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Unit 1
Recording 02
Presenter: And our next caller is Karen. Karen, what’s your experience of public transport? Karen: Yes, hello, Gary. Well, I commuted to London for over ten years. I caught the train every morning at 7.15 to get to work for nine o’clock, and I wouldn’t get home until about seven o’clock in the evening. And frankly it was a terrible period of my life, really stressful, mainly because of the unreliability of the train service. I was forever arriving late for work. One day I was travelling home when the train broke down and I eventually got back at midnight. Of course, I had to go to work the next day, so off I went for my 7.15 train. I’d been waiting over an hour when they announced that the train was cancelled. That really was the end for me. I arranged with my employer to work at home and I’ve been working at home happily for the last five years. Of course it meant a big salary cut, but I haven’t regretted it for a moment. Presenter: Thanks for that, Karen. Can you just stay on the line? I’m hoping we’ve got Liam on the line. Liam, are you there? Liam: Yes, I’m here, Gary. Presenter: Great. And what point do you want to make? Liam: Well, I just wanted to say that my experience is similar to your last caller, although I’m a newcomer to commuting by public transport. I’ve just sold my car and now I go to work by bus. I’d owned a car ever since I left college, but I wanted to do my bit to cut down on pollution. But I have to confess that I’m regretting it already. I’ve arrived late for work twice this week because the bus hasn’t turned up on time. It’s got so bad that I’m now thinking of buying a motorbike. It’ll cause less pollution than a car, and be more reliable than public transport. Presenter: Well, it sounds like you’re another dissatisfied customer, Liam. But we’ve also got Sahar on the line, and I think she’s more positive. Sahar, are you there? Sahar: I am, Gary, good afternoon. Presenter: Hello, Sahar, what do you want to tell us? Sahar: Well, I’d like to put in a good word for train travel. I’m working at home while our office block is being renovated, and while I’m appreciating being able to get up later than usual, I really miss my daily commute. You get to know the people you travel with every day. I remember one day I dropped my purse while I was getting off the train. Another passenger picked it up, found my address in it, and brought it round to my house later that evening. Another time, I’d been working really hard and went
to sleep and missed my station. One of the other passengers was getting off at the next station and she had her car parked there. She woke me up and offered me a lift back to my home. I’d spoken to her only a couple of times before then, but now she’s a really good friend. You meet a lot of nice people, and become a part of the travelling community. Presenter: Thanks, Sahar. That’s a side of commuting we don’t often hear about. Now, somebody else who sees the good side of train journeys – Luka. Are you there, Luka? Luka: Yes, indeed. Actually, I’m phoning from the train on my way home from work. Presenter: And are you having a good journey? Luka: Yes, it’s been fine. But then I love trains. I’ve enjoyed travelling by train ever since I was young. I admit that it can be frustrating at times. There are delays and cancellations, and there are minor irritations like poor mobile phone reception – I’ve been trying to phone in to your programme for the last half hour, in fact – but I catch the 7.05 at the station near my home every morning, and still find there’s something quite magical about stepping on to the train. And there are clear advantages over driving, apart from the lack of stress. I reckon that over the years I’ve saved a huge amount of money by using public transport. I’ve never really considered buying a car. You can also get a lot of work done. On the train yesterday morning, for example, I’d read a couple of reports and prepared for an important meeting before I even got to work. Admittedly, I’m quite lucky. The train company I travel with have invested a lot of money recently. They’ve bought new trains and have really improved the service. Karen: Gary … Presenter: Karen, were you wanting to say something? Karen: Yes, I just wanted to pick up Luka’s point that travelling by train is less stressful than driving. Public transport can be stressful, too, when trains don’t turn up or are delayed. What’s less stressful is working at home. At eight o’clock I’m usually having a leisurely breakfast when most people are in their cars or on the train. Yesterday, I’d finished all my work by 2.30, so I drove to the local pool for a swim and today I’ve been working hard all day, so now I’ve got time to relax by listening to the radio for a while. Much better than the stress of commuting. Presenter: You’re very lucky, Karen. We’ve got another caller on the line …
Recording scripts
Grammar and Vocabulary for Advanced
Unit 2
Recording 03
Kelly: You must be really looking forward to going to America. When are you actually leaving? Jessica: I’m flying on the 15th July. I’m spending a few days sightseeing in New York, and then I arrive in Los Angeles on the 20th. Lectures start on the 27th July. Kelly: Sounds great. And what about accommodation? Jessica: Well, first I’m going to stay with Daniel and Susanna, some friends of my parents. Kelly: You’re not staying with them the whole time you’re there, are you? Jessica: No, I’ll be looking for my own place. But I’m really pleased they’ll be around. It’ll be good to know I can contact them in case I have any problems. They’re meeting me at the airport, too. Mind you, I haven’t seen them for years. They’ll have forgotten what I look like. Kelly: And what about the course? Jessica: It looks really interesting. They sent me a reading list, but of course I haven’t got round to opening any of the books yet. So it’s going to take a long time to catch up. I’ll be studying really hard during the semesters so that I don’t have to do much work in the vacations. Kelly: And when does the first semester end? Jessica: The 7th December. Then I’m going to San Francisco for a week. I’ve always wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge. I’m going to fly up there if it’s not too expensive. Kelly: Do you know when you’ll be back in Los Angeles? Jessica: Probably mid-December. So you can come any time after that. Kelly: I’m so looking forward to it. I’ve always wanted to go to the States. I was going to see my aunt in Seattle a couple of years ago, but I cancelled the trip because she got ill. Jessica: Will you stop over anywhere on the way out? Maybe New York or Chicago? Kelly: I haven’t really thought about it. But I’ve only got three weeks, so I think I’ll fly directly to Los Angeles. Jessica: Fine. And I’ll meet you at the airport, of course. By the time you come I’m sure I’ll have got to know LA really well, so I’ll be able to show you all the sights. Kelly: Yes, I suppose you will. When I come to see you, you’ll have been living in California for nearly six months. Jessica: Hard to imagine, isn’t it? After Los Angeles, I thought we could go down to a place called Huntington Beach. If you bring your tent, we’ll camp there for a few days. The weather will still be quite warm, even in the winter. Kelly: Isn’t it your birthday around then? Jessica: That’s right. I’ll be 21 on the 2nd January. Kelly: Well, that’ll be a really good way to celebrate.
Jessica: The best! I’ll need to get back to Los Angeles for when the second semester starts. But you’ll be staying longer, won’t you? Kelly: That’s right. I don’t have to be back in England until later. Jessica: Well, why don’t you go to the Grand Canyon? It’s supposed to be spectacular. Kelly: Yeah, I might think about that. Anyway, as soon as I book my tickets, I’ll let you know. Jessica: OK. We can sort out the details closer to the time. Kelly: Fine. Look, it’s nearly two o’clock. If I don’t go now, I’m going to be late for my next lecture. I’ll text you. Jessica: Yeah, see you.
