TPO Question: New Stadium
Reading
A university official announced plans to spend $2 million to build a new athletic stadium, commenting that a new stadium would help the university achieve its goal of attracting more top students. The official also said that, additionally, building a new stadium would allow the university to strengthen its relationship with the town since a new and larger stadium would have the space to seat not only students, parents, and alumni, but members of the local community as well.
Audio script of Conversation
NARRATOR: Now listen to two students discussing the article.
MALE STUDENT: So what do you think of the university's new plan?
FEMALE STUDENT: Oh, I don't know, I don't think it's gonna work.
MALE STUDENT: No?
FEMALE STUDENT: I mean I can't imagine top students being too thrilled about some of the conditions on this campus.
MALE STUDENT: What do you mean?
FEMALE STUDENT: Like the science laboratories having such old, outdated equipment, and the library needing more books and the student center being so small.
I think that two million could be spent in better places if the university is really serious about achieving its goal.
MALE STUDENT: Ok, but what about the other reason for building the stadium?
I mean right now we have so little contact with the town.
FEMALE STUDENT: Yeah, but this won't help relations. Look, people from town hardly ever come to games because our teams always lose and they are not suddenly going to improve overnight. Besides, adding seats won't make a difference. I mean if people from town didn't come before. They won't come now just because the place is bigger.
Question
The woman expresses her opinion about the university' s plan. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.
Answer strategy
Reading notes
Proposal: The university plans to build a new athletic stadium for 2 million dollars.
Reason 1: to attract top students
Reason 2: to strengthen its relationship with campus townspeople: a larger stadium will allow the townspeople to come to the campus and watch the game.
Conversation notes
Against reason 1: Campus conditions are bad (e.g., old outdated equipment in the labs, not enough books at the library, small student center: so, fix these problems to attract top students.
Against reason 2: Townspeople haven’t come to the game because our team always loses. So, they won’t come just because the stadium gets bigger.
Let’s consider two sample responses, one begins with the student in the conversation and the other, with the announcement.
Response 1
The student disagrees with the university's plan to construct a new athletic stadium costing $2 million. The student questions the rationale behind the proposal, aimed at attracting top students and strengthening the relationship with campus townspeople.
Regarding the aim of attracting top students, the student argues that this is unlikely since top students are more interested in the academic environment than a new stadium. The student emphasizes that the campus conditions are poor, with old outdated equipment in the labs, insufficient books at the library, and a small student center. Therefore, the student suggests allocating the funds to address these issues.
The student also doubts that a larger stadium would strengthen its relationship with campus townspeople. The student contends that the townspeople hardly ever attend games not because of the stadium's size, but because the team always loses. Therefore, the student argues that making the stadium bigger won't necessarily draw more townspeople to games.
response 2
The university unveils its plan to construct a new stadium, estimated to cost 2 million dollars. The university anticipates that this new stadium will serve as a magnet for top-tier students while also fostering a stronger bond with the community.
However, the woman in the conversation voices her opposition to this proposal. In response to the university's claim that the stadium will attract top students, the woman advocates for reallocating the $2 million towards more pressing priorities, such as upgrading science laboratories and the library's book collection. She argues that these improvements would make the university a more appealing destination for academically gifted individuals.
Addressing the university's assertion that the stadium will strengthen its ties with the community, the woman points out the lackluster attendance from town residents, largely due to the university's consistently losing sports teams. She contends that simply adding more seats will not alter this pattern.