Question 11. Describe a person whom you'd like to talk with often (this person could be one of your close friends, family members or teachers). Include reasons and details to support your response.
The person I really enjoy talking with is my brother Jason. First of all, he is a very humorous person who can tell many jokes to cheer me up when I feel down. I really admire his optimistic character and I am trying to look at everything from the positive side, just like my brother. Also, he often tells me about his travel stories, including his short stay in Southeast Asia and long summer vacation in Miami. I really enjoy the time I spent with my brother Jason.
Question 21. "Participating in class discussions makes students learn more." Do you agree or disagree with the above statement? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
I strongly believe that class discussion can benefit students a lot, in terms of both learning and communication skills. Through class discussion, students can broaden their horizon by listening to different opinions expressed from different perspectives. Anyway, many heads are better than one. Also, we can strengthen our communication skills in this way, because we can learn how to express our ideas persuasively and accept others' opinions selectively. When we make a presentation, debate with other groups and conclude the whole discussion, we can make progress in public speaking.
Question 31.
A Complaint Letter According to school policy, first year students are not allowed to park their cars on campus. Recently, many students find this policy unreasonable for two reasons. First, college freshmen need to use automobiles to find part-time jobs, and it will waste a lot of time to walk to the workplaces. Also, freshmen would easily feel homesick from time to time, and they really need to drive home to visit their parents at weekends. It is inconvenient for those whose homes are miles away to take buses to reach their destination.
Question: The woman expresses her opinion towards the complaint letter. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.
A complaint letter was sent to the school authority to complain about the no-parking policy for freshman students. The woman finds the letter unreasonable, because, first of all, doing part-time jobs will occupy their study time and thus, there is not so much need to drive cars between the campus and the workplace. Also, the woman thinks that students can spend more weekends on campus, so that they can get familiar with their classmates and grow independently as soon as possible. Going home at weekends is not a good choice for first-year students.
[解析]
M: Lucy, have you read the complaint letter on our newspaper?
W: We've just discussed about the letter and found it is a bad idea to make a new change on car policy.
M: What's your point towards this no-parking policy?
W: I think it is OK not to park cars on campus. Actually, we don't have so many extra hours to find part-time jobs because first-year students have a lot of academic assignments to do. Driving a car to workplaces is indeed convenient. However, students might not perform well in their study if they do part-time jobs at spare time.
M: Right! Now I start to get your point. So, we actually need to concentrate on our study.
W: Of course we do. Another point is that it is not right to go home every week.
M: I agree with you.
W: We should spend more time on how to socialize with other people and adapt to campus life as quickly as possible. Always going home would do no good to help us grow mature and independent.
Question 41.
Subliminal Perception Subliminal perception is defined as receiving the influences without being aware of the existence of stimulus. This phenomenon is often observed when people are affected by a certain subject unconsciously when making decisions.
If applied properly, subliminal perception could be used to adjust people's thought without their knowing. In such cases, people often fail to be aware of the existence of the stimulus because it is either too short or too subtle to be noticed.
Question: The professor uses one example to illustrate the definition of "subliminal perception". Explain how the example is related to the reading passage,
Subliminal perception is the perception without realizing the existence of a stimulus. The professor uses one experiment to illustrate the effects of this psychological phenomenon. Two groups of volunteers were shown a different picture and the pictures were moving so quickly that nobody could catch the contents. The first group was shown a picture of an angry boy throwing away a piece of cake and the second group was presented a picture of the same boy eating the cake happily. Then both groups were shown slowly and clearly a picture of a boy with no emotion and movements. When these two groups were asked to describe the picture, most of the first group described the boy as angry while the majority of the second group depicted him as a lively boy.
[解析]
M: Here we go. Subliminal perception is the perception without realizing the existence of a stimulus. Sounds appealing, right? In other words, it is like we feel what we don't see. However, the effects of subliminal perception on people are even more interesting to observe.
Here is an experiment to demonstrate the effects of subliminal perception on people. Two groups of volunteers participated in the test. Both groups were shown a different picture at first. The picture for the first group described an angry boy who was throwing away a piece of cake. However, the picture shown to the second group portrayed the same boy who was eating a piece of cake happily. The pictures were moving so quickly that neither group had enough time to catch the contents. That is to say, the volunteers had no idea of what they saw on the pictures. Then, another picture was presented slowly and clearly to both groups. In this picture, the boy showed completely no emotion and no movement.
Finally, the participants of both groups were required to describe the potential character of the boy in the third picture to researchers. There came the funny part. Most people in the first group tended to comment on the boy's character as negative, while the majority in the second group depicted the boy as someone with a positive character.
Question 51. Question: Briefly summarize the problem and two possible solutions. Then state which solution you recommend and explain why.
The woman's problem is that the band she has invited cannot come to the party she is organizing. There are two solutions: the first is to find another band instead and the other is to put off the party to the next weekend. Personally, I prefer the first choice, because students will be busy getting prepared for the final exam and few are likely to spend time for a dancing party. Also, if the woman can invite another school band, which is brilliant and passionate, it will also attract the audiences and rock the whole party tonight.
[解析]
W: Oh, no! You know what? The band I have invited to tonight's dancing party is not gonna come. What can I do?
M: Take it easy, Laura. Tell me what has happened?
W: You know I'm the organizer of tonight's dancing party, and the guest band "Golden Age" just cancelled our show because they can't be sure whether they could arrive on time after another performance in Los Angles.
M: Well, do you really need the band?
W: I think we do need to have a rock band in the performance. Maybe I can find another band to take place of "Golden Age", and that will make the party complete.
M: But we love "Golden Age"!
W: You are right; no band can be as popular as "Golden Age" to attract student audiences. Maybe I can reschedule the party to next week, when "Golden Age" is available to give us a wonderful show.
M: Next week? Don't we have the final exam then?
W: Oh yes, every body must be getting prepared to the final exam and no one would come to the show. What can I do?
Question 61. Question: Summarize the lecture and illustrate two types of product utility.
The lecture talks about two basic types of utility in product exchange: form and place. Utility is important in that consumers would give up the deal when they find there is no utility in their target products. To begin with, the utility of form refers to the distinctive features of the products that can satisfy consumer needs. For example, winter coats must be made of leather and feather so that it can help keep warm. Likewise, the design of waterproof coat can protect people against rain while keeping them looking good. Place is the second type of utility. It demands the producers to ensure sufficient product supplies in the right places, and to ensure people in Alaska have easy access to winter coats is a case in point.
[解析]
W: The exchange process of products creates Utility. Utility is the satisfaction, value, or usefulness a user receives from a product or a service. The whole purchase process will end if the consumer finds no utility in his target products. Two basic types of utility are given to provide consumer satisfaction and enjoyment. They are form and place.
The utility of form means that the target products should have distinctive features to satisfy customer needs. For example, in the winter, consumers prefer buying winter coats that are made of fur, feather or leather and the appearance must look warm and durable. Also, there are some clothes that have special functions to meet special consumer needs. The popularity of the waterproof coat in England simply indicates that people like to wear it to keep rain out while keeping a sense of fashion.
The second type of utility is place, which means that producers must make sure the product is accessible in places where people really have the shopping impulse. For instance, if the winter coats are in plenty supply in Alaska, the sales must be successful because everyone in Alaska needs top quality winter coat to fend off the chill all year round. In contrast, ensuring the supply of winter coat is useless in tropical islands because all they really need are a red bikini and a pair of sandals.