Unit 3
Recording 04
Presenter: And now on Radio Nation, it’s 8.30 and here’s a summary of the latest news. Air passengers could be hit badly today as cabin crews stay at home in the latest in a series of one-day strikes. The major airlines are warning that up to 100,000 people may experience delays. The managing director of Travel Air, David Wade, had this warning to the unions. David: I’m sure I don’t need to spell out the chaos being caused in the airline industry as a result of these strikes, and I would like to apologise to all our customers. However, the cabin staff must accept the new working conditions if the airline is to compete, and the management has no choice but to stand firm on this issue. Presenter: But he didn’t have to wait long for a response. A union spokesperson said: ‘I can’t believe Mr Wade is being so confrontational. We will not be bullied by management. Eventually, the airlines will have to return to the negotiating table.’ Up to 200 teachers and pupils had to be evacuated from Northfield Primary School in South Wales today after a fire broke out in an adjacent building. Although firefighters were able to bring the fire under control fairly quickly, they couldn’t prevent the fire damaging the school’s sports centre. The headteacher said it might be a number of months before the sports centre is back in operation, although the school itself should be able to reopen early next week. The new Borland Bridge, connecting the island to the mainland, was officially opened today by the Transport Minister. However, it’s been in operation for a few weeks already and has received a mixed reception from islanders. From Borland, here’s our reporter, Anna Curtis. Anna: Yes, the new bridge has stirred up a lot of strong emotion on Borland, and I’m here to gather the views of some of the island’s residents. Excuse me, what do you think of the new bridge?
Announcer: Extract three. You hear part of an interview with a restaurant critic called Amanda Downing. Interviewer: You’re such a household name, it must be terrifying for staff when you go into a restaurant. How do they react? Amanda: It’s true that a lot of people know me, at least in the restaurant world, so I always eat with a friend and they’ll make the booking. Often, though, I get recognised and when that happens, it’s inevitable, I suppose, that they take a bit more care over serving the food and some seem a bit nervous. I’ve never been given a complimentary meal, though, or anything like that. That would be just too obvious, and of course it could be considered unethical to accept a gift like that. Interviewer: And what makes a good restaurant? Amanda: A good restaurant is one where the management and waiting staff have given some thought to why their customers are there. Most restaurant owners believe that the main reason people go to restaurants is for the food, but that’s completely wrong. The main reason people go to restaurants is to have a good time, not because they’re hungry. So there might be a big difference between the priorities of a restaurant and the priorities of diners. For example, one thing that a restaurant gets judged on is the quality of service. What restaurant owners think is good is service that is efficient, but what customers have as their priority is friendly service. [repeat]
Unit 4
Recording 06
Police Officer 1: So, how on earth did they manage to get in? There’s no sign of a forced entry. Police Officer 2: Well, I suppose they could have got in through a window up on the fourth floor. Police Officer 1: But no one would have dared climb up the outside of the building. Anybody trying to do that would have been seen from the street below. You don’t think they would have been able to jump from the block across the road, do you? Police Officer 2: No, it’s much too far. Of course, there’s always the fire escape around the back of the building. They could have climbed up there reasonably easily, and after that they might have been lowered by rope from the roof. If that was the case, people living in the block of flats behind the museum might have seen something, so we need to talk to them.
Police Officer 1: Right, but we needn’t interview everyone in the block, just the people who have windows facing the museum. I’ll arrange that. Police Officer 2: If it wasn’t a window, the only other possibility is that they went in through the front door. Perhaps they forced the lock, but the door didn’t appear to be damaged at all. Police Officer 1: And the entry code is supposed to be known only by the security guard. Police Officer 2: So someone else must have opened the door from the inside. Police Officer 1: Only the security guard was allowed to stay in the museum after it closed. Do you think they somehow persuaded him to let them in? Maybe they just knocked on the front door and he opened it. Police Officer 2: He surely wouldn’t have done something as stupid as that. Do you think he might have been expecting them and that he was part of the gang? Police Officer 1: But then why would they have attacked him? Police Officer 2: I don’t know, but we’d better find out all we can about that guard as soon as possible. Now, who was it that raised the alarm? Police Officer 1: It was the head cleaner, who went into the building early this morning. He must have to know the entry code, too. Police Officer 2: Yes, maybe. He says the front door was unlocked when he got here. But he claims he didn’t see anything else unusual until he got to the fourth floor. But of course, he might be lying. Police Officer 1: Yes, he must know that he ought to have called the police as soon as he found the door open. I wonder why he didn’t. I think we should talk to him again. I suppose he could be hiding some information from us, and he might be prepared to tell us more if we put a bit of pressure on him. Police Officer 2: The other puzzling thing is how they took the paintings away. Apparently, they’re very big, so the robbers must have had to bring a van around to the front of the building. Police Officer 1: The driver must have been waiting nearby and drove up when they’d got the paintings. They could have loaded the paintings up very quickly, and might have driven straight to a port or airport. Anyway, the forensic team should have finished examining the building by now. Once they’ve done that, I think we should go and look around for ourselves …
Unit 5
Recording 07
Interviewer: Right, perhaps you could tell me something about how you got interested in environmental science, and what experience you have in the subject. Nazim: Well, I’ve always been fascinated by plants and animals, and then last year a friend of mine, Mike Proctor, invited me to Brazil. He’s the head of a project there run by a European charity. The charity’s aim is to help groups of villagers set up their own schools and medical centres. They also encourage sustainable agriculture and the setting up of businesses to sell local handicrafts. Anyway, it was during my stay that I really began to understand the impact of climate change. I want to learn more about this and more generally how decision-making on environmental issues in one part of the world can affect the lives of individuals elsewhere. Interviewer: You say you ‘began to understand the impact of climate change’. Could you give me an example of what you saw in Brazil that influenced you? Nazim: Yes, of course. We’ve all heard about the destruction of the rainforest, and I was able to see examples of that. But also, people don’t realise that the climate in the region is changing, and that the speed of change is frightening. There’s been a drought there for a number of months, and river levels are low. I had direct experience of this when I travelled with Mike. Having responsibility for the whole project in the area means that his job involves travelling to some pretty remote areas. Sometimes we had to go by boat to get to some of the villages, and we had to carry the boat because there wasn’t enough water in the river. Interviewer: And is this change affecting the lives of local people? Nazim: A huge amount. The main problem has been the effect of the drought on food supplies. The majority of people there are farmers, and all of them have lost animals and crops. The charity’s project has been a success so far, in that levels of income from the sale of handicrafts have increased. But, of course, financial success isn’t everything. It’s hard to imagine a future without farming in an area like that. Interviewer: Your trip to Brazil sounds like an amazing experience. And since you’ve been back, have you done anything to develop your interest in the area?
