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Read the passage below. While reading, try to guess what the lecture will be about.
Product Classification
Companies must carefully think about the price and appearance of their products when marketing them. This is because consumers use price and appearance to classify products. First, higher priced products tend to be seen as a luxury. Conversely, the lower the price, the more likely consumers will see the product as a necessity. Second, consumers will purchase well-designed and attractive products for decoration and entertainment. On the other hand, consumers see less attractive products as simply utilitarian.
Write down the main idea and key points in note form, using keywords and key phrases only. Restate the passage in your own words.
classify – to place things into groups or categories
luxury – an indulgence rather than a necessity
conversely – on the other hand
necessity – something that is needed
utilitarian – having a useful function
Reading:
Now listen to a related lecture. Take notes on important information.
commodity – a product that can be bought and sold
extraordinarily – extremely; very
appealing – attractive or pleasing
bulky – very large and heavy
sleek – smooth and glossy
Listening:
View the transcriptW: We've been talking about product marketing, and now I'd like to discuss the television as an example. The way consumers classified the television changed when its price changed. When the television first appeared, it was seen as a luxury item. This commodity was something that only the richest people could afford and display in their homes. It was not, as it is today, a feature of every household. The first televisions were extraordinarily expensive. Even if the average family wanted one, they couldn't afford one. However, over time, the price came down. Televisions became less expensive, so cheap even that any college student can afford one today. Not only can anyone afford a television, but who doesn't have a television? Most people are convinced they need a television these days. So it isn't just a luxury... it has become a necessity. All because of the lower price. Second, consumers classified the television in different ways after their design became more appealing. When the first televisions were released, they were, well, not the most attractive things. They were plain looking and bulky—quite ugly, in fact. They took up a lot of space in the living room. But, that was acceptable because people bought them, not for decoration, but rather to access the new world of television programming. They wanted to know what was going on in the television world. They didn't buy them to decorate their homes. Today, however, with newer, sleeker models—we now have televisions that are designed to hang on our walls, much like paintings. Today, we use televisions to decorate our homes, so they have taken on a new function.
Read and think about the prompt below.
Explain how the example of the television supports the theory of product classification.
WITHOUT looking at the original reading passage, review your notes from the reading and listening passages. Select the information you think is important.
Reading:
Listening:
Try to fill in the blanks of the sample response below using your notes.
Notes for the Response
- Classify products by price and appearance.
- Example: television.
- First way: price: luxury or necessity.
- Example: Television was first an expensive luxury, then became an inexpensive necessity.
- Second way: appearance: better appearance allows for decoration.
- Example: Television was plain and ugly at first, now they are attractive and hung like paintings.
Deliver your response, including all the facts and using necessary transitions.
Listen to a sample response. Write down any useful expressions that could improve your response.
Reading:
Listening:
The lecture talks about how consumers will classify products based on their price and appearance, and the speaker uses the television as an example. The professor shows that the first TVs were very expensive luxuries, but when they were cheaper, everyone had to have one. This supports the idea that consumers classify products based on their prices. Second, the lecturer says that the first TVs were plain and heavy, but people liked to watch them. Now TVs are more appealing and people use them to decorate their homes, as if they were wall paintings. This supports the author's claim that consumers classify products based on appearance.
Now give your response to the prompt again, incorporating useful expressions from the sample, while also paying attention to your pronunciation and intonation. Record your time.
