Oscar says the district cannot afford a stipend for every senior. How does Talia handle that point?
Listen to a Speaker Support an Opinion · ELPAC Grades 11–12 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
An extended conversation in which one classmate argues for an opinion, followed by four questions.
Listen to the conversation between Oscar and Talia. Then answer the questions.
Paying the Interns
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Oscar: Talia, did you read the board's proposal? Every senior would finish a semester of internship to graduate.
Talia: I read it twice. I am for the internship and against the way it is written.
Oscar: What is wrong with it? Most high school internships are unpaid. That is normal.
Talia: Normal is not the same as fair. Almost a third of the seniors here work after school, and most of them because the money is needed at home. If you tell that student to give up fifteen hours a week of paid work for an unpaid placement, you have not added a graduation requirement. You have added a bill.
Oscar: The district would tell you it cannot afford a stipend for every senior.
Talia: That is a real limit, and I will not pretend the money is sitting in a drawer. But some employers here already pay their interns. Start the requirement with those placements and widen it as more partners come in.
Oscar: So a smaller program, but everyone in it gets paid.
Talia: Smaller and honest, not large and unequal. A requirement only some students can afford to meet is not a requirement for everyone.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Oscar says the district cannot afford a stipend for every senior. How does Talia handle that point?
- She says the district has more money available than it admits.
- She gives up the requirement that internships be paid.
- She argues that unpaid internships break the law.
- She accepts the limit and proposes starting with the employers who already pay.Correct answer
Why “She accepts the limit and proposes starting with the employers who already pay.” is correct
This tests how an argument absorbs a constraint instead of arguing past it, which is what separates a reasoned case from a complaint. Talia grants the budget limit outright and then narrows her own proposal so it fits inside it: begin with employers already paying, and widen the program as partners join. The sentence to listen for is the one that starts with 'But', because the concession comes first and the proposal follows it.
Why the other answers are wrong
- She says the district has more money available than it admits. — She says the opposite, that she will not pretend the money is sitting in a drawer.
- She gives up the requirement that internships be paid. — Her whole revised plan keeps the pay requirement and reduces the number of placements instead.
- She argues that unpaid internships break the law. — Legality is never raised; her objection is that an unpaid requirement falls hardest on students who need wages.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 11–12, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 11–12. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the California Department of Education or the official ELPAC program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published task formats.