AUDIOSCRIPT

CONVERSATION 1

M: You know, I feel that some countries don’t deserve (1) __________. The citizens are just incapable
of living in peace.

F: Well, what form of government would be best for them?

M: I hate to say it, but some places need dictatorships. Even military dictatorships. They’re effective.
They’re (2) ____________. They make people live in peace.

F: I totally disagree. I believe dictatorships are morally wrong. The people have no rights in a
dictatorship. If the government does something terrible, the people can’t replace it.

CONVERSATION 2 [F = Australian English]

F: Which party are you going to vote for in the election?

M: The Liberal Party.

F: Why?

M: Because they want to change the election laws so there can be only (3) __________ for president.

F: But that’s not democratic. This is a democracy. The people have the power. They can vote for who
they like. That’s what’s good about democracy.

M: That’s one way to look at it. But one of the disadvantages of democracy is that we can get a
president who only has a small percentage of the votes. We’re supposed to have majority rule, not (4)
_____________.

CONVERSATION 3 [F = Dutch]

M: How do you feel about the royal family?

F: Me? Well, on the one hand, I like the royals as people—they do a lot of important charity work, like
visiting sick children and raising money for hospitals. But on the other hand, I believe that in this day and
age, monarchy is wrong. The monarchs aren’t the real government and they cost us a lot of money.

M: That’s true, but if you didn’t have the (5) ___________, you’d lose your tradition and your history.

F: I see what you mean, but with all the problems we have, we should use all that money to help
people with their problems.