Nazim: Yes, I’ve read a book about energy conservation and how this might slow down climate change. And I was particularly interested in how the Netherlands has begun to tackle the problem. The government has introduced some really interesting projects on energy-saving in cities – the use of low-energy light bulbs to reduce the consumption of lighting energy, better insulation for homes, and things like that. There’s also a massive recycling scheme, which is saving an enormous amount of waste. What’s needed now, though, is to expand work like this across the world. Interviewer: And what are your plans for the future? What do you want to do after you’ve left college? Nazim: Actually, I’d like to go into politics. We’ve got, somehow, to persuade governments in developed countries to change their priorities. For example, even if just a small percentage of the money spent on the arms trade could go into tackling climate change, I’m sure we could make a difference. Interviewer: And you think that as a politician, you’d be able to do this? Nazim: I’d certainly like to try. Interviewer: Before we finish, have you got any questions about the course here at the college? Nazim: I’ve noticed that statistics is included in the course. I’m a bit concerned about that. Interviewer: I wouldn’t worry about it. You’d be able to get by with a reasonable knowledge of maths. Nazim: That’s very reassuring. I also wanted to ask about the field trip for second-year students. Interviewer: OK. Second-year students go to Nepal in June, looking at the ecology of mountain environments. Nazim: That sounds like a fantastic opportunity.
Unit 6
Recording 08
Announcer: Speaker one. Speaker 1: I took up running a couple of years ago. Until then, I did a bit of sport at school, but I didn’t do much outside school at all. In fact, I suppose I didn’t have many interests – except playing computer games. Then I went to watch my uncle in a 5k fun run – it was to raise money for charity. I thought the whole event was brilliant and every runner there seemed to be enjoying it. There was another fun run later in the year and I signed up for a laugh. I didn’t do any proper training for it, just a bit of jogging around the park after school,
reliable crops, so that the villagers wouldn’t be so dependent on international aid. The problems there were getting really serious. There had hardly been any rain in the area for the previous three or four years. The whole region was on the brink of starvation and handouts from charities were the only thing that kept people alive. The scheme had been underway for less than a year when I arrived, and my brief was to suggest ways in which the villagers could market any agricultural production that was surplus to their own requirements – any food that they didn’t need themselves. I’ve heard now that the village is making money from its crops by selling them in other parts of Tanzania and even exporting some produce, and it’s built a primary school and a small health centre. It’s very gratifying to know that the scheme has completely transformed its prospects, and the village is now well on its way to becoming a thriving community. Announcer: Now listen to Part 2 again.
Unit 7
Recording 10
Interviewer: In the studio today we have the novelist David Bardreth, whose most recent book, A Woman Alone , was published last week. Welcome to the programme, David. David: Thanks for inviting me. Interviewer: Now, David, you came relatively late to writing, didn’t you? David: Well, I suppose I’d always been a writer – poems, short stories, and so on – but only my close family had read anything I’d written until I had my first novel published in my early 40s. Interviewer: And how did you feel about that? David: Oh, it felt fantastic having my first book published. Interviewer: At that time you were a primary school teacher in your native Scotland. At what stage did you leave teaching? David: Until my third novel was published, I was happy to teach during the day and write in the evening and at weekends. But I found that there wasn’t enough time to do both as well as I wanted to, so I left teaching and I started writing professionally. Some of my close friends thought I was mad to give up my job, and I was greatly relieved that my subsequent books sold quite well. Interviewer: So, no regrets about leaving teaching? David: Oh, it was the most difficult decision imaginable! I’d worked at the same school for about 15 years, and I felt bad leaving the children and also some
very close colleagues and friends. But I still live near the school and I go back on every possible occasion. Interviewer: Tell us something about the process of your writing. How carefully do you outline the story at the very beginning? David: Before I start writing I always know how a book is going to end, although I rarely have a clear idea at the beginning of how the characters will develop. As I write, gradually they grow into real people in my own mind. But sometimes even I’m surprised at how they turn out! Interviewer: And what about your daily work routine? David: I suppose I’m fairly disciplined in my writing. I’m generally up at about 7.00 in the morning, and I usually start work by about eight o’clock. I work upstairs – we’ve converted our attic into a study. In the early stages of a new book I’ll often go to the city library in the afternoon to do some research. Interviewer: You don’t use the Internet? David: As a rule I prefer finding information from books, and I only turn to the Internet as a last resort. Interviewer: Let’s go on now to your latest novel, A Woman Alone. I was surprised to find it set in Norway. David: Yes, I finished my previous book last January. I’d been feeling really tired, and I was aware that I needed rest and a source of fresh ideas. I taught English in Sweden after I left university – and I still speak Swedish quite well – but I hadn’t been to Norway before. There are a lot of historical links between Norway and the north of Scotland, so I decided to spend some weeks there. Some of the geographical settings used in A Woman Alone are based on places I visited while I was travelling around. Interviewer: And A Woman Alone seems to be more personal than many of your other works. David: I’d already decided that I wanted to write about a single-parent family. As you may know, my sister and I were brought up by my mother on her own. The mother in the story, Elsa, is very protective of her children, as was my own mother, but although they have certain common characteristics, Elsa is not really modelled on my mother. Elsa is quite a dominant figure and a woman susceptible to periods of depression, whereas my mother was a rather gentle woman and always calm. Interviewer: And when you’re researching and writing books, do you have time to read other people’s novels? David: I do, yes. One novelist I greatly admire is William Boyd. He writes simply, but with great control of language. I’ve just finished his excellent novel, Restless. It’s a quite remarkable story.
Interviewer: I’ll certainly add that to my list of books to read. And what about your present writing project? What are you working on now? David: Well, I don’t know if I can tell you yet! I’m still sketching out the plot, so it’s very much in the early stages. Interviewer: I know there’ll be a lot of people waiting eagerly to get hold of it … David Bardreth, thank you for talking to us. David: My pleasure.
Unit 8
Recording 11
Alice: Hi everyone! Ryan / Luke / Kathy: Hi / How are you doing? / Hi, Alice. Alice: Listen, we need to make a decision about our holiday. If we don’t decide soon, it’ll be too late to get anywhere to stay. It’s got to be Corfu, hasn’t it? Ryan: I’m not sure how we’d get there. Luke: Well, my brother went there last year. He flew to Rome, then took a train to Brindisi, and then had to get a boat. Kathy: No, it’s not as difficult as that. We could fly from London to Athens and then take a flight from there to Corfu. It takes about six hours. I’ve had a look on the Internet and it looks like there’s a flight that leaves London at about ten in the morning. But we need to book soon. The longer we leave it, the more expensive it’s going to be. Ryan: But obviously it would be much easier getting to Athens – there’s lots of flights and we wouldn’t have to change. Luke: Then what about somewhere to stay? Aren’t hotels supposed to be pretty expensive in Corfu? Alice: Well, I’ve found three that seem possible. I’ve printed off the details here. They all look pretty good, and they’re right next to the best beach on the island. Luke: Which one’s cheapest? Alice: Er … this one here. 60 euros a night for a double room. Luke: Well, accommodation would be cheaper in Athens, I think. It says in my guidebook that there are reasonable hotel rooms for as little as 40 euros a night. There’s one here recommended. It’s a bit far from the city centre, but it’s on the metro, so it’s easy enough to get into the centre from there. Kathy: It wouldn’t be as nice as being able to look out over a beach … What worries me is what we’d do in Athens for a couple of weeks. Ryan: Look, Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world. There’s lots of museums, and then there’s the Acropolis with the Parthenon. Kathy: I remember going to Rome with my parents once. We spent the whole time looking at museums and art galleries, and it was the most boring holiday I’ve ever had.
