2.22

Conversation Two

W: Hello, I'm here with Frederick. Now Fred, you went to university in Canada?

M: Yeah, that's right.

W: OK, and you have very strong views about universities in Canada. Could you please explain?

M: Well, we don't have private universities in Canada They're all public. All the universities are owned by the government, so there is the Ministry of Education in charge of creating the curriculum for the universities and so there is not much room for flexibility. Since it's a government-operated institution, things don't move very fast. If you want something to be done, then their staff do not have so much incentive to help you because he's a worker for the government. So I don't think it's very efficient However, there are certain advantages of public universities, such as the fees being free. You don't have to pay for your education. But the system isn’t efficient, and it does not work that well.

W: Yeah, I can see your point, but in the United States we have many private universities, and I think they are large bureaucracies also. Maybe people don't act that much differently, because it's the same thing working for a private university. They get paid for their job. I don't know if they're that much more motivated to help people. Also, we have a problem in the United States that usually only wealthy kids go to the best schools and ifs kind of a problem actually.

M: I agree with you. I think ifs a problem because you're not giving equal access to education to everybody. It's not easy, but having only public universities also might not be the best solution. Perhaps we can learn from Japan where they have a system of private and public universities. Now, in Japan, public universities are considered to be the best.

W: Right. It’s the exact opposite in the United States.

M: So, as you see，it's very hard to say which one is better.

W: Right, a good point.

5 What does the woman want Frederick to talk about?

6 What does the man say about the curriculum in Canadian universities?

7 On what point do the speakers agree?

8 What point does the man make at the end of the conversation?