Listening audioscript

THE STUDENTS DISCUSS THE WOMAN’S PROBLEM. DESCRIBE HER PROBLEM 
AND SAY WHICH SOLUTION YOU PREFER AND WHY. 
 
MINI-TEST 7 
 
LISTENING 
Page 459
[ mp3 212-213] 
 

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LPREP IBT 3 E AudioScript 
134
Questions 1 through 5. 
Listen as a student consults with a professor. 
(Professor) 
Come in. Did you want to discuss something with me? 
(Student) 
Thank you, yes, I have something I need to talk about with you. It’s about 
our group presentation. So I, uh, I’m here on behalf of our group. We’ve 
been trying to plan our presentation, but . . . well . . . we’re kind of stuck. 
So we decided that one of us should come here and talk about it with 
you, and I’m the one. 
(Professor)
That’s fine, but can you be a bit more specific? I’m not quite sure how to 
answer your question. 
(Student) 
Well, we’re not sure how to get started, how to get organized. We had a 
meeting, but we just sat around discussing how we should prepare the 
presentation, and we never got anywhere. It seemed like everyone in the 
group had a different idea about how to do the presentation and couldn’t 
agree. So here I am. 
(Professor) 
OK, I see. . . . Tell me, what’s the topic of your presentation? I mean, 
which company are you discussing? 
(Student) 
The Northwest Paper Company. 
(Professor)
OK, so, with your group, first of all you should be outlining what issues 
the Northwest Paper Company is facing. 
(Student) 
But we’ve been trying to divide up tasks first, trying to figure out who’s 
going to do what part of the presentation. 
(Professor)
That most likely won’t work. You need to concentrate on the issues first, 
as a group and not individually. 
(Student) 
Oh. You did say “issues,” didn’t you? There can be more than one issue? 
(Professor)
Oh, yes indeed. The company will be facing . . . maybe two or three 
issues. All of these case studies have multiple issues. You’ll want to 
start by figuring out the major ones. 
(Student) 
So, as a group, the first thing we need to do is to figure out the main 
choices facing the company, like the supply chain and labor. 
(Professor)
Exactly. I don’t remember off-hand exactly what the deal is with your 
case study, whether there are labor issues, or…What I mean is that, yes 
those are good examples, but I’m not confirming that Northwest Paper 
Company has exactly those issues. 
(Student) 
Yeah, I see what you mean. I think that those are two of them, though.
(Professor) 
Anyway, after the group has agreed on what the issues are, then 
together you should decide on the best solution for each one. 
(Student) 
OK, first we pinpoint the problems, and then we figure out the best 
solutions for them. 
(Professor)
Precisely. And then, only then, should you think about how you’re going 
to organize your presentation. 
(Student) 
Um, can you give me any suggestions about how we organize it…when 
we get to that point, I mean? 
(Professor)
Oh, there are a lot of different ways to do that . . . um, how many 
students are in your group? Four or five? 
(Student) 
There’s four of us. 
(Professor)
Well, let’s say you decide that labor and supply are your major issues. 
Then, one person could introduce the presentation, give an overview, 
you know, and a second person could discuss the labor problem and 
what your group comes up with as a solution, and the third person could 

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LPREP IBT 3 E AudioScript 
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discuss the supply issue and its solution, and the fourth person could 
summarize it all. 
Or if you decide that there’re three issues and three of you present 
issues and solutions and one person introduces and summarizes the 
presentation. Or maybe two of you present issues and the other two of 
you discuss possible solutions. But in any case, I think the better part of 
your time and effort will be on discussing the information about the 
company. 
(Student) 
But what if we don’t come up with any solutions to the issues we find? 
(Professor) 
You won’t have to pull solutions out of thin air. Many of the problems 
have potential solutions embedded in the case study itself…um, you 
have to evaluate the pros and cons of the suggestions and make 
decisions. Of course, you’re welcome to be creative and come up with 
ideas that aren’t presented. I might be disappointed if no one in the 
whole class comes up with anything novel, but you’ll have information to 
get you started. And in many cases, it’s best to choose from the options 
presented rather than try something super creative but completely 
impractical.
(Student) 
Alright. I understand now.
(Professor) 
What, exactly, do you understand? 
(Student) 
That we need to probably spend some time meeting as a group just to 
discuss the problems and solutions. After that, we can decide how we’re 
going to organize the presentation. 
(Professor)
Exactly! Anyway, once you’ve spent some time talking through the 
details of the case study and making decisions about your recommended 
course of action, I think the presentation itself will fall into place pretty 
easily.