Alice: Yeah, I think it’d be more fun to go to Corfu. I much prefer lying on a beach to walking around art galleries all day. And it would be more peaceful than being in a city. I want to come home more relaxed and healthier … not unhealthier than when I went away! Kathy: Yes, I’d prefer to go to an island, too, although I don’t want to lie on the beach all day. Maybe we could hire a car and explore the island a bit. Alice: Yeah, we want to see as much as possible, and a car would be the easiest way of getting around. It’s probably not as unspoilt as some of the other Greek islands, but it’s still supposed to be a really beautiful place, so we’ll want to see as much as we can. What about the weather in August? I know we all want to see some sunshine, but isn’t Athens supposed to be incredibly hot in August? I’ve heard that it gets so hot that a lot of people leave the city to find somewhere cooler. Ryan: No, my friend Mark used to work there as an English teacher, and he reckons the heat is nowhere near as bad as people say. Anyway, isn’t Corfu likely to be as hot as Athens at that time of the year? Alice: I think you get the breezes off the sea …
Unit 9
Recording 12
First, let me introduce myself. I’m Dr Lynn Jones, and I’ll be taking you for the first five lectures in this course on first- language learning. I’d like to begin today’s session by highlighting some of the main areas that I’ll be covering with you. From the moment they wake up, infants are keen to interact and communicate with others. This interaction may not, of course, be with people. Early morning sounds from a child’s bedroom may be them babbling to themselves, or speech as a child speaks to their toys. I recently bought my two-year-old daughter a cuddly elephant, and it has become the ‘person’ she talks to each morning lying in bed. And as my three-year-old dresses herself, she likes to talk to each item of clothing: ‘Red jumper, your turn …’. So the first lecture will be about what I call ‘private’ conversations. Of course, a child’s parents are usually their most important focus of interaction, and in the second session we’ll be exploring the part that parents play in very early communication. The first stage of interactive play might be a child giving a toy to their mother or offering her some food. And even before they can use words, infants employ their faces, bodies and sounds to communicate what they want. A hand outstretched to a toy could mean ‘Give it to me’, or a broken toy handed to a parent with an ‘Aaa’ might mean ‘Mend this for me’. Parents encourage this kind of interaction by, for example, hiding an object behind them and asking ‘Where’s it gone?’. At first, infants point, and then later verbalise a response. The importance of infants listening to adults speaking for the development of their own language cannot be overestimated.
Simon: Well, Arun really took care of me. The next day we went on to drive towards Mount Rinjani, the highest mountain in Lombok. The mountain’s thought by some to have been created by the god Batara. According to tradition, he created light and the Earth and still lives in Rinjani. And as we stopped to admire the amazing sunset, it was almost possible to believe it. I really regret not having taken my camera with me. Presenter: No camera? Simon: Ah, no. That was another of my disasters. I’d picked up my passport, but then I’d left my camera. I tried using the camera in my mobile phone, but the quality was pretty poor. Presenter: And what about the people in Lombok? Simon: Arun’s family lived close to the mountain. I was really interested in seeing what it was like in a traditional Lombok family and he invited me to stay with them. Very soon I came to realise that the Lombok people are very kind and hospitable. It wasn’t long before I was beginning to feel quite at home there. Arun’s family are Sasak, who make up about 80% of the population. The Sasaks are thought to have originally come to Lombok from India or Burma. Presenter: So the trip actually ended quite positively? Simon: Absolutely! I considered staying for a few more days, but I didn’t have time. But I really hope to go back in the next few years. The island obviously wants to encourage tourism to boost the economy, but I’d love to think that it could avoid a huge expansion in visitors. Presenter: Thank you, Simon.
Unit 11
Recording 14
The story of radio probably begins with Heinrich Hertz, who was the first to produce radio waves in a laboratory. He devised an experiment in which a spark jumped across a gap in a metal ring when a sparking coil was held a few metres away. The model that you can see in Case 1 shows how this works. For most people, however, it is the Italian Guglielmo Marconi whose name is mainly associated with the development of radio. Before Marconi’s breakthrough, it was possible only to send electrical messages, or ‘telegraphs’, along fixed wires. This obviously greatly restricted the places to which telegraphs could be sent. Marconi’s goal was to find a system where telegraphic messages could be transmitted without the need for the connecting wires that were used in the electric telegraph. For some time he was only able to transmit signals over a few hundred metres, and there were many people who doubted Marconi would ever succeed. The first public demonstration of the power of radio came in 1901, when Marconi announced that he had received
a transmission from across the Atlantic. The old photograph that you can see ahead of you shows Marconi at Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland, where this first transmission was received. Soon after, Marconi opened a ‘wireless telegraph’ factory in England, which employed around 50 people. There are just a few of the ‘wireless telegraphs’ that the factory produced left in the world, an example of which you can see in Case 2. These early radio systems could only be used for Morse code, in which each letter of the alphabet is represented by a combination of dots and dashes. Radio waves could not carry speech until a method had been developed whereby the low- frequency waves produced in a microphone could be combined with high-frequency radio waves. The invention that made this possible was the vacuum tube or thermionic valve. You can see examples of these in Case 3. In several countries, radios became the main means of communication during the 1930s and 1940s. The next photograph shows a family gathered around the radio in the mid-1930s. Radio entertainers, many of whom became household names, were highly paid. In Britain, the popularity of radio increased until 1952, by which time four out of five households owned one. You can probably guess the reason why radio began to lose some of its popularity in the early 1950s
- competition from television. Move now to Room 36, where you can find information and displays about the early days of television …
Unit 12
Recording 15
Interviewer: Photographs of food are all around us, in advertisements, magazines and cookbooks. Today’s guest is Helena Palmer, who has made a highly successful career out of food photography. Welcome, Helena. Helena: Thank you. Interviewer: So how did you become involved in food photography – was your first interest the food or the photography? Helena: Oh, definitely photography first. When I was quite young – 10 or 11 – I started using an old camera belonging to my father. I became fascinated with taking shots of people, my friends and my family in particular. Interviewer: And were you also interested in the way food was presented – in restaurants, for example? Helena: My parents – not having much money – rarely took us to restaurants. But my mother was an excellent cook. I used to take shots of her in the kitchen, and also some of the special things that she’d prepare – birthday cakes, and things like that. Interviewer: And you left school quite young. Helena: Yes, I wasn’t very gifted academically, so at 16 I left school and went to help out at a local
