should give it one more year. I mean,
it's probably good for me to learn to
live away from my family and friends,
right? It'll make me
in the
future.
A: You can always move back there
after you graduate. Of course, by that
time you may not want to!
S: Thank you for all your help. I guess
I'll find out the exact transfer
.
You've given me a lot to think about.
A: Don't mention it. If you feel like you
want to talk more, don't
to
come back and see me.

Narrator:
Now answer the following questions.

5). What will most likely happen

You may use your notes to help you.

next?
(A) The advisor will call the students'

1). Why is the student talking to

the advisor?

(B) The student will search for more

(A) To try and determine the best

subject for him to major in.
(B)

To

ask

about

the

advisor's

(C) To get advice about transferring to

a different university.
(D) To decide which classes would be
best to take next quarter.
2). Which of these statements
about the student's experience
are true?
(A) He is senior at Kryptos Univeristy.
He

is

majoring

in

business

administration.
(C) He wanted to go to a school close
to home.
(D) He has made lots of friends at
Kryptos.
3). Why does the advisor say this:
"I was ready to pack it in after the
first two weeks"?
(A) To show that she emphasizes with
the student's feelings.
(B) To make the student feel foolish
about wanting to leave.
(C) To demonstrate how brave he was
for staying in school.
(D) To illustrate an example of his
poor decision-making.
4). What will the student have to
do if he transfers?
(A) Send educational records.
(B) Take extra courses.
(C) Change majors.
(D) Visit his friends.

information.
(C) The student will move back to his

experiences as an undergraduate.

(B)

parents.

hometown.
(D) The advisor will do research in the
lab.

Trying to Understand Food Labels

This

the

VOA

Special

them

grow

English

Agriculture

Report.

Organic

meat

and

dairy

products

usually cost more than other products.

It can be hard to decide which foods
to

buy

in

grocery

an

American

these

days.

But many people buy them because

they believe they are more

The
.

information on many products makes

different claims. These labels suggest

The U.S.D.A. is trying to decide if fish

that the food is safe, pure or kind to

can be labeled "organic." A decision is

animals.

not

expected

However,

the

for

many

Marine

months.

Stewardship

The label "organic" guarantees that

Council says its label promises that

the

fish are not

United

Agriculture
was

States

Department

recognizes

grown

the

of

and were

product
caught

under

without

local

harming

the

conditions. The department says foods

that meet requirements of its National
Organic Program can use an official

There are also labels on coffee. Some

label.

coffee growers plant their

It

shows

the

Organic"

inside

words

"USDA
.

For
on land with no natural plants to

example, U.S.D.A. organic food does

provide shade from the sun. Other

not contain genes that have been

coffee

scientifically changed. The food is

provide shade for the coffee and

grown without

homes for

treatments

is

grown

under

trees

that

. This coffee is

against insects or disease. It is grown

labeled

without

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Council of

chemical

fertilizers.

"Bird

Friendly."

The

the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.,

The U.S.D.A. organic label on meat

guarantees

and dairy

Friendly"

guarantees that

coffee

with

the

"Bird
label.

they are from animals that live much

Other food labels include "natural,"

of the time outdoors. The animals

"cage-free" and "free-range." Experts

have

say it may be harder for the food

been

only

organic

buyer to decide what these mean. For

food. The animals have not received

example, chickens may not have been

antibiotic drugs. And they have not

raised in a cage. Still, they may have

had hormone substances to make

been in overcrowded conditions inside

requirements

for

labels.

And that's the VOA Special English

The Department of Agriculture will be

Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn

holding meetings with food producers

Watson. Transcripts and audio files of

and the public to try to

our reports are on our Web site,

voaspecialenglish.com.
Ember.

I'm

Steve