Listen to a conversation between two students.
(man) I don't know about you, but, I'm really looking forward to summer break.
(woman) I can't even think that far ahead. I've got so much to do before the end of thesemester. I've been feeling pretty stressed out lately.
(man) Why? What's going on?
(woman) Well, I just have so many assignments. I've got three major research papers to do and they all due, basically, at the same time, in two weeks.
(man) Wow! Three? That is a lot. And research papers take a lot of time.
(woman) Right, and between my job and classes, there just aren't enough hours in the day to get them all done.
(man) Well, is there anything you could cut from your schedule, I mean, you're working part-time in an office in town, aren't you? Why don't you just reduce your hours there for a while, at least till you get the papers done.
(woman) Well, I guess I could tell my boss I need to cut back on my hours for a couple ofw weeks, uh, but I don’t know, I haven’t been working there very long. I don’t want to make a bad impression by asking for time off already?
(man) What else could you do?
(woman) Well, another option is I could get an extension on one of the papers. I asked one of my professors about it, my History professor, and she said it would be OK if I handed the paper in a week late. So, I guess I could just concentrate on getting the other two papers done first
(man) Oh, that’s great.(woman) Yeah, only she said she’d have to take a few points off the grade for the paper since it would be late, you know, to be fair to the other students.
(man) Oh, that’s a drag. So what are you gonna do?
(woman) Uh, I don’t know yet.
Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which of the two solutions from the conversation you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
The woman's problem is that she has three papers due in two weeks, and she can't handle all the assignments at the same time since she has a part-time job. Accordingly, there are two solutions for the woman's problem. Firstly, she could reduce her working hours at least till her papers are done, and secondly, she could ask for an extension from the professor for one of her papers. Well, I think the woman should follow the first solution for two reasons. First of all, a student's main job is to study; what point does it make of a part-time job for the woman if she fails her study? The second reason I guess is also obvious, that asking for extension is kinda unfair for other students, especially for the reason of doing a part-time job. If, for instance, some other students complain about it, l am sure the kind offer of extension from the professor will be definitely taken back. So I think the woman should take the first solution for the reasons stated above. (177 words)
