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Advanced Expert audioscript, Prove d'esame di Lingua Inglese

Advanced Expert audioscript, tutti i listening contenuti nel libro e soluzioni

Tipologia: Prove d'esame

2020/2021

Caricato il 05/07/2021

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Audioscripts
Advanced Expert Audioscripts 153
Module 1
Listening 1. Page 12. Exercise 2.
OK, well this is the last few weeks as students for
most of you. Although your thoughts will doubtless
be turning to final exams, or maybe the celebrations
which will follow, there’s also the issue of what you
are going to do next with your life, which is why I’ve
been invited here today. After all, you’ve got to earn
a living and pay back your student loans. My
name’s David Thomas and, having been on many
an interview panel in my time, I’d like to talk not only
about making a good impression at the interview
itself, but also about preparing for the interview
beforehand.
Listening 1. Page 12. Exercise 3.
Right, well, the key to success is really all in the
preparation. Firstly, make sure you dress
comfortably and in an appropriate style for the job
you’re applying for – so nothing too trendy if you’re
going for a banking job, and a conservative suit
probably won’t help your cause if you’re after a job
as a cutting-edge fashion designer.
And obviously remember to prepare everything
you’ll need to take the night before. Apart from your
personal possessions, you’ll probably need a map,
your CV, photocopies of certificates, that sort of
thing. Go out and buy yourself a folder to put them
in. It’s not too impressive when interviewees are
fumbling around dropping paper all over the floor.
Another important point is to go online and work out
how you’re going to get to the interview so that you
arrive in good time with no last-minute panics. Allow
a safety margin for hold-ups and, if at all feasible,
do a practice run first. Being late is a definite no-no.
Related to that of course, doing research about the
company will definitely pay off. If you do this, you’ll
be able to ask one or two intelligent questions of
your own.
Finally, prepare yourself psychologically. Visualising
success in advance helps. Everyone is nervous; it’s
about controlling the butterflies in the stomach and
the dry mouth. Take deep breaths and remain calm.
Listening 1. Page 12. Exercise 4b.
[Listening 1, Page 12. Exercise 3 will be repeated.]
Listening 1. Page 12. Exercise 5b.
When you meet the interviewers, remember that
first impressions are crucial. Research has linked
the kind of handshake you give to the type of
character you are. I’m not entirely convinced by
this, but the same research also links eye contact to
personality and this – along with a smile – is what
most interviewers will notice straightaway and will
help to create a favourable impact before you even
sit down.
When you DO sit down, sit to the back of the chair
and try not to slouch. Your body language speaks
volumes, and shows you are confident. So relax
your shoulders, hold your head high and don’t
fidget. And keep your hands as still as possible,
using moderate gestures to show emotion and
interest rather than waving your arms around.
Another thing I’d urge you to do is to listen carefully,
don’t interrupt and be prepared to give some
thought to how you answer questions. Unless
specifically asked to, avoid long-winded answers.
I’ve had to stop people rambling on for two minutes
or even longer – when actually fifty seconds at most
is usually enough. The same applies to asking
questions –keep them short and to the point.
When you DO speak, it is obviously important to
express yourself clearly. Your tone of voice is just
as important, if not more so – if you mumble or
sound monotonous, the interviewers will just switch
off and think you’re not keen. So put some energy
into what you’re saying by varying the volume and
pace. If necessary, practise beforehand with a
friend and get their opinion on how you sound.
Listening 2, Page 15, Exercise 3.
Hi! My name’s Louise. I’m a primary school teacher
in a village and I’d like to talk to you about how we
try and assimilate migrant children – children from
other cultures and other language groups – into my
school.
When I first started teaching there before we had
our impressive hi-tech buildings with their
wonderfully light and airy classrooms and
interactive whiteboards, all our premises looked
run-down. But the lessons were fun, partly because
nearly all the children were born in the village and
grew up there.
But when families came to live here with little or no
grasp of the language, none of us teachers really
knew how to best integrate their children into a
class full of local children. I had a go at putting up a
world map and asking the newcomers to point to
where they were born. Then I told the class
something that might appeal to them about
whatever country it was. Another teacher told me
she got them to write the word ‘hello’ in their
language on a sticky label and put it on the wall.
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Audioscripts

Module 1

Listening 1. Page 12. Exercise 2.

OK, well this is the last few weeks as students for most of you. Although your thoughts will doubtless be turning to final exams, or maybe the celebrations which will follow, there’s also the issue of what you are going to do next with your life, which is why I’ve been invited here today. After all, you’ve got to earn a living and pay back your student loans. My name’s David Thomas and, having been on many an interview panel in my time, I’d like to talk not only about making a good impression at the interview itself, but also about preparing for the interview beforehand.

Listening 1. Page 12. Exercise 3.

Right, well, the key to success is really all in the preparation. Firstly, make sure you dress comfortably and in an appropriate style for the job you’re applying for – so nothing too trendy if you’re going for a banking job, and a conservative suit probably won’t help your cause if you’re after a job as a cutting-edge fashion designer.

And obviously remember to prepare everything you’ll need to take the night before. Apart from your personal possessions, you’ll probably need a map, your CV, photocopies of certificates, that sort of thing. Go out and buy yourself a folder to put them in. It’s not too impressive when interviewees are fumbling around dropping paper all over the floor.

Another important point is to go online and work out how you’re going to get to the interview so that you arrive in good time with no last-minute panics. Allow a safety margin for hold-ups and, if at all feasible, do a practice run first. Being late is a definite no-no.

Related to that of course, doing research about the company will definitely pay off. If you do this, you’ll be able to ask one or two intelligent questions of your own.

Finally, prepare yourself psychologically. Visualising success in advance helps. Everyone is nervous; it’s about controlling the butterflies in the stomach and the dry mouth. Take deep breaths and remain calm.

Listening 1. Page 12. Exercise 4b.

[Listening 1, Page 12. Exercise 3 will be repeated.]

Listening 1. Page 12. Exercise 5b.

