【正确答案】[听力原文]
EXAMINER: OK, thank you. We've been talking about school rules. I'd now like to move on and ask you some more specific questions. So, why do you think it's important to have school rules?
CANDIDATE: Well, if you didn't have school rules you'd have complete chaos. Everyone knows that young people, teenagers, are highly impressionable and that they are not exactly in complete control of themselves. By this I mean they're quite immature. If you didn't have rules, then people would get hurt.
EXAMINER: What should be the punishment if someone breaks a rule?
CANDIDATE: Well naturally that depends on the rule. You know if you break the rule, for example if you turn up to school late, I really don't think there should be such a big punishment for that, especially if you've got a valid excuse. However, on the other hand if you're chronically late, well then something needs to be done ... maybe the child's parents need to be told or something like that. But then if, you know, if you do something worse, for example if you attack or have a fight with another kid, then the punishment needs to be a little bit more severe. Certainly the parents need to be informed and often that child needs to be separated from the other children for a certain period of time so that he or she can reflect on his or her behaviour.
EXAMINER: How have school rules changed over the past 50 years?
CANDIDATE: Well, I'm not really sure, I can only go on what my parents told me from 50 years ago, but I think the rules are pretty much the same, but the method of punishment has certainly changed. My father and mother told me that corporal punishment was quite common. Naturally in today's sort of ... in today's era that kind of punishment is not acceptable, so other methods have been ... have been employed.
EXAMINER: OK. Is it better to learn in a coeducational or a single sex school?
CANDIDATE: Well, that's a good question. Opinions are divided over this. I guess we could say that the benefits of a single sex school are that the children are not distracted by the opposite sex. We all know that in your teenage years your hormones are raging and it's easy to be distracted by the opposite sex and by distracted I mean distracted from your studies. You're at school ... the main reason you are at school is to learn. But on the other hand you are also at school to learn to get along with other people in society and since the opposite sex forms half of society, that's also an important thing to learn. So, it's really not an easy question to answer.
EXAMINER: And how do you think British schools are different from those in your country?
CANDIDATE: I'm not really sure. I imagine they're much the same.
EXAMINER: OK. And finally, what can the government do to improve the education system in your country?
CANDIDATE: Well, they've certainly done a lot to improve it since I was in school. There's a lot more equipment and the facilities are a lot better now in public schools and private schools. I think ... I mean naturally if the class sizes are smaller, then you're going to get a better education because the teacher will have more time to devote to you. But having said that, that's not always a practical option. What I think is more resources should be devoted to those areas where the students come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. I think that's one thing that can be done.
EXAMINER: Thank you. That's the end of the speaking test.