1. Talk about a special opportunity that was given to you. Explain why the opportunity was important.

I was given an opportunity to study in the US one summer. This opportunity is very important to me for several reasons. Firstly, it was the first time I went abroad. I had imagined going abroad ever since I was a little kid. I never got a chance until that day I received a call from an administrator in my college telling me that I was granted the opportunity to study abroad for the summer vacation.  Secondly, I learned and experienced a lot from this opportunity. In this exchange program, I was assigned a partner who was also a college student in the US. He introduced me to his family, took me out to valley faire and instructed me how to use Linux in the computer lab.

2. State whether you agree or disagree with the following statement. Then explain your reasons, using specific details in your explanation. 

Students should not be allowed to bring cell phones (mobile phones) into the classroom.

I totally don’t agree with this statement that students shouldn’t be allowed to bring cell phones into the classroom. One important purpose of cell-phone is that we can reach anyone at any time anywhere. If students’ parents need to inform them of some important things and students don’t have mobile phones with them, parents will have to come to the classroom or call others to reach the kids. This sounds pretty inconvenient in a modern age. On the other hand, simply bringing cell-phones into classroom won’t disturb other students or interrupt the class. Students just need to turn their sound off and make the signal to vibration. And if they receive some urgent phone-calls, they can go out to reply.

3.  The man expresses his opinion about the upcoming change. State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion. 

The library is going to change big, multiperson study tables into personal study cubicles in order to eliminate noise in the library and accommodate more students attending the university. The man in the conversation thinks the university is making a mistake. As for the first purpose to reduce distraction, the man says if there is no multiperson tables in the library, there will be no place to get together to do group projects. He thinks instead of changing tables, the university should build meeting rooms to reduce the noise in the main library hall. As for the second purpose to accommodate more students, the mans says the library has no problem with over crowding. He sees empty tables all the time and the woman always takes a whole table for herself. The man thinks it’ll be a waste of money to build the cubicles since the library now is sufficiently big to hold more students.

4. Explain the concept of ritualization using the example of dogs discussed by the professor. 

Ritualization is a process in which an animal’s behavior that originally serves a practical purpose develops into one that communicates a specific message. The professor use dog’s baring teeth as an example to explain the concept. If dogs feel threatened, they show their teeth, meaning stay away. Before this dog’s behavior become a recognizable warning, its original purpose is to avoid biting its own lips. When dogs sense danger, they bite and instinctively bare teeth to avoid biting their own lips. But other animals over time notice the teeth baring behavior always came before a dog’s going to bite. So they started to read it as a signal to be careful. After this scenario repeated time after time, dogs themselves start to be aware that simply baring teeth is enough to protect themselves. So they use this behavior as a warning signal to communicate the possibility to attack rather than actually attack.

5. The speakers discusses two possible solutions to the man's problem. Briefly summarize the problem. Then state which solution you recommend and explain why. 

The man just got his first draft of paper from the professor and he has to review all the comments and write a final draft. But there is only one day left. The woman offers him two possible suggestions. The first suggestion is to ask the professor for a deadline extension. Since all the other students got their paper a few days ago and only the man got his paper just now, the professor should take some responsibility for this situation. But the man doesn’t want to seem pushy and offensive. The second possible solution is to do his best with the time left. He can finish the paper quickly and work hard. Since he is a pretty good student, he can get a pretty good grade. But there are too many comments to deal with. If I were the man, I would choose the first solution. Since this is the professor’s fault, even if it’ll be a little uncomfortable asking the extension, it’s still reasonable to do so. There is no need to worry about being offensive. The man just need to tell the problem to the professor in the first place. I’m sure the professor will understand.

6. Using points and examples from the talk, explain the concept of diffusion. 

Diffusion is a culture process whereby one group or society adopts another’s item such as a custom, a type of food or an invention. Take the modern newspaper in the US as an example, the characters on the page came from another culture many centuries ago, the printing of words was invented in Germany and paper in China. These innovations were shared across cultures over a long distance and over a long periods of time. Besides, diffusion is sometimes selective. For example, people in the US accept the practice of acupuncture, but few of them fully understand it. Because cultures tend to resist ideas that are too different from their own beliefs and values. If ideas are close to their own, they will incorporate, absorb and diffuse them. So American culture only accepts the practice of acupuncture but not the philosophy of Chinese medicine.