When you meet the interviewers, remember that first impressions are crucial. Research has linked the kind of handshake you give to the type of character you are. I’m not entirely convinced by

this, but the same research also links eye contact to personality and this – along with a smile – is what most interviewers will notice straightaway and will help to create a favourable impact before you even sit down.

When you DO sit down, sit to the back of the chair and try not to slouch. Your body language speaks volumes, and shows you are confident. So relax your shoulders, hold your head high and don’t fidget. And keep your hands as still as possible, using moderate gestures to show emotion and interest rather than waving your arms around.

Another thing I’d urge you to do is to listen carefully, don’t interrupt and be prepared to give some thought to how you answer questions. Unless specifically asked to, avoid long-winded answers. I’ve had to stop people rambling on for two minutes or even longer – when actually fifty seconds at most is usually enough. The same applies to asking questions –keep them short and to the point.

When you DO speak, it is obviously important to express yourself clearly. Your tone of voice is just as important, if not more so – if you mumble or sound monotonous, the interviewers will just switch off and think you’re not keen. So put some energy into what you’re saying by varying the volume and pace. If necessary, practise beforehand with a friend and get their opinion on how you sound.

Listening 2, Page 15, Exercise 3.

Hi! My name’s Louise. I’m a primary school teacher in a village and I’d like to talk to you about how we try and assimilate migrant children – children from other cultures and other language groups – into my school.

When I first started teaching there before we had our impressive hi-tech buildings with their wonderfully light and airy classrooms and interactive whiteboards, all our premises looked run-down. But the lessons were fun, partly because nearly all the children were born in the village and grew up there.

But when families came to live here with little or no grasp of the language, none of us teachers really knew how to best integrate their children into a class full of local children. I had a go at putting up a world map and asking the newcomers to point to where they were born. Then I told the class something that might appeal to them about whatever country it was. Another teacher told me she got them to write the word ‘hello’ in their language on a sticky label and put it on the wall.

Later, the school took certain initiatives, like we would have a day where the whole school focused on a particular country – things like national festivities and typical food. On one occasion, a local TV crew interviewed the teachers about it for a news item. On another, the pupils were encouraged to put together a radio programme in which they told us about their homelands. It was all to try and create an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Admittedly though, academically, we had mixed success. Subjects like numeracy and science were OK – we had lessons every day – but the migrant children made slow progress in more literacy-based classes like history, which was only taught two hours a week. And I can’t pretend that some of the non-migrant students were stretched enough generally and made the progress they could have.

Five years ago, the government finally recognised that disadvantaged schools needed extra resources to help migrant children. And, in what I think was a really courageous move, it was left to teachers at school level to allocate funding. Normally, you’d expect the government, local authorities or at least senior managers to make these decisions.

Now we take children out of mainstream teaching and teach them in small groups – four maximum – until they’ve mastered the language well enough to cope alongside the others. The exception is art lessons, where all the children work together, and there’s some debate about doing the same for music lessons.

Some of our permanent teachers are from the students’ own countries and they come into class and help the rest of us get over difficult concepts. We also sometimes take on social workers on short-term contracts to liaise with parents if their children act badly towards teachers and other students.

Happily, these days, when the migrant children go on to secondary school, they achieve as much as the other children, and even in poorer areas they usually achieve as much as those in more affluent areas. At the moment the government is running a pilot project that puts fifteen to sixteen-year-olds in touch with trained instructors – this helps them fit into society and get the careers advice they need.

[This track will be repeated.]

Speaking, Page 16, Exercise 1d.

apprehensive, directionless, disillusioned, distracted, engaged, inspired, intimidated, motivated, muddled, overwhelmed, passive, pressurised, relieved, self-conscious, well- supported

Speaking, Page 17, Exercise 3b.

In this part of the test, I’m going to give each of you three pictures. I’d like you to talk about two of them on your own for about a minute, and also to answer a question briefly about your partner’s pictures.

Simon, it’s your turn first. Here are your pictures. They show three different styles of learning. I’d like you to compare two of the pictures, and say what the advantages of these styles of learning might be, and how the learners might be feeling. All right?

Speaking, Page 17, Exercise 3c.

B: Well, the photos are similar in one way – they both show learning situations. One is a lecture, could be at a university, and the tutor looks as if he is giving his audience a whole mass of information. The other is a one-to-one situation. A ski instructor is showing a person – she must be a novice –how to position her legs.

I suppose that the main advantage of the lecture format might be that it is a very useful way of communicating knowledge, or ideas, to a large group of people – assuming they’re awake and listening. Whereas, having an individual tutor is probably much more helpful when you are learning a skill because you get all that personal attention.

In the first picture, you can’t really tell whether the students are really involved or not. They seem very passive and I suspect that some of them are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of data that’s being thrown at them. The person learning to ski on the other hand looks thoroughly engaged in the lesson. I guess, though, that she must be feeling a little apprehensive – it would be only natural if it’s her first time on skis.

A: Tania, which style of learning do you think is the most effective?

Speaking, Page 17, Exercise 4a.

[Speaking, Page 17, Exercise 3c will be repeated.]

Module 2

Listening 1, Page 28, Exercise 2.

A: When Laura Walters met Dan Garbutt, an obsessive technophile who works for a social networking site, little did she know the implications this would have for their relationship. They are in the studio today. Welcome to you both. Laura, is it true that Dan actually proposed to you online? How did you react to that?

B: Well, it took me quite a bit to cotton on to what was actually happening, because I’d gone out for a walk with Julie – a friend who it turned out was in on the secret. Julie and I were having lunch at

programme for young offenders, and Dylan Baker, a former young offender who was once one of her students on the programme. Turning to you first, Lucy, perhaps you could tell us a bit about the project.

B: Yes, good morning. Basically it’s a rigorous three-month dance course leading to a recognised qualification. It’s not intended for all criminals but for young offenders who have been arrested several times but are not considered a serious risk to the public. In our view, giving these kids a term in a juvenile jail where they’d learn tricks of the criminal trade from their peers is pointless. If we can steer them in another direction, then so much the better. Some people believe the course is a soft option but, believe me, it’s demanding and disciplined. Not only do they learn to dance, but they learn about the history of dance, with literacy skills woven into the timetable.

