“Thepriceofbooksforourstudentsisjustgettinghigherandhigherand,combinedwiththerisingcostoftuition,it’skillingthesestudents,”saidPeterJason,acollegeprofessor.“Remember,studentsareoneofthepoorestgroupsofpeopleinAmerica.Almosthalfofthemhaveatleastonepart-timejob.Infact,oneofmystudentshasthreejobs.Andshestillmanagestohavehighscoresandgotoschoolfull-time.”
Textbookpricesaretraditionallyhigh.Addingtothatproblem,manycollegeteacherschangetextbooksyearafteryear;theyeitherupgradetoaneweditionorswitchtoanentirelydifferenttextbook.Thisfurtherhurtsstudentsbecauseifaninstructornolongerusesaparticulartextbook,thatbookhasnoresalevalue.
Dr.Jasondecidedtomakelirealittleeasierandalotcheaperforhisstudentsbywritinghisownbookonpublicspeaking.“ManybookshaveanincreasedpricebecauseofCD-ROMs,lotsofcolorphotographsandpictures.Italkedtomystudents,andmanyofthem,likeme,prefertokeepthingssimple!So,afewyearsago,Iwrotemyowntextbook.Comparedtomostotherpublicspeakingbooks,mineishalfthenumberofpages,andone-thirdtheprice.Thatis,$30insteadof$90.WhenIwroteasecondeditionlastyear,studentsonlyhadtobuythe35newpagesForonly$7.00,theyhadalmostanewbook.Nowmyloose-leaftextbookenjoysgreatpopularityamongthestudents.Maybeinthefuturemorewritersandpublisherswilltryit.”
小题1:WhatdidDr.Jasonsayaboutstudentsatcollege?