Reading
Final Project
The final project for this course will be an oral presentation. Students must work with an assigned partner to select a topic and complete all related research for the project. The partners will orally present their research to the class during the last two weeks of classes. This project will provide students with the opportunity to discover the rewards and challenges of working with another individual, an experience that will help them in future endeavors Furthermore, these presentations will benefit the entire class: when students share their discoveries with the class, they enable other students to learn from their work.
Listening
Narrator: Now listen to two students discussing the assignment.
Woman: I don't know about this.
Man: Why not? Sounds OK to me.
Woman: Thing is, depending on someone else makes me nervous.
My roommate had to do a project like this,
and the other girl didn't show up to meetings, didn't do any research.
My roommate had to do everything herself.
Man: That's a drag.
I guess if your partner's irresponsible, you're out of luck.
Woman: Exactly. It hurt her grade.
I don't want the same thing to happen to me.
Right now. I'm more concerned with getting a good grade,
even though I know that's not the lesson the professor has in mind.
Man: Still, it'll be good to listen to everyone's stuff.
Woman: Well, I don't know.
I mean, at the end of the semester,
people are focused on studying for exams.
Man: Yeah.
Woman: Who has time to put something like this together when they're busy studying?
Man: True.
Woman: I can't imagine anyone will be able to really do a good job with it,
and everyone will be so preoccupied by then that they probably won't listen anyway.
I think the professor is going to be disappointed. And students?
Well, we'll all just be frustrated by the whole thing.
Question
The woman expresses her opinion of the assignment. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.
