Setting Goals: Evaluating a Speech by Randy Pausch
Question 8 • WI-English Language Arts 8 A
Read the excerpt from The Last Lecture.So I called up my mentor, and I called up Andy Van Dam. And I said, Andy, I just gave a two-week assignment, and they came back and did stuff that if I had given them a whole semester I would have given them all As. Sensei, what do I do? [laughter] And Andy thought for a minute and he said, you go back into class tomorrow and you look them in the eye and you say, "Guys, that was pretty good, but I know you can do better.” [laughter] And that was exactly the right advice. Because what he said was, you obviously don’t know where the bar should be, and you’re only going to do them a disservice by putting it anywhere. And boy was that good advice because they just kept going. . . .
Answer
A
need strict limits in order to succeed.
B
are capable of completing any task.
C
possess a great deal of potential.
D
often change their life goals.
Explanation
The students complete work in two weeks that the speaker says he would have given top grades for even if it had taken a whole semester. His mentor urges him to set a higher bar, and the students continue to improve. This suggests they possess a great deal of potential, rather than needing strict limits or being able to complete literally any task.
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