Now listen to two students discussing the letter.
Man: Hey, Kala, did you see Ryan’s letter in the paper?
Woman: Yeah. But I have to say I disagree with his proposal.
Man: Oh, yeah?
Woman: You know, it seems like it’s always business people who speak at graduation, at least every year I’ve been here, it’s always business person speaking.
Man: Think we could do some variety?
Woman: I think other professions can be considered, influential and successful, like say teachers.
Man: Teachers are certainly influential and have an important role in the community.
Woman: Yeah. The school should consider having someone from another profession speak since business leaders always do it.
Man: Yeah. But what about his point about it being good for the business program?
Woman: Well, like Ryan said, that program is already quite big and well-known. It doesn’t really need the extra attention or free advertising that a graduation speaker would bring.
Man: En…That’s true.
Woman: I think our education program could really benefit from the free publicity. It’s a great teacher training program but it’s not as well-known. It’d be great if local teachers could draw attention to it, which would definitely happen in a speech like that.
The woman expresses her opinion of the idea expressed in the newspaper. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.
In the reading, a student proposes that the school should invite a business leader to speak at graduation ceremony because business leaders are good role models for students. What’s more, inviting a business leader can remind people that their university has a strong and excellent business program. In the listening, the woman disagrees with his proposal because of two reasons. First, it has always been a business person speaking at the graduation ceremony and the school should better consider someone from other professions to speak, like a teacher. They are very influential and have essential roles in the community as well. Second, the business program in the university is already well-known and it doesn’t need extra attention. What needs free publicity is the school’s education program, which is not as well-known as the business one. Therefore, by giving out these two reasons, the woman disagrees with the proposal in the letter.