A: Interesting. Why did you decide to teach on the course?

B: I heard about a project in Ethiopia, where poor children felt a sense of achievement for the first time in their lives when they learnt to dance. They were fired with so much enthusiasm that they put on a major dance production in three weeks, and two of the former street children have had rave notices everywhere. A lot of kids around here get into crime because they have no faith in themselves and don’t even try to live a normal life. Their cry of can’t, shan’t, won’t is a kind of defence. I wanted to help them come to terms with their negative feelings – break through the limitations they impose on themselves.

A: Dylan, at seventeen you are now a dance teacher on the programme. How did that happen?

C: Well, my dad was always in and out of prison and I was getting into street crime and it’d have gone on like that if they’d locked me up at fifteen. But instead they sentenced me to dance! I didn’t want to do it, but it was better than the alternative. The programme came as a shock. I didn’t like the dance stuff at first – my body ached and I was exhausted. But my tutor was patient and kept saying I could do it. A few of the others dropped out and went to prison instead. They couldn’t cope with the commitment. Amazingly, I passed all my exams. One thing led to another and the programme director gave me the opportunity to work on the course. For the first time in my life my family’s proud of me.

A: Lucy, is Dylan typical of the kind of young offender who goes through the programme?

B: Yes, although he’s done exceptionally well. When they arrive they are always reluctant.

They're used to living on junk food, and getting up at four in the afternoon. So, we start by teaching nutrition and cooking – no fast food allowed. At the same time, they exercise hard. Then, as they improve physically and their confidence grows, they realise they might be able to perform dance routines that they thought were beyond them. That’s when we see things really take off. The reason we insist they put on a performance early on is to focus their minds. They don’t want to make fools of themselves. During the second half of the programme the participants teach dance to children. This helps develop a valuable sense of responsibility.

A: You must find the project a real challenge.

B: Sure, at the beginning, the courts had to be persuaded that the dance training was constructive and tough, but when officials came to watch the graduation performances they were impressed. What thrills me most is that just under thirty-three percent of trainees have reoffended, many fewer than those on conventional prison sentences. We know the skills learnt are transferable to other kinds of work, so we spend a lot of time helping the young people look at directions they might take afterwards. But I have to admit the hardest part is persuading them there are opportunities for them out there.

A: But it must be rewarding.

B: Yes, obviously not in the financial sense! It’s not something I ever intended to do – it came up by chance really. We do turn out some skilled performers but that’s not really the point either. What I love is seeing people who thought they had no value to society realise they might be worth something after all. I’m convinced they go out better citizens than if they’d been locked up in a cell. We've had a fair bit of publicity recently, which is nice, but journalists always focus on people like me, which is ridiculous. It’s not about me; it’s about people like Dylan here.

[This track will be repeated.]

Speaking, Page 32, Exercise 1b.

Exchange one, Candidate A.

A: What do you do here?

B: I work in an office.

A: How long have you been studying English?

B: I’ve been studying English for six years.

Exchange two, Candidate B.

A: What has been your most interesting travel experience and why?

C: Well, actually it was quite recently. When I left college, I was lucky enough to be invited to stay on a ranch in the USA, and it really opened my eyes to a very different way of life. The people were so relaxed and hospitable – it was wonderful.

A: What do you hope to be doing in five years’ time?

C: Oh, lots of things, I hope. I’ve met this fantastic person at work and we’re seeing a lot of each other. I’m hoping we might be married by then, although I don’t feel quite ready for it yet. I’m also looking for a nicer flat. In five years’ time, I’d like to be living somewhere a bit bigger.

Speaking, Page 33, Exercise 3a.

A: First of all, we’d like to know a little about you. Frédéric, where do you come from?

B: I was born in France nineteen years ago.

A: And you, Paola?

C: Well, you know, originally from a little village in the north-west of Italy, though I’ve been living in Portugal for the last ten years.

A: Thank you. And could you tell me how long you’ve both been studying English? Paola?

C: Well, I started learning English at school when I was about eight, but I’ve been coming to this language school for … eh … let me think … nearly four years now.

A: And you, Frédéric?

B: I have studied English since 2009.

A: Thank you both very much.

Speaking, Page 33, Exercise 3b.

A: Frédéric, what are your earliest memories of school?

B: Mmm, I was six when I started. It was a very small school and I cried on the first day because I had no friends.

A: And you, Paola?

C: I remember taking a doll with me, and refusing to let it go. I used to keep it on my desk, and I’d scream if anyone tried to move it.

A: And what is the most exciting experience you’ve ever had?

C: Er … that’s difficult to say … there have been so many … it might be the first time I went skiing as a child. I’d only ever skied indoors before and it was the first time I’d seen real snow.

A: And what about you, Frédéric?

B: I don’t really know …

A: OK. What do you hope to achieve in the future?

B: To pass this exam of course!

Module 3

Listening 1, Page 44, Exercise 2a.

I’ve always been arty but both my sisters are fantastic at painting, which put me off doing it because I knew I’d never be as good. Then I hit on the idea of making jewellery, and got a real buzz out of coming up with innovative ideas and using them in my designs. I get inspiration from all over the place – photos, films, even architecture. Initially, I thought I might try and make some money out of my hobby, but this isn’t going to happen until I get myself better organised. To my disappointment, the actual making of the jewellery didn’t get off to a brilliant start – mainly because I tried to be too clever with my designs. Now they’re not so fussy but they still look effective, and it’s been great fun experimenting.

Listening 1, Page 44, Exercise 4.

A: I’ve always been arty but both my sisters are fantastic at painting, which put me off doing it because I knew I’d never be as good. Then I hit on the idea of making jewellery, and got a real buzz out of coming up with innovative ideas and using them in my designs. I get inspiration from all over the place – photos, films, even architecture. Initially, I thought I might try and make some money out of my hobby, but this isn’t going to happen until I get myself better organised. To my disappointment, the actual making of the jewellery didn’t get off to a brilliant start – mainly because I tried to be too clever with my designs. Now they’re not so fussy but they still look effective, and it’s been great fun experimenting.

