大学生课堂对话可用材料。关于讨论大学业余生活、课外学习话题。 A: Hi, Lucy, how is it going?
B: Oh, hi, Jan.I’m OK.How about you?
A: You can probably tell just by looking at me.I’m really busy.Hey, what are you reading?
B: A pretty interesting article.My biology profeor aigned it, and I thought I just looked it over.But I got really involved in it.It’s about endangered species.
A: That sounds pretty interesting.I’m getting frustrated with the two research papers I’m struggling with.And can you believe they are both due on the same day?
B: That’s tough.
A: I’ll get through it.So what’s this you are reading?
B: Well, it’s basically about the choices conservationists are faced with.You know, these days when funding is so hard to come by.
A: Wait a minute.Is the focus on biology or economics?
B: Both.Conservationists don’t have enough funding to save every endangered species in the world, so they have to decide based on what would be lost if a species became extinct.
A: Can you give me an example of what you mean?
B: Take for instance, two animals, the spotted owl and the tailed toad.The article says the toad is unique.It has no relatives.But there are a lot of varieties of owls.
A: So, if that toad became extinct, we’d lose an important link in the chain of evolution, right?
B: Exactly.But that isn’t so for the owl.So for conservationists, it might be clear choice of which animal to save.
A: I see.I am glad I don’t have to make that kind of decision.Aren’t you?
