What can we learn about the man at the beginning of the conversation?

W: Hey, Tom. How is your literature presentation going?
M: What literature presentation? I don’t have to give mine until the end of the next week.
W: You mean you haven’t even started working on it yet?
M: No.(1)I need the pressure of a deadline to get inspired.
W: Really?(2)I’m quite the opposite. I can’t concentrate unless I know I have plenty of time. Besides, I have a big math test next week. So I want to get my presentation out of the way.
M: What’s your presentation on?
W: T.S. Eliot.
M: Wasn’t he a poet?(3)I thought we were supposed to focus on a novel.
W: He wrote novels, don’t you know?
M: Oh. Really?(4 -1)I never knew that. I guess I’ll learn more on Tuesday. Is that when you are supposed to talk?
W: Uh-huh. But I was going to offer you a preview.(4 - 2)I’m looking for someone to tell me whether I’m talking too fast and whether you can follow what I’m saying.
M: I guess I could do that. When were you thinking of?
W: Will this afternoon be all right? I have a class to go to now, but I’ll be around before dinner.
M: That sounds good. I’ll stop by your room. It’s probably quieter there than in my hall.