photographic studio. It was easy to find a photographer wanting to take on an assistant for no pay! For a couple of years I lived at home with my parents, who supported me financially. And I was very lucky that the photographer who took me on taught me a lot. She was really the first person to encourage me to take up food photography. She always let me help out with ‘food shoots’ – wedding cakes, publicity photos for local restaurants, and so on. Then, when I was 18, there was a major photography competition being held in London and one of the categories was ‘Celebrations’. So I entered a portfolio of photographs – just for the experience, I thought. By that time I was getting quite into it. Interviewer: And you won. Helena: That’s right. At that time, I was the youngest person in the competition to win any of the major categories. Interviewer: Now, it’s sometimes said that photographing food is the most difficult job for a professional photographer. Is that really true? Helena: It can certainly be very difficult to make it look appetising. Food photography is all done in studios, and the biggest problem is the heat produced by the lights. It can take a very long time to get everything exactly right for a shot, and by that time a chef’s carefully prepared salad might look limp or a cream cake becomes a mound of wet sponge. Interviewer: So how do you get round that? Helena: Well, firstly, the food in photographs used to illustrate cookbooks and magazine articles isn’t always entirely authentic. Interviewer: You mean it’s made of plastic? Helena: Well, some of it, perhaps, but not all of it! If great food could be copied in plastic, I’d be out of a job! We have a number of techniques to help us out. First, a lot of the items in the photograph can be set up early – glasses, cutlery, flowers, perhaps. And then we put in some material to substitute for the food – something with the same size, shape and colour. Often we just make this quickly in the studio from cardboard or any other material available, and paint it. Interviewer: Personally, I prefer food not made of cardboard! Helena: Don’t we all! In the meantime, a food stylist prepares the food to be photographed. Interviewer: A food stylist! Helena: Oh, yes, most professional food photographers employ a food stylist nowadays. As soon as I’m satisfied with the setting, lighting, and so on, we take out the artificial food and put in the real thing. But the food starts to dry out very
quickly. So I generally have with me a spray bottle containing glycerine mixed with water. Glycerine’s a liquid, completely colourless, that’s often used to sweeten food. It’s great for keeping food looking shiny and moist. Another difficulty is that food is sometimes meant to be hot and steaming, but of course by the time we photograph it, it’s completely cold. The only thing to do in that case is to create steam from elsewhere. We use cotton wool balls soaked in water and then put in a microwave. These steam nicely for a couple of minutes, and we position them so that it looks like it’s the food steaming. Something else I wouldn’t be without is a small blowtorch. Interviewer: What do you use that for? Helena: Hundreds of things – quickly melting butter over vegetables, browning toast … A technique that might be used in photographing meat is to take a piece of, say, chicken, use the blowtorch for a while so that it’s nicely golden brown, and then spray some glycerine on the outside to make it look moist. It looks great in the photo, but it might be raw on the inside. Interviewer: Helena, it’s been fascinating talking to you. Thank you so much for coming into the studio. Helena: My pleasure.
Unit 13
Recording 16
Researcher: Thanks to both of you for filling in the questionnaire about your diet, and for agreeing to discuss the issues that it raised. First of all, Maria, could you describe your eating habits on a typical day? Maria: Well, on a typical working day I usually start with a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice. For lunch I generally have a sandwich and a packet of crisps as I’m sitting at my desk. When I get home late I take a ready meal out of the freezer and put it in the microwave. Curries are really good, or something with noodles. Researcher: And what about you, Stefan? Stefan: I’m pretty much the same, actually, although at the weekend I like to make something myself so as not to eat processed food all the time. I’ll perhaps roast a chicken, or do a salad. Maria: At the weekend, I’m often with friends and we’ll usually go out to eat, seeing that none of us likes cooking. Researcher: OK. Can you tell me how your diet now is different from when you were younger – say, when you were a teenager? Maria: Well, when I was younger, my mother used to
But this is perfectly normal and how they lived for centuries before we started hunting them. Presenter: Mariam Khan. Can I bring you in here? You were disappointed that Twyford was to be a zoo and not a safari park. Mariam: Yes, I certainly was. First of all, I agree with Nadia that it’s inhumane to keep animals in the conditions you find in most zoos. Safari parks offer all the educational experience of zoos – the close contact with animals – but they also allow animals to roam free in large enclosures. Safari parks are also very active in captive-breeding programmes, of course. The decision to make Twyford a zoo rather than a safari park is a lost opportunity. Liam: I’m all in favour of safari parks, provided that the animals are well looked after. Unfortunately, that hasn’t always been the case in the past. But they can never replace zoos. They’re places where large animals, mainly from Africa – giraffes, elephants, lions, and so on – roam free. But you can’t have small animals roaming around – if they’re not eaten by the larger animals first, they’ll be killed by visitors’ cars. Nadia: If I could just get a word in here … Save the Animals believes that safari parks are not an acceptable substitute for zoos. Even though they say they are concerned about the welfare of animals, just like zoos, they are still businesses mainly out to make a profit. Entertaining visitors is the priority, not the welfare of animals. Our view is that wild animals should be protected in their natural habitat. There are many successful reserves in Africa, for example, where wild animals roam peacefully. Mariam: But all that costs huge amounts of money that can only be provided by rich tourists who come to see the animals. Most families can’t afford to make trips like that to see them. Safari parks allow city- dwelling children from all levels of society access to … Nadia: But animal welfare is more important! In reserves, animals can be monitored and treated for illness and they can be protected from poachers. And they have as much space as they need to live their lives freely. So long as developed countries put money into these reserves, species will be preserved. Liam: I’m sorry, but that’s unrealistic. Presenter: Well, I’m afraid that’s all we have time for tonight. Mariam Khan, Nadia Muller, Liam Borg, thank you.
Recording 18
Announcer: Exam practice, Listening Part 4. You will hear five short extracts in which people are talking about cooking. Look at Task 1. For questions 1–5, choose from the list (A–H) the person who is speaking. Now look at Task 2. For
questions 6–10, choose from the list (A–H) what each speaker is expressing. While you listen, you must complete both tasks.
Announcer: Speaker one. Speaker 1: By the time I get home after a hard day at work, and with the prospect of a long evening of preparation and marking ahead of me, the last thing I want to do is spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I live on my own, so dinner isn’t a time to talk and relax, unless I’ve got friends round, which usually happens just at the weekend. I just tend to grab a sandwich or microwave a ready-meal and eat it while I’m watching the news on TV or working. If I want good food, there are some pretty decent restaurants around here, although I don’t go out to eat all that often. Announcer: Speaker two. Speaker 2: Even when I’m travelling abroad, I’d rather go somewhere that serves the kind of food I’m used to having at home – steak and chips, maybe a burger, or a pizza, and things like that. Sometimes this gets to be a bit of a problem if I’m transporting stuff to somewhere off the beaten track and there’s only places that serve local food. If I don’t know the place I’m going to, somewhere I haven’t been to before, I’ll generally take a lot of food from home to keep me going for a few days, and then I eat in the cab rather than eat out. I prefer it that way.