B: I’ve been going to a creative writing course once a week for the past year – it’s quite expensive, but I’ve been given a small grant towards it, which helps. None of us have ever written anything before so we’re pretty much in the same boat. A few of us get on really well and have lots of things in common, so we sometimes meet up socially, which has been an unexpected plus. Every week, we have to read out what we’ve written in class and get feedback from the teacher and everyone else, which is a bit intimidating! I’d underestimated how hard it would be – not so much the actual writing as coming up with something interesting to say that hasn’t been said thousands of times already. I hope it gets easier!

C: The main issue is that by the time I’ve got back from work and made everyone dinner, I’ve still got a thousand and one other little jobs I should

B: Mmm … perhaps not … Certainly not the old- fashioned traditional circuses, but maybe some of the more cutting-edge stuff which mixes circus with street entertainment.

A: I know what you mean but I’m not so sure many of my friends are that interested. I know quite a few who would prefer to disappear off to watch some stand-up comic in a dingy club.

B: Well, actually is that true internationally? Stand- up seems to be more of a European thing.

A: Tell me, what do you think about musicals on stage?

B: A lot of my friends like them, particularly when there are so few new ones on the screen these days. When you think about it, don’t they combine the traditional theatre of opera and musical theatre with …

A: Dance, of course!

B: Yes, high-energy stuff. So, it’s not just a matter of fashion. People always come out of them smiling.

Speaking, Page 49, Exercise 3d.

A: Thank you. Now you have a minute to decide which two of the forms of entertainment will remain most popular in the future.

C: Oh, that’s a difficult one. Let’s think. Erm … well, we’re both very positive about stage musicals, aren’t we? They’re fun, energetic and usually light.

B: Yes, and they’ve been around a long time, so there’s no reason to think they’re going to disappear.

C: Yes, clubbing and stand-up might be more a matter of fashion, and karaoke too come to that.

B: Do you think so? There’ll always be clubs, surely?

C: Yes, but not in the sense that we understand clubbing.

B: Couldn’t you say the same about circuses?

C: No, I don’t think so. The style might change – in lots of countries you don’t see animals these days, but circuses in some form or another have been around for centuries. I can’t see that changing.

B: I’m not sure, but I’m happy to go along with you that some form of circus will be around long after karaoke has disappeared.

C: So we’re agreed, then.

B: Yes, let’s go for stage musicals and contemporary circus, contemporary because it will have to keep reinventing itself to remain relevant to new generations.

C: Yes, I think I know what you’re saying! So, agreed!

A: Thank you.

Speaking, Page 49, Exercise 4a.

[Speaking, Page 49, Exercise 3c and Speaking, Page 49, Exercise 3d will be repeated.]

Module 4

Listening 1, Page 60, Exercise 2a.

A: Even though I’ve lived here in Britain for ages now, some things still baffle me, like yesterday, I congratulated my neighbour on her first-class university degree. And she just laughed and said, ‘Well, exams are obviously getting easier these days’ and changed the subject quickly as if she felt apologetic about it.

B: But I bet she’d have been put out if you’d agreed with her about exams getting easier.

A: I’m sure she would! It’s not that the British are more modest – I suppose it’s just that they hate to come across as showing off or making a fuss. Whereas, rather than play down something we’ve done well, we Americans would’ve have shouted it from the rooftops, probably! I find the whole thing quite funny, really.

B: Mmm … do you? It gets on my nerves, actually, because it’s really hard at times to work out what they really mean. In fact, I feel like giving up sometimes. It would be so much easier if they’d just come out and say it, like we do. We’re much more straightforward and though I know we can be a bit in-your-face, at least people know where they are with us.

A: Good point.

Listening 1, Page 60, Exercise 3b.

[Listening 1, Page 60, Exercise 2a will be repeated twice]

Listening 1, Page 60, Exercise 3c.

A: Well, I was brought up in the middle of nowhere, where there’s so much pressure to toe the line and fit in with everyone else.

B: Oh come on! I’ve always thought …

A: No, honestly. That’s why I left. It’s not just in rural areas, either. You find that people in towns and cities can be conventional too – some people have pretty much judged you before you even open your mouth just because you dye your hair

pink or – as in my case – you’re covered in tattoos. Or you have a nose-ring. Or whatever. Whereas here, they at least get to know you first before making up their minds about you.

B: For me, much of the vitality and buzz of London comes from the mix of cultures. You just didn’t get that in the small town where I grew up. I spend hours just watching people go by – the West Indian men looking immaculate on their way to church and the African women in these fantastic multi-coloured outfits. I just love this aspect of being here.

A: It’s certainly a wonderful melting pot, which is probably why you don’t have to worry about social norms or how you’re supposed to live. You can just do your own thing.

[This track will be repeated.]

Listening 2, Page 63, Exercise 3b.

Extract One

A: So, Hector, what turned you into a cycle activist?

B: Well, like some others in our great capital I felt that cyclists weren’t being taken seriously. Our infrastructure wasn’t at all cycle-friendly and car drivers treated us as second-class citizens. And this is at a time when we need to reduce the number of cars on the road, and improve mobility.

A: So how did you make a difference?

B: Our first step was to design and build cycle racks ourselves. A few of us – industrial designers mainly who biked to work – came up with an odd- looking rack which has each bike at a different height, so we could get six bikes in a single car parking space. Since we didn’t have political support, and we still haven’t, we had to sell our ‘bike ports’, as we call them, at a very low cost to cafes and the like. What I’m really proud of is that now we have 230 ports dotted around, in each of which you’ll find a map showing where they all are and a cycle route.

A: It’s only a matter of time then before local politicians jump on the bandwagon.

B: Sure. Maybe that’ll be a good thing, maybe not.

[This part will be repeated.]

Extract Two

C: Haven’t you heard of guerrilla gardening? It’s a brilliant example of neighbourhood activism. ‘Let’s Fight Filth with Forks and Flowers’. What a slogan!

D: Yes, but I can’t see much sense in it. Turning a roadside, or another public space, into a garden. What’s the point of that?

