First Listening
Please listen to a short passage carefully and prepare to answer some questions.
Will a rose smell as sweet if it is grown in South America instead of in the United States? With the living costs in the U.S. going up constantly, the costs of love and devotion have also soared. The rose selling companies have turned overseas to bring in better, fresher, and cheaper roses in order to cut down the cost of the gift of roses so the American buyers will not switch to another type of flower in times of celebration. Now imported roses are sold across the entire country, and ninety percent of the imported flowers come from Colombia and Ecuador. The lowered price of roses is a blessing for the lovers but a great challenge for the domestic rose growers. (Words: 122)
Second Listening
Listen to the tape again. Then answer the following questions with your own experiences.
1. The famous Beatles song, Can’t Buy Me Love, means love cannot be bought. But do you think gifts of devotion mean more to that special someone if they are more expensive?
2. Have you ever sent or received flowers for a special occasion? How do you feel when you receive flowers? Discuss the occasions that are traditional for sending flowers in general or roses in particular.
3. Why do rose-selling companies in America turn to foreign rose growers?