Announcer: Speaker three. Speaker 3: When I was training, I lived at home and my mum did all the cooking unless she was away from home. She really enjoys it, so she didn’t mind. Now I realise I should have paid more attention to what she was doing, but she’s offered to lend me some recipe books and give me some tips, so that will really help. But just now I’m rushed off my feet. I’m working in the accident and emergency department and we have to do long hours and night shifts every other week. If I wasn’t so busy, I’d certainly like to cook more. Hopefully, things’ll be less frantic when I get moved to the children’s ward at the end of the year.
Announcer: Speaker four. Speaker 4: I went off to France for a year after I finished school and really got hooked on good food and cooking during the time that I was there. Now, unless I’ve got lectures first thing in the morning, I generally go down to the market to get the best-quality stuff. It’s a real experience shopping there. None of us living in the flat has got a lot of money to spare, but you can get some fantastic
bargains at some of the stalls. Then in the evening I generally cook for my flatmates. They’re pretty appreciative, and if they enjoy what I’ve cooked – well, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
Announcer: Speaker five. Speaker 5: I’m at home most of the time and I don’t have a set pattern of work. If the writing’s going well, I might just work through from eight in the morning to three in the afternoon without taking a break – unless the sun’s shining and then I might go out for a walk, probably in the park across the road. This means that I tend not to eat regularly, and sometimes I forget to buy anything in the shops. So I’ll often go out and get a take-away or something late in the day. There are plenty of places close by. Not very nutritious, I realise, but it’s difficult if you’ve got deadlines to meet. Announcer: Now listen to Part 4 again.
Unit 15
Recording 19
Linda: Have you seen Sam’s article for this week? Bob: No, not yet. He’d got as far as Naples last week, hadn’t he? Go on, read it out. Linda: Right. He’s called it ‘Rest and rats: from Naples to Amalfi’. ‘When I last wrote, I was just north of Naples. I was tired, had big blisters on my feet, and, having fallen over a number of times, I was feeling thoroughly miserable. Now, a week later, I’m sitting in a restaurant looking out over the Mediterranean, watching the sun go down – and life has improved greatly.’ Bob: That’s a bit better! To hear him grumbling last week, you’d think he was about to get on the next flight home! Linda: He sounds in good form now. Listen to this. ‘I had no idea where I was heading when I walked into Naples. Exhausted by a difficult few days, I was only interested in finding a bed for the night. Not wanting to carry my backpack any further than I needed to, I went to the first hotel I came across. But I struck lucky! I’d found a small, friendly hotel. In fact, the welcome I got at the hotel made me decide to stay for a couple of days. While in Naples, I did what all visitors do – I took a tour to Vesuvius and Pompeii. Fascinating places, and it was so good to sit on a coach and give my feet a rest.’ You’ve been there, haven’t you? Bob: Yes, I went a couple of years ago. Pompeii is amazing. I don’t imagine he rested his feet that much, though
- it’s such a big place to walk around. What else does he say? Linda: Let’s see … ‘But after a couple of days of rest and relaxation, I was ready to get back on the trail. Before leaving Naples, I bought yet more walking socks and
a new pair of boots. These are not just any old boots, though. Made from the softest leather imaginable, they are as comfortable as a pair of slippers.’ He must be really pleased. He was getting so many blisters with the old pair. ‘Having left the sprawl of the city behind me, I walked up into the hills to avoid the long trek around the coast. There’s spectacular scenery up there and beautiful views to the sea. On the downside, though, the hills are covered in thorny bushes, and the whole area is very rocky. At times it was difficult to follow the paths as they’re not well marked, and I often had to retrace my steps. I also had a few unpleasant encounters with the local wildlife. Walking into one village I was met by a pack of unfriendly dogs. Snarling aggressively, the dogs were pretty terrifying at first. But I found that if I ignored them, they soon lost interest in me. I met some smaller wildlife, too. The first night on the hills, I pitched my tent, and was ready to sleep. But opening up my sleeping bag, I discovered a scorpion.’ Bob: You’re kidding! Aren’t they dangerous? Linda: Well, Sam obviously wasn’t sure. ‘I’m no expert on scorpions, and I didn’t know if this one was poisonous. I shook it out of my sleeping bag well away from the tent, and made sure it was heading off in the opposite direction before I settled down for the night! But then, around two in the morning, having been woken up by a scratching sound, I found a large rat trying to get into my backpack. Fortunately, it ran off when I threw my boots at it. What with sleeping so badly, and a long and difficult walk along some treacherous paths down from the hills, it was quite a relief to get to Amalfi this afternoon. I’m now ready for dinner – I’ve been recommended the local speciality of lasagne with ricotta cheese – and a few more miles of walking tomorrow towards Ravello. This time, though, it will be along the coast and (I hope) scorpion and rat free! Another report next week.’ Bob: Well, it sounds like he’s enjoying Amalfi, anyway. He hasn’t got much further to go, has he? Linda: No, probably another two or three weeks and he’ll be back with us.
Unit 16
Recording 20
Joe: First of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to come and talk to you this evening. I’m sure you all know the area a couple of miles out of the village known as the Norton Marsh. You’ve probably also heard that the Marsh has been given to the NWT to look after. Unfortunately, the Marsh has been neglected for many years. It’s overgrown, paths have disappeared, and the stream running through the area is blocked by rubbish. Our plan is to return
very patient and helpful. Another advantage is that experienced instructors know when you’re good enough to pass, which I think is kind of difficult for non-professionals to judge. I just carried on having lessons until my instructor said I was ready to take the driving test. And he was right – I passed first time. Although it’s expensive having driving lessons, I’d really recommend it. Announcer: Claudio. Claudio: My mum taught me to drive ’cause I couldn’t afford to pay for driving lessons. I think there’s a lot of other good things about having your parents teach you, besides saving money. You’ve got to book driving lessons in advance, but you can go out with your parents whenever it suits you. And you can spend a lot more time practising, as well. For example, my mum used to come and collect me from college in the car and I’d drive home. What’s more, she’d let me drive when we went shopping. My mum was a great teacher. Even though she doesn’t have a professional qualification or anything, she’s got lots of experience to pass on. I was lucky, though, because she knew a deserted airfield near to where we live, and for the first few lessons Mum took me there to practise. She wouldn’t let me drive on busy roads before I could control the car reasonably well. And as long as I didn’t do anything stupid, she stayed pretty calm. The only time I remember her getting stressed was when I was overtaking. I used to find it really hard. It was very different with my dad, though. He took me out once when Mum was away. We’d hardly driven out of our road before we were shouting at each other. Then he made me practise hill starts for an hour – that’s something I still have problems with – and we just snapped at each other all the time. Of course, one disadvantage of learning with your parents is that you have to pay a lot to insure the car. But apart from that, I think it’s much better.
