Now we are ready to start.
Mike: I'm thirty-nine now, and I resumed my studies when my son started grade one. Now I'm very happy that I made up my mind to do this. I'll be graduating in April, and hopefully start teaching high-school English in September.
Mary: What had you been doing before you went to university?
Mike: I had been doing administrative work for thirteen years straight out of high school. I had got very tired and fed up with the low pay and the monotonous nature of the work. So I started university.
Mary: That's a right decision indeed. As for me, I went to university at more or less the normal age. I was actually twenty-one at the time. But I did so miserably that the university suggested that I not return. Since then I've been basically wasting my time.
Mike: And what are your plans?
Mary: You see, one day I was fiddling around on the web and found some information about distance learning. It's fabulous if you can't take the time out to go to people-filled classes because you can work it around your own schedule.
Mike: Yes, I think the fact that you can do the work in your own space and your own time is really helping.
Mary: Of course, I will have deadlines to meet, but they're not the same as the in-class sort. Handing things in doesn't depend on anyone else's office hours or class times, which is really handy. I will only have to contact my tutors when I want to or need to, or when I'm required to do an oral quiz or exam.
Mike: I think it's a very good idea. Going to university was the best thing I have ever done. I found it was more fun than I expected, and the benefits outweighed the disadvantages. I learnt so much about myself, and I'm very proud of my accomplishments.
Mary: And I expect my ability to study to be much better than it used to be, and things come much more easily. Well, I still see doing some of the work as a chore, at least this time around I'm actually enjoying it.
A. Mike's administrative work was very well paid.
Ключевая фраза: "I had got very tired and fed up with the low pay" – Майк говорит, что его административная работа была низкооплачиваемой. Утверждение "very well paid" противоречит тексту. → 2 (False)
B. Mary did not do well at University because she had to earn her living.
Ключевая фраза: "I did so miserably that the university suggested that I not return." – Мэри говорит, что училась плохо, но причина её неуспеваемости в тексте не указана. → 3 (Not stated)
C. Mary was younger than the other students at her university.
Ключевая фраза: "I went to university at more or less the normal age. I was actually twenty-one at the time." – Мэри говорит, что поступила в обычном возрасте, но не сравнивает себя с другими студентами. → 2 (False)
D. Mary thinks that regular classes are rather time-consuming.
Ключевая фраза: "It's fabulous if you can't take the time out to go to people-filled classes because you can work it around your own schedule." – Мэри говорит, что дистанционное обучение удобно, если у вас нет времени посещать обычные занятия. Однако она не утверждает прямо, что регулярные занятия времязатратны. → 3 (Not stated)
E. Mary thinks that she can't study better than when she was younger.
Ключевая фраза: "I expect my ability to study to be much better than it used to be, and things come much more easily." – Мэри ожидает, что её способность учиться станет лучше, чем раньше. Утверждение противоречит тексту. → 2 (False)
F. Distance learning seems to be very convenient for Mary.
Ключевые фразы: "you can work it around your own schedule", "Handing things in doesn't depend on anyone else's office hours or class times, which is really handy" – Мэри перечисляет преимущества дистанционного обучения и называет его удобным. → 1 (True)
G. Mike does not feel disappointed about going to University.
Ключевая фраза: "Going to university was the best thing I have ever done. I found it was more fun than I expected, and the benefits outweighed the disadvantages. I learnt so much about myself, and I'm very proud of my accomplishments." – Майк говорит, что университет был лучшим решением, он гордится достижениями и не разочарован. → 1 (True)