Narrator Listen to a part of a discussion in a business class. The professor is discussing what was taught in the last class.

[Professor] OK, everybody, good morning! Before getting straight down to business, I’d like to review what we discussed in the last class. Now following on from what we were discussing last week, that is, the approaches to marketing, you were going to give us a quick run down on a new strategy for pricing which is now being used by many large companies known as "revenue management"...So what exactly is revenue management?
[Student A] Well, it’s a way of managing your pricing by treating things like airline tickets and hotel rooms rather more as if they were perishable goods.
[Student B] Yeah, I just tried to book a ticket yesterday for Newark and would you believe there are three different prices for the flight?
[Student A] Right! And what was the rational for that?
[Student B] Well...the travel agent said it depended on when you book and the length of the stay, like it’s cheap if you stay away for a Saturday night, presumably because this isn’t business travel, and even cheaper if you buy a ticket where you can’t get a refund if you have to cancel; in that case the ticket costs about half the price. You wouldn’t think it would make that much difference, would you?
[Student A] Well it does, and that’s basically because the airlines are now treating their seats like a commodity. You see--if you want a seat today, then you pay far more for it than if you want it in three weeks’ time.
[Student B] That seems rather unfair.
[Student A] Well...not really...when you think about it, that’s just common sense, isn’t it?
[Professor] What this actually means is that in the same row of seats on the same flight you could have three people who have all paid a different price for their tickets.
[Student B] And is this just happening in the states?
[Student A] No, no it’s the same all over the world. Airlines are able to "market" a seat as a perishable product, with different values at different stages of its life.
[Student B] Well like mangoes or apples at the market.
[Student A] Yeah, it’s exactly like that. The fact is that the companies are not actually interested in selling you a cheap flight! They’re interested in selling the seats and flying aeroplanes that are full.
[Professor] Mark, why do you think revenue management has come about?
[Student A] Well, as far as I can see, there are two basic reasons: firstly because the law has been changed to allow the companies to do this. You see in the past they didn’t have the right to keep changing the prices of the tickets, and secondly we now have very powerful computer programs to do the calculations, so the prices can be changed at a moment’s notice.
[Professor] That’s right! Many of the big hotel groups are doing it now. That’s why the price of a hotel room can also vary so much...depending on when and where you book it. It’s all a bit of a gamble really. Well, thank you. Now let’s get on with your main topic for today...
29. What is the talk mainly about?
30. What is revenue management?
31. According to the female students, when are air fares the lowest?
32. What are the two reasons for the new approach to pricing? Choose two answers.
Narrator Listen again to a part of the conversation. Then answer the question.
[Student B] That seems rather unfair.
[Student A] Well...not really...when you think about it, that’s just common sense, isn’t it?
33. How does the male student think about the revenue management?
Narrator Listen again to a part of the conversation. Then answer the question.
[Student A] Yeah, it’s exactly like that. The fact is that the companies are not actually interested in selling you a cheap flight! They’re interested in selling the seats and flying aeroplanes that are full.
34. What do the airline companies Want do?