C: Why not if it looks nice! And it’s at the activists’ own expense. They buy discounted plants, or make ‘seed bombs’ – a mix of earth and seeds – and chuck them around. I can’t understand the problem for government – all right, the law has to be enforced, but the public likes the results and supports their work.

D: How very secretive, creeping around under the cover of darkness to avoid getting arrested! And all that military terminology, like guerrilla and bomb. They sound to me like a bunch of ordinary people wanting to liven up their lives.

C: Maybe, but it’s peaceful and brings joy. Lots of passers-by help out and pot up a plant, which is great because it becomes a community thing.

D: OK, and then the big stores start cashing in. I saw an advert the other day for pillows stuffed with lavender grown by – guess who? – guerrilla gardeners.

[This part will be repeated.]

Extract Three

E: I always hated the image of the aggressive activist, but I wanted to do something to help improve the world. I loved knitting and sewing, so I started putting up small cross-stitched banners on public monuments with quotes to get people thinking, and documented it on my blog.

F: Mmmm … more satisfying than just knitting a pair of socks, I suppose. I saw one of the handkerchiefs you sent to the bosses of the large banks. It had a funny message on and made a good point. But I can’t imagine it making any difference.

E: Yes, it does. People follow my videos online and make their own recordings. There are now over 900 members worldwide and we promote discussion of global poverty, homelessness and human rights injustices, all through craft. We’re attracting people who’ve never bothered with these issues before. We’ve even had a meeting with a United Nations commissioner.

F: Mmmm, I suppose I’m a bit suspicious when people like that get interested. But I like the idea of people coming together to empower each other.

E: We’ve got to stop doing things just for our own personal well-being. I believe that activism of this sort will make us think more before we act in future.

[This part will be repeated.]

Pests also play a part. Not only do they infect crops, but it has been discovered that the pesticides used to kill these pests may also be wiping out our bees. Recent research suggested that they may even affect a bee’s memory, making them disoriented and unable to find their way back to their habitats.

So infected crops and the chemicals to prevent this are to blame. And if all that wasn’t enough, we now know that bees have problems finding flowers unless the plants are less than 200 metres away. Once, bees would have been capable of smelling food from a distance of 800 metres – this change, I am sure, has been the result of air pollution. I know most of you don’t need any persuading, but …

[This track will be repeated.]

Listening 2, Page 79, Exercise 3.

A: Today we’re talking about online crime and my guests are Jack Warne, a consultant in the field of information technology, and Grace Martin, a journalist, who had an unusual experience with an email hacker. Jack, there’s so much information about us stored electronically nowadays with a whole new breed of criminal wanting to get hold of it. But you seem relaxed about the threat.

B: No, I’m not. I’m the first to acknowledge that we need to have better control over our personal data. The technology has been developing so fast that there are bound to be increased risks. No sooner do the experts come up with new protection systems than the criminals find a way round them. But let’s get things in perspective – people have always tried to invade our privacy and get hold of something they shouldn’t. Journalists hacking into the telephones of celebrities and politicians to listen out for something scandalous they can use is no worse than ferreting through their garbage cans, trying to find old letters and discarded bank statements.

A: Grace, you are more worried about the impact technology has had on crime.

C: Yeah. It’s scary that people can hack into a big company’s computer system or a government department and access information and I’m not surprised at attempts to hush it up. It can ruin a company, and if our enemies get our country’s secrets, it puts our lives at risk. The thing that really unsettles me, though, is that it’s not just hardened criminals doing it, or someone desperate for cash. Clever technology-obsessed school kids are at it in secret from their bedroom.

A: So, Grace, tell us about your email hacker.

C: Yeah. Someone hacked into my email account, and sent my contacts an email from it saying that I’d been held up at gunpoint, my credit cards had

been stolen and I was desperate for ready cash. I suppose some people must fall for these scams. What really freaked me out, though, was that I felt like my identity was being held hostage. Someone was stalking my inbox, replying to messages using my username and refusing to let me in.

B: Oh, identity theft is awful. Unforgiveable. It’s a serious crime because basically someone is either trying to steal your money or using your name to steal someone else’s. And sharp-witted thieves always seem to be one step ahead, looking at clever ways to outsmart innocent people and catch them unawares. You can stop it, but you have to be on your guard at all times. Some over-trusting, otherwise intelligent people open attachments without thinking about what it is they’re opening. For instance, I had an email supposedly from a friend recently claiming she was in dire trouble abroad, and I’d only seen her five minutes before I got this!

A: And you’ve said Grace, that you feel hackers are worse than street muggers. Why’s that?

C: Well, when you get tricked like that, or even if they hold you up and take your possessions, the robbers disappear and you don’t see them again. But my experience with the hacker was weird. I fired off an email to my own address out of sheer frustration and asked for my contacts back. I got an almost instantaneous reply. The hacker said they would give me my address book for £500. I was so shocked. It was unreal. I was receiving an email from someone claiming to be me. I said I didn’t have that kind of money and asked if they didn’t feel bad about what they were doing. To my amazement, the hacker replied and said that as crimes go it wasn’t so bad. But if someone takes away your main way of communicating with the world, you never know what they might do next.

A: So, you both agree there can be no excuse for hacking.

B: Not for that sort of hacking. And the police or service providers should have better procedures in place for dealing with it, including helping its victims. But let’s not forget, some hackers do a good job of exposing weak security systems. We need them! And for the ones who do it for political reasons, like breaking into government departments and revealing secrets to the public, it’s about freedom of speech and freedom of information.

C: No, no I can’t agree with that. I think they should all be locked up.

[This track will be repeated.]

Speaking, Page 80, Exercise 1b.

alarm system

biometric

body scans

CCTV cameras

code number

high fencing

phone tap

pilotless planes

security guards

spy satellites

swipe card

Speaking, Page 80, Exercise 2b.

Now, I’d like you to talk about something together for about two minutes. Here are some ways in which security is protected and a question for you to discuss.

Now talk to each other about what the advantages and disadvantages of these security measures might be.

Speaking, Page 81, Exercise 2c.

