Listen to a conversation between two students.
M: What’s up, Karen?
W: Oh, hey, Bill. I’m just trying to figure out what to do.
M: About what?
W: Well, I volunteer at the local elementary school because, you know, I’m an education major and I help children with homework there after school. We also plan some fun activities with them on weekends.
M: Cool.
W: Yeah, it’s a great program and the kids really love it. So I was planning to take them on a picnic outside tomorrow. I was going to bring along fruit, sandwiches and have their parents drop them off at the park so we can all eat together.
M: Sounds like fun as long as the weather’s good.
W: Well, that’s the thing. Turns out it’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow.
M: Ah oh, what are you gonna do?
W: That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I could reschedule the picnic, call everyone tonight and see if they could come to the park next weekend. The weather would probably be better then but I doubt they’d all be able to make it.
M: Yeah, I see what you mean. Some of them might miss out.
W: Or, you know, I could have their parents drop them off at a local restaurant and have everyone meet there instead of doing a picnic.
M: Right, in that way, you could still do it tomorrow so you wouldn’t have to cancel.
W: But the thing is that it may not be as much fun to eat inside because you know it wouldn’t really be a picnic then.
Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which of the two solutions from the conversation you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
In the conversation, the student is facing a problem that she is planning to take a whole bunch of kids on a picnic but it is going to rain tomorrow. There are two solutions. She could choose either to reschedule the picnic or have kids’ parents drop them off at a local restaurant to eat inside. As for me, I prefer the latter because of two reasons. If the picnic is canceled, the kids must be very disappointed, which makes it harder for the girl to organize a similar activity in the future. Plus, even though eating inside a local restaurant may be as not interesting as an outdoor picnic, the girl could still make it with much more fun by preparing several entertaining games in advance. In this case, she could prevent the children from feeling quite bored during the process. Therefore, because of these two reasons, I think the second choice is better.
