(Question type: Task 2)
You will now read a short passage and then listen to a conversation on the same topic. You will then be asked a question about them. After you read the question, you will have 30 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.
The university is planning to change the menu options in the school cafeteria. Read an announcement about the changes. You will have 45 seconds to read the announcement. Begin reading now.
Expanded Cafeteria Menu
The university is committed to healthy eating and sensitive to recent criticisms that the cafeteria menu is too limited. For this reason, beginning this week, a vegetarian hot meal will be served every Friday to all students. It is hoped that this policy will encourage healthy dietary habits among members of our community and address the problem expressed by vegetarian students about limited menu options. Of course, all students are welcome to make use of the salad bar seven days a week, regardless of the hot meal being offered.
The female student expresses her opinion about why she disagrees with the university’s new policy. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.
Preparation time: 30 seconds
Response time: 60 seconds
The text is a bit hard to break into parts in order to predict what the students will talk about, but here are the clearest possible issues:
Note those points and then listen carefully for them when the students speak. Two of them will be key to the discussion.
When the woman speaks, she makes it immediately clear that she is unhappy when she says “can you believe this RIDICULOUS new policy.” Then listen for why she thinks it will be ridiculous, and be sure to note details that aren’t included in the text. For example, she says that the vegetarians “pay for a full meal plan.” That is very important to include in your response, because it is purely about the woman’s opinion, not about just the text. Similarly, at the very end, she criticizes the quality of the salad bar. The text does not mention the quality of the food, so this is important to note.
Reading
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Listening
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The female student is angry that the school is only offering hot vegetarian food one day per week…she wanted it all the time. She says that it’s unfair for the vegetarian students to be forced to have cold salad instead of a real, hot dinner, because, uhh, because the vegetarians pay full price, just like the other students. She also thinks that the salad bar isn’t a very good option for her because it’s always the same, and the food, like the tomatoes and the lettuce isn’t very good. She’s upset that the school thinks it will be enough, but she still has to suffer through, or, well, deal with that unappealing salad every day.