Unit 18
Recording 22
Interviewer: A government report published today has shown a dramatic fall in recorded crime over the last ten years. With me to discuss the report is the Home Affairs Minister, Kate Pullman. Minister, you must be very pleased with the findings. Minister: Yes, indeed, I was delighted when I was given the figures. When we got elected ten years ago, one of our priorities was a reduction in the disturbingly high crime figures. Obviously, the
policies that we’ve put into place have had a significant impact, so that during our period in office there’s been a 40% fall in the risk of being a victim of crime. Interviewer: So can you pinpoint what measures have had the most significant effect? Minister: Well, I think I’d highlight three things. First, attitudes to committing crime have changed significantly since Peter Miles was appointed head of the police service. He’s been successful in getting more police officers on the streets, and this has meant that a much higher proportion of offenders have been arrested during the last ten years than ever before. Second, a huge amount has been invested in surveillance, particularly closed-circuit television. CCTV has been introduced into most city centres, and it’s used widely now in helping to prevent car crime in particular. And third, I’d pick out our Make Amends scheme. Most people found guilty of vandalism are now made to repair the damage they’ve caused, and this has discouraged young people in particular from causing damage to property. The effect of this is becoming obvious. People are seeing less graffiti in city centres, for example. It’s been so successful that a number of other countries are considering adopting a similar policy. Interviewer: But it’s not all good news, is it? While overall crime levels have fallen, some categories of crime have risen quite sharply, haven’t they? Street crime is up over 25%! Minister: It’s true that there has been a surge in street crime. The reason for this can be found in the huge increase in the number of mobile phones. These have become a particular target for street robbers. But this figure is expected to fall rapidly as new technology starts being used to trace stolen mobiles. If they can be traced, they’ll be a much less attractive target. Interviewer: And drug-related crime is on the increase. Minister: Well, it’s certainly true that more people were caught selling drugs. It’s not clear, though, whether there are more people out there selling drugs or whether there has been better policing and so more arrests. Interviewer: There have been some questions raised about the accuracy of the figures in the report. Minister: Well, it may be that some minor mistakes were made in collecting the figures, but I don’t think anyone would deny the general trends that are reported. Interviewer: Finally, can I turn to the issue of the public perception of crime, which the report also
investigates. It must concern you that despite the number of crimes falling in recent years, a majority of people believe that the crime rate has actually gone up. Everyone you speak to seems to have been a victim or know a victim of crime. If I can give a personal example, my house was broken into only last week and I had my TV and stereo taken. Virtually every person in my road has had a burglar alarm fitted recently. Minister: I’m very sorry to hear that. Yes, there is a problem of public perception, but we’re taking steps to improve this. For example, our latest poster campaign is intended to reassure people that violent crime is falling nationally. But it’ll take a long time for perceptions to change, I think. Interviewer: You don’t believe then, as many people do, that crime is actually on the increase but that fewer crimes are reported to the police? Minister: I do accept that some of the fall might have been caused by lower rates of reporting, but I’m sure this has had a very small impact on the figures. Interviewer: Kate Pullman, thank you very much. Minister: Thank you.
Unit 19
Recording 23
Magnus: Oh, there you are, Leyla. I’ve been looking for you. So how did the meeting go? Leyla: Well, it was really interesting. There were a couple of representatives from the airport, and one of those, a Mr Kelly, spoke first. Then there was a short presentation by Sue Ray. Magnus: Who’s Sue Ray? Leyla: The head of the ‘No to Airport Expansion’ group. After that there were questions from the audience. Some of the people there got pretty angry. Magnus: I’m not surprised! Everyone I’ve spoken to thinks it’s awful. Leyla: Yeah, I thought so, too, before the meeting, but I’m not so sure now. I agree with the anti-expansion group that the plans will change the area, but maybe change isn’t such a bad thing. Magnus: So the airport authorities have convinced you, then? Leyla: Not entirely. They told us that the expansion would create around 2,000 jobs directly – people employed at the airport. They also said that it might increase tourism in the region. I wasn’t so sure about this. I asked how it would boost tourism, and they admitted that they’re not sure exactly how many more people it will attract, although they said it would certainly make it easier for people to get here. Actually, Sue reckoned the expansion would damage
tourism because people won’t want to go on holiday anywhere near an airport. They said that a growing number of people in the local area supported the expansion, particularly local business. Magnus: But what about the noise? Leyla: Mr Kelly said the airport had carried out trial flights last month and no complaints had been received from people in the village. He convinced me that noise wouldn’t be a problem for us. Magnus: Hmm. And what were the airport people like? Leyla: Well, I expected them to be confrontational, but in fact they seemed quite understanding of the complaints. They promised to keep us informed about future developments. They say they’ll be putting copies of the plans in the village hall. They encouraged us to go there and look at the plans in detail. They also announced that there would be a public enquiry before any final decision is taken. Magnus: I’m worried about the nuclear power station on the coast. Won’t planes fly directly over it? And if ever a plane crashed into it, it would be a disaster! Leyla: They said that the flight paths they’re proposing would keep planes away from the power station. Mind you, when Sue gave her presentation she warned us that the airport authorities were not telling the truth. She obviously doesn’t trust them, and demanded that we be shown the details of the flight paths. She wanted to know why we should believe them when they had denied for years that they wanted to expand. They avoided replying to that. Magnus: And what does the ‘No to Airport Expansion’ group want to happen next? Leyla: Well, we had a talk about that after the meeting. Someone asked Sue what we should do to protest about the proposal and she advised us to write to our local politicians with our objections and she also suggested inviting the Minister for Transport to hear our complaints. I’ve volunteered to write to her. And I’m going to go and have a look at the plans. Do you want to come with me? Magnus: Yes, it’d be interesting to see …
Recording 24
Announcer: Exam practice, Listening Part 4. You will hear five short extracts in which people are talking about moving from the countryside to the city. Look at Task 1. For questions 1–5, choose from the list (A–H) the reason each speaker gives for leaving the countryside. Now look at Task 2. For questions 6–10, choose from the list (A–H) what each speaker says about their experience of living in the city. While you listen you must complete both tasks.
Alison: That doesn’t matter. Nor had I, but it’s really not that difficult, and the instructors are brilliant. And anyway, it doesn’t matter if you fall in. The water’s warm, and they give you life jackets to wear. Ben: You think I’d enjoy it, then? Alison: Oh, I’m sure you would. Ben: So have you got any good tips? Alison: Well, make sure you take a sun hat. It’s easy to get burned. And take a couple of pairs of old trainers – preferably plastic ones because they get really wet on the boats. I took leather trainers that fell apart, and I had to buy new ones while I was out there. I suppose the other thing is that I didn’t realise what hard work sailing is. By the end of the holiday I was exhausted, but very fit! Ben: Yes, I need to get into better shape. I was also thinking about spending an extra week in Tasmania going river rafting. That’s probably hard work, too. Alison: Sounds great, but I don’t think TransWorld Adventures do that, do they? Ben: Yeah, it mentions it here on their website. Alison: Let’s see … So it does. That’s new! Ben: It looks amazing. You travel down the Franklin River in a rubber dinghy and then camp by the river at night. Alison: Wow! Well, if you’re going camping, don’t forget to take a really good insect repellent. You’ll certainly need some. Tea tree oil works very well. Ben: What about other camping equipment – a tent and cooking things – do you think I’ll need to take those? Alison: I don’t imagine so. Usually they provide that sort of stuff. But why not contact them and ask them for more information? Ben: Yeah, maybe I’ll email them now.