A: OK, where shall we begin? Shall I start? Let’s talk about body scans. I’ve been through them at airports. Body-imaging generally seems to be good at making sure someone is not carrying a weapon, and it’s quicker and not nearly as invasive as a physical body search.

B: I’ve heard it isn’t that effective, not at detecting weapons, and I must say I feel it’s an invasion of privacy. I don’t think there’s anywhere near enough protection of our basic human rights and …

A: Oh, OK, OK, I suppose so, and I suppose that radiation might have a long-term effect on our health.

B: What about swipe cards or security codes? Which of these techniques do you think might be useful in protecting our safety?

A: I think they’re both really helpful as security measures, particularly at the entrance of a really vulnerable building, like a school in an inner-city area.

B: Mmm, yes, I do agree with you on that but I know from personal experience that there’s always a problem when you lose the card or forget the …

A: Well, there’s a downside to everything. What do you think of security cameras? They’re popping up all over the place in our cities. They’re useful. In fact, I think they might be by far the best way of preventing crime, because you can see the criminals, which means they often get caught in the end.

B: Yes, but you get the feeling that the more of these things we have, the more we seem to need. I also don’t like it that we are being snooped on more and more each year. What’s wrong with old-fashioned alarms, like a car alarm? Wouldn’t you agree they can still be effective in deterring thieves?

A: Up to a point, but they’re not nearly as effective in catching criminals. Nor do they really deter as much and they’re no good for most street crimes. It’s interesting that in our town, crime figures stayed pretty much the same as they were years ago until security cameras were introduced. Now the number of thefts is getting lower and lower each year. Of course, you can’t beat face-to-face contact, so having a security guard is probably the best deterrent of all.

B: But it’s not realistic to have guards everywhere – it would be far too expensive. Also, guards are very vulnerable.

Speaking, Page 81, Exercise 2d.

A: Thank you. Now you have a minute to decide which of these security measures might have the most disadvantages.

B: The most disadvantages … Mmm, we’ve covered some of the disadvantages. Or you have. I think I saw more advantages than you. It’s true they all have disadvantages, but everything does, doesn’t it? And these days security is so important.

C: But we have to say which might have the most disadvantages.

B: I think probably alarms because they’re not that effective. Also they often go off by mistake and people take no notice of them.

C: I don’t agree with you. I think they still act as a deterrent and if you’re a burglar and an alarm goes off I’m sure you’ll try and get out as quickly as possible.

B: But maybe that’s too late. Really you want to stop someone getting in in the first place.

C: But that’s no different from CCTV cameras. Both act as a deterrent and both might help catch a criminal.

B: OK, well, perhaps on reflection there might be more disadvantages in whole body searches.

applicants to do was to complete a couple of questionnaires and participate in a memory test. We also asked them to keep a diary regularly, detailing the decisions they took and saying whether they’d made snap judgments or whether they’d mulled things over.

At the beginning of the memory test we placed a set of electrodes on each person’s head to record their brain waves on the computer. We then flashed a series of colourful kaleidoscopic images onto a screen and asked participants to remember what they could. The participants appeared to be giving their full attention to half the images but, while they were looking at the other half, they were distracted by numbers, which we read aloud and asked them to keep in mind. A few minutes later, our participants viewed pairs of images in a recognition test. We found that when they saw the image that they’d seen when distracted, a change of rhythm showed on the recording, suggesting they’d recognised it. Remarkably, and this was the extraordinary thing to us, they were more accurate in selecting images they’d seen when they were distracted than the ones they saw when they’d paid full attention and felt confident of their answers! This suggests to us that people have an unconscious memory and, for reasons we don’t yet understand, their visual system is storing information more efficiently when they aren’t paying attention.

[This track will be repeated.]

Speaking, Page 96, Exercise 1b.

A: I was absolutely livid because I was stuck.

B: I immediately burst into tears.

C: I was in two minds and had to weigh up what to do next.

D: It’s thoroughly depressing when you’re stranded and can’t move.

A: I welled up – I was so moved.

B: When people do things like that, it winds me up.

C: My patience soon wore thin – the situation was driving me mad.

D: I was really down and a bit grouchy beforehand – but I cheered up straight away.

Speaking, Page 97, Exercise 3a.

In this part of the test, I’m going to give each of you three pictures. I’d like you to talk about two of them on your own for about a minute, and also to answer a question briefly about your partner’s pictures.

Axel, it’s your turn first. Here are your pictures. They show people in difficult situations. I’d like you to compare two of the pictures, and say how the

person might first react and how difficult it might be for the person to deal with the situation.

Speaking, Page 97, Exercise 3b.

B: In this one, when the man first realises there’s a problem with the car he’s probably furious. It’s not just the hassle of getting it fixed that’s making him upset but he’s probably got an appointment and is going to be late, in which case it must be extremely frustrating and depressing for him. In the end he can’t do anything, except try to fix it himself or phone for roadside assistance. He seems to be mulling over what to do. Why he doesn’t just fix it himself I don’t know. Perhaps he doesn’t know how to. Actually, I do think a lot of people don’t these days. I’ve never done it myself.

Whereas, in this photo, the situation is quite different. The woman is obviously surprised because she wasn’t expecting a cake or a party. Her first reaction is probably ‘Oh, no!’, perhaps she’s even shocked, but my guess is it won’t be long before she’s entered into the spirit of the occasion and is having a lovely time. Of course, if she has other plans it might be a bit difficult but that’ll soon be forgotten.

A: Thank you, Axel. Now Elena, can you tell us if you think most people react in the same way in unexpected situations?

Speaking, Page 97, Exercise 3c.

[Speaking, Page 97, Exercise 3b will be repeated.]

Module 7

Listening 1, Page 108, Exercise 2.

Extract One

A: I hear you grew up in Manchester like me.

B: Near there, yeah. I moved down south for my job. It was tough at first – it was the unexpected things I missed, like those familiar flat vowels – you know – bath not bath, and people saying ‘Hiya love’ even if they don’t know you.

A: Yeah – I knew I’d miss the countryside and towns and stuff like that, but you’re right – it’s the warmth of the people in the shops and on the buses that you take for granted until you don’t have it anymore. Do you think you’ll ever go back there?

