"Professor’s Office" What can be inferred about the professor?

[Narrator] Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.
[Student] Hi Dr. Davis. I’m a little early~ Should I wait outside?
[Professor] No. Come on in. I’m free. What did you want to talk about?
[Student] Well, I’ve read the first couple of books you had on my list... the reading list for my
independent study... and I was just wondering how you went me to report them to  Q1
you. We didn’t really talk about that.
[Professor] Well, I’m glad you stopped by. Let me think... didn’t you have a project to do in addition
to the reading list?
[Student] Yes. You said it could be a research paper or I could come up with a proposal for a different
kind of project.
[Professor] That’s right. So, the reading list is... background information then. Why don’t you just
come in when you finish the first part of the list. I think it was divided in two distinct parts
... so just come in, and we’ll talk about the readings.
[Student] You mean I should prepare a synopsis of each book and... and kind of report to you
on each one?
[Professor] No, no. Nothing as formal as that. I was thinking more along the lines of a conversation.  Q4
As I recall, the list has a focus, doesn’t it?
[Student] Definitely. All of the books are novels and plays from the second half of the twentieth
century.
[Professor] The Post Modern Period then. And all North American novelists and playwrights.
[Student] Right.
[Professor] So we should be able to find some common threads then. Remember, though, Post
Modernism is very difficult to define precisely. Maybe we could start with a discussion
of the themes that emerge in the collection of literature from that period.
[Student] That sounds interesting.
[Professor] I think so, too. And by the time you get through with the second half of the reading list
and we get together again, maybe we can figure out whether we’re looking at a logical
extension of Post Modernism or whether there’s actually a new movement there... in
the readings on the second part. If you’ll notice, there are quite a few minority writers
represented, so you might want to think about what that means.
[Student] I noticed that in the list. The first part of the list has the usual North American writers  Q2
and, of course, a good representation of women writers as you would expect, but the
second part of the list includes a number of African-American authors, several Hispanic-American
writers, and a few Oriental-Americans.
[Professor] It’s a multiethnic mix.
[Student] Yeah.
[Professor] Good. So have you decided whether you want to do a paper or... something else
perhaps?
[Student] To tell the truth, I’d really like to do something a little more creative. Maybe bring in
some visuals on the computer as part of the... I don’t know... I suppose you would
call it a mixed media report. But I’ve never done anything like that before.
[Professor] But that’s what an independent study is designed to do. It’s an opportunity to experiment
and to have some one-on-one time with a professor.
[Student] But a research paper is easier in some ways. At least I know that I can do a decent job.
The computer project is unknown territory.
[Professor] True. But remember, it’s unknown territory for all of us. I think I’ve heard some references  Q3
to Cybermodernism, if you want to investigate some of the work that’s being created
in, as you call it, mixed media literature.
[Student] Gybermodernism? Wow!
[Professor] I think you’d find it interesting. Anyway, it’s up to you. It’s your project.
[Student] Thanks. I’m really excited about doing this independent study. Actually, I’m spending
more time on it than on any of my other classes.
[Professor] I’ve found that students usually invest more time and energy in a class that they can
design. That’s why I like to direct them. Oh, and Terry, if you run into any problems,  Q5
don’t wait until you’re halfway through your reading list Just stop by during my office
hours. Maybe I can give you some referents or at least a sounding board.
[Student] Thanks. This is better than I even expected.