Recording 26
Announcer: Exam practice, Listening Part 3 You will hear part of a radio interview in which David Evans, a chef in a British school, is talking about his work. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear. Interviewer: Today I’m talking to David Evans, who’s a school chef at Academy School in Wales. Now, David, this is a new school, isn’t it, and it takes a rather unusual approach to school meals? David: That’s right. When the school opened about this time last year the new principal proposed that school dinners should be compulsory. Some people thought she’d be crazy to go ahead with the plan, but she was determined to. Obviously, this was quite a risky experiment. Students aren’t allowed to bring in sandwiches or fizzy drinks. And each day there are only two options available, one vegetarian. We try to introduce
a wide range of styles of cooking. Naturally, at first, students were a little dubious about the food. Most had only eaten what you might call ‘traditional’ British food, so I think it was quite adventurous for them to try what they saw as unusual, the kinds of foods they normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to eat at home, or wouldn’t want to. Interviewer: And rather than having a typical school canteen with individual students lining up to collect food from the kitchen, you have a different arrangement. David: Yes, we have our restaurant system. We get everybody seated at about 12.30 on tables of six and then one student from each table collects the food from the kitchen and serves it to the others. It’s slow, but we deliberately encourage students to sit and talk around the table, including about the food they’re eating. There’s still some resistance to this, particularly as a lot of our students come from homes where fast food and ready meals are what’s normally eaten, and family members eat at different times. They don’t have the habits of conversation over a meal or discussions about food. But we see this as part of our mission, to give them basic social skills so they can operate in an adult world. Interviewer: And what about staff here? What’s their part in this? David: Staff are expected to eat in the restaurant and sit with students, but they’re not there to control things. They’re there to talk to students about the food they’re eating and in this way they learn about nutrition and how important it is to get the right amounts, and that having too much carbohydrate or fat isn’t a good thing. Of course, it’s not all food talk. An unexpected benefit is that the teachers learn more about students outside the classroom. At first there were grumbles from teachers about being forced to eat with students rather than sitting with other members of staff, but now I think they prefer to. Interviewer: And you always try to cook with fresh ingredients. David: Yes, that’s right. Although we offer international dishes, both for nutritional reasons and because of environmental concerns, pretty much all of the produce we use is locally sourced. We’ve also got a small herb garden behind the science block. Students can help with this if they’re willing to. So as well as having fresh food, we’re reducing the environmental problems associated with transporting food over long distances. We put up a map in the restaurant to show where food has
come from. It’s not always possible to get local produce, of course, but we do what we can. Interviewer: Now what about you personally, David? How did you come to take on the post of school chef here? David: Well, I’ve had a varied career. I’ve been a waiter and a chef in a London restaurant, I’ve run two small companies, and I went on to train as a teacher. I taught domestic science in a secondary school for ten years before taking on this job. I’ve found that probably the most important part of the job is to listen to what the students say about the food. I spend a lot of time in the restaurant. I go and talk to the students. They’ll always give me an honest opinion on whether or not they’ve enjoyed something. The time I spent in management has helped me most with this. You need to listen to what people are saying to get the best out of them and make the right decisions. Interviewer: And do you think the approach to food you’ve taken here could be adopted in any school? David: No, I don’t think all schools would be able to. We’re lucky in that we’re a new school and we set it up with the ethos that learning about healthy eating is an important life skill, and students and their parents accept that, although sometimes rather unwillingly. It could be difficult to introduce this into an established school where, for example, chips and burgers are a regular feature of school dinners. Introducing a radical change when students are used to doing things in a certain way can be difficult. But any school could take some steps to make students aware of the importance of healthy eating. I’d certainly advise them to. Over time, I think we’ll see most schools moving in this direction. Announcer: Now listen to Part 3 again.
Unit 21
Recording 27
The final presentation to be made tonight is an award for Lifetime Service to Music Education, and I’m delighted to say that this goes to … Maria Adams. Before I ask Maria to come up and accept the award, I’d just like to say a few words about her. All of you will know of her achievements, first as a highly successful violinist, and then as conductor of the York City Orchestra, but fewer of you will know about her contribution to music education in this country and beyond. It was in the mid- 1990s that we first met. She had been conductor of the YCO for about a year, and I was head of education on York city council. For some time Maria had been writing to me, saying that the council should do more to help children’s musical development
in the city, particularly for those who came from poorer backgrounds. What she was suggesting was that members of the YCO would volunteer their services, either individually or in groups, to go into schools and play for children and run music workshops. In exchange, she wanted the city council to lend instruments to children and provide free music lessons for children whose parents weren’t able to afford them. This was at a time when the government had cut funding for music lessons. Eventually, I invited her to talk to the committee, so along she came to present her proposal. What she did first was convince us of the value of a musical education. Making music she sees as a fundamental part of a child’s development, as essential as an ability to read or write. What impressed us most was the way she calmly and clearly argued her case. By the end of the meeting, all of us had been won over by Maria’s arguments and the Music in Schools project was born. Somehow we found the money to support it! Rarely have I met anyone with such passion for their beliefs. And thanks to Maria’s enthusiasm, the project has been a tremendous success. Not only has she persuaded YCO members to give up their time willingly, but she has also encouraged visiting musicians to give free concerts in schools when they come to play in the city. Well, ‘encourage’ perhaps isn’t the right word – she’s a very persuasive person! A number of times, the council has tried to make changes to the Music in Schools project in order to save money. When this has happened, Maria has demonstrated that she is a determined and persuasive character. Five years ago, for example, there were plans to start charging all children for music lessons, but this she resisted. Only after Maria threatened to withdraw her support from the project did the council back down. Maria’s dream was always to extend her work beyond this city, and with typical energy she set about persuading the government to adopt the project throughout the country. What’s happened as a consequence is that music has become established as an important part of the national curriculum. I think it’s fair to say that, had Maria not been around, music education in most schools in this country would have practically disappeared. Instead, so successful has it been, that those involved in music education around the world have visited the city to see the project in action. And then came an invitation to be a special adviser to the government on music education. In this role, she has worked closely with the Minister for the Arts. Were he here tonight, I know that he would want to express his thanks personally to Maria. And as a further acknowledgement of her enormous service to music education, we’d like to present her with this lifetime achievement award. Maria Adams, if you’d like to come up onto the stage ….