B: It’s not really an option because of my job. And to be honest, it’d be hard to get my husband and kids to uproot after all this time down south. Twenty years is a long time to be away. Also, although we enjoy going back to my hometown and we always get such a warm welcome from everyone, I sometimes feel I’m arriving from another planet. My family and most of the old

schoolmates I was friendly with have never left the north. The place where my sister lives, for example, is only a stone’s throw away from my parents’ house. Whereas, I suppose I’ve just kind of led a different life and grown apart from them a bit. Having said that, if I hadn’t moved to London for my work, I’m sure I’d still be perfectly happy up there.

[This part will be repeated.]

Extract Two

C: What our listeners want to know is why anyone would be mad enough to live in a tent in the middle of winter. With a baby too!

D: Well, it’s a means to an end, actually. I just felt I was working all hours just for everything I earned to go on the rent of our flat. Because of my long commute, I didn’t even have much time to spend with Lily and the baby. So it was all pointless. Then I read an article about a couple who’d built their own eco-home. Being a supporter of green issues, this was something I’d investigated and always fancied doing, but we weren’t in a position to buy the materials we needed. Our breakthrough came when we borrowed a tent from my parents and got permission to pitch it on a friend’s land. Now we’re living rent-free, we can finally start putting my earnings aside to achieve our dream.

C: So what’s the experience been like?

D: On the downside, it’s very cramped and cooking and washing take forever, although you do develop strategies. All we wanted to do was to live a more sustainable life in the future, and take the first steps towards having our own house. The thing that’s given us most pleasure though is hearing the owls hooting and learning more about trees and plants. All of us sleep much better these days.

[This part will be repeated.]

Extract Three

E: I suppose, like most first years, I chose to live in university accommodation because everything is set up for you – you know – electricity, heating, internet connections …

F: Yeah, it’s much less hassle, but it’s a bit basic and … er … not exactly spacious. And you can’t choose who you share with. Whereas, you can rent a room with friends in a lovely big house privately for much less.

E: Yes, there’s more room usually, but then there are bills and deposits and so on, on top of the rent. So, in the end, there’s probably not much in it in terms of what you have to shell out. Haven’t you enjoyed being in halls of residence then?

F: I have but it hasn’t been quite as good as I’d expected. I was hoping with eight people sharing it’d be more sociable. It’s fair enough if people don’t want to eat together, but at least it would be nice to meet up from time to time. But people just do their own thing – drift in and out, come back at different times. I mean, we get on OK, but maybe eight is too many. I think next year two or three of us will rent a house or flat. We’d be more of a community then.

[This part will be repeated.]

Listening 2, Page 111, Exercise 2.

A: Looking back, my best travel experiences were not so much the ones I’d paid for as those I came across by chance, like a village festival in Sicily, or when, on the spur of the moment, I decided to accept the invitation of another traveller and tag along, sometimes setting off in such a rush I even left things behind in my room like my phone charger, which was annoying. Travel has taught me not to be so obsessed with earning money, to focus on things that matter more and respond to situations rather than follow plans. Nowadays, for example, if something comes up with my kids, like they’re taking part in a school show, I try and organise my time around them and turn up and watch.

B: Since I’ve retired, I do things much less actively and intensely. When I was young I used to be a crazy tourist, sticking to an itinerary, ticking attractions off a list, snapping endless digital photos, as though speed were everything. Madness. I soon realised what an unsatisfactory experience it was. Since then, my travelling has become more laid-back, even though I’m always thinking about where I’m going next. I like to rent a room in countries like Bali, explore markets, fix something to eat from natural ingredients and live as simply as possible. Travelling like this has taught me to savour the simple life back home. Now I’d much prefer to spend time washing the dishes by hand than throwing them in the dishwasher!

C: Travel has had a backwash effect on my whole life. It’s made me face up to my fears and take risks in business. I’ve also overcome my social reserve, so that in the evenings I go to local societies, and enjoy the company of individuals I’ve never got to know before, and I realise that I can do things that I find difficult. All this stems from when friends would warn me not to travel to the world’s danger zones, but I went anyway and was blown away by the friendliness and beauty I found. The way we humans are – passionate and friendly or cold and courteous – it differs everywhere. Travel teaches you a lot about others and also about yourself.

B: Yes, you’ve got a good point there, and the same goes for the adventure – it really depends how risky and how the other travellers react.

C: True again. But we’ve got to go for one.

B: OK, well let’s imagine the contexts. Let’s say the place where you’re staying is in a tribal culture far away from modern civilisation and the adventure is a group of young students crossing the rapids in a very remote part of a rainforest and there are dangerous animals lurking on the other side!

C: You’ve got a vivid imagination! Well, I still don’t know! You might learn a lot about yourself and your colleagues when you cross a dangerous river but let’s say staying with a family because it’s probably a deeper experience in the long run and it’s more to do with gaining insights into a culture. You get to meet people who are very different from yourself with different customs.

B: I’ll go along with that! So we agree, then.

A: Thank you.

Speaking, Page 113, Exercise 4c.

[Speaking, Page 112, Exercise 3b will be repeated.]

[Speaking, Page 113, Exercise 3e will be repeated.]

Listening 1, Page 124, Exercise 3.

A: My guest today, Jason Clarke, gave up his high- powered career as a City investment banker at the age of only thirty-five to become a yoga instructor. Jason, what first got you interested? I can’t really imagine bankers doing yoga somehow.

B: Nobody can because people still associate it with hippies in the sixties. To tell you the truth, I used to be sceptical myself. Friends swore how yoga had cured their back problems, colleagues recommended it to deal with pressure at work but, quite frankly, I was unconvinced. If I had time, I’d rather have been playing football, although at my age that was getting a bit much for me! Anyway, in the end I thought I’d give yoga a go – just to see what all the fuss was about really. And I suppose I just got hooked.

A: OK, but it’s one thing to practise yoga and another to give up a well-paid job like yours to teach it!

B: Well actually, quite a few ex-colleagues are doing very well out of it. The yoga industry is currently valued at 42 billion dollars and the inventor of ‘hot yoga’ for example is worth 7 million dollars. Top teachers are making a small fortune out of their DVDs, books and so on as well as being flown halfway round the world to teach their celebrity clients. But personally this

was never my objective. I just felt a bit burnt-out and wanted to do something low-key. Something that would have a positive impact on individuals, rather than just pushing money around.

A: Is that why you decided to start selling the idea of yoga to business managers? To try and change people’s mindset?

B: Yes, I suppose it was the next logical step really. As you know, many impressive people have been influenced by the power of meditation and have written about their experiences. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was one of them. But not until I saw what was happening in the United States did I seriously consider trying to do the same in the UK. It was so exciting to see employees and executives in multinational businesses and health care companies meditating on mats and doing yoga together.

A: But why would a boss want to pay for workers to do this?

B: People first joining a company are always amazed that they are allowed to do it in work time! But it’s not totally philanthropic from a manager’s perspective. Information overload in the digital age is a major concern and impacts on our well-being. Some of our clients work fourteen to fifteen hours a day, and through yoga and meditation, people can feel more focused, work better with others, be more creative and make better decisions for the company’s benefit. When levels of the stress hormone cortisol are reduced, the mind becomes calmer. Health professionals have known this for some time – now it’s being rolled out to businesses.

A: And can everyone benefit from this?

B: When I was teaching businessmen, I’d get someone who’d say, ‘I’ve got 45 minutes to relax’

  • the thinking being, I’ve paid for it, so do it. Some clients used to turn up at class with three mobile phones, all on different time zones, shoulders hunched, oblivious to anyone else. And you just think ‘This isn’t going to work.’ Yoga isn’t a magic wand. You have to want to help yourself – you have to let go. You’re dealing with your problems on a subconscious, intuitive level
  • it’s not like having a psychoanalyst, where you talk about things openly.

A: What would you hope is the main influence that yoga will have on the corporate culture of this country?

B: On the surface, they seem mutually exclusive, don’t they? While giving everything up is an option, it isn’t a central part of yoga teachings. It’s not all or nothing. Making money is fine, and yoga may well help the process. For me, though, it’s what you do with your wealth and how you

acquire it that matters. The sense of ‘mindfulness’ and compassion which we can learn from Buddhist and Hindu cultures can be incorporated into ever more professional ways of running our companies. We don’t want to throw out efficient ways of running our companies but if we can get away from the cut-throat atmosphere which has prevailed until now, and take on some of these eastern ideals, we have the best of both worlds.

A: Well, you obviously believe passionately in this, Jason, and thank you …

[This track will be repeated.]

Module 8

Listening 2, Page 127, Exercise 3.

Extract One

A: You were worth over three million euros and then you took an extraordinary decision.

B: Yes. I come from a poor family where success was measured by how much you earned. All I cared about was getting rich but eventually I realised that money was actually preventing me from being happy. I’d go on luxury holidays and felt I didn’t belong, and began to despise the affluence and the people I surrounded myself with. So one day, I sold my company and got rid of everything. I now live in a small wooden chalet with just the basics and I teach part-time to make ends meet.

A: So what did you do with the money?

B: At first, I tried giving it away but that left me uneasy. I don’t know why. Then I remembered that once in Latin America I’d given a poor man two hundred euros to buy some farming equipment, and years later he contacted me to say his life had been transformed and gave the euros back. I realised then how little some people need to make a difference. Remembering that gave me the idea of setting up a charity organisation offering small loans to people who wanted a start in life. Now I have a real sense of achievement.

[This part will be repeated.]

Extract Two

C: I came into a fortune when I was 18 and my step- brother inherited nothing. I remember thinking this isn’t right.

D: My experience is different. I inherited when I was very young but until I went to university and was given a car paid for by my trust fund, I didn’t realise what that meant. But I felt like an outsider

and tried to give the impression I was on a grant like the others.

C: Yes, I tended to avoid contact with people, at least until I started giving to charity. I had no real direction. I felt that anything I might succeed in would not be because of me and what I’d done.

D: Absolutely! I understand that. I only really felt there was a point to my existence when I met some others who’d also inherited large sums and we agreed to give money to causes like the anti- nuclear protestors.

C: Will you leave anything to your children?

D: I don’t want to spoil them, so just enough to get them started. Hopefully not enough to destroy their work ethic. I’d hate the idea of them lazing around, doing nothing.

C: It’s tricky. If you give them more than others get you could be taking away their motivation. But some rich kids do accomplish things on their own. The key is having the desire to succeed. On balance though, I’m sure that, in the long run, they’ll be far happier without any unfair advantage.

[This part will be repeated.]

Extract Three

E: You’d never think so now, but a few years ago I won a fortune. But how I wish I’d torn up the ticket! Winning was a great thrill at first. We did the usual thing of selling our house, buying somewhere posh and having holidays which cost the earth. We got used to getting what we wanted when we wanted it. We didn’t really think about it.

F: So what was the problem? Were you were inundated with begging letters?

E: Yes, and so-called friends we’d never met would stop us in the street and ask us to help them out of their difficulties. We soon realised how hard it was to live like that. We couldn’t really handle it.

F: I suppose after a while the money ran out.

E: Yes, we didn’t look after it or invest it properly. We started to struggle financially and that was a shock. And then we got burgled, which was horrible, but it was after that I realised how straightforward things had been before we won. Now I’ve got a job as a shop assistant. It’s not much fun but it’s reassuring to have some sort of structure back to our daily life.

[This part will be repeated.]

brain is at. The accepted wisdom used to be that growth was complete by the age of ten, but we now know that the frontal lobes – they’re responsible for impulse control and judgement – do not communicate efficiently with the rest of the brain until the connecting nerve cells are fully coated with a fatty substance called myelin. This happens around the age of twenty-five. Scientists now think that this accounts for a lot of unacceptable teenage behaviour, which I find convincing.

A: Jane?

C: I feel sorry for them. But I think it’s less about biology and more about how we bring them up. In traditional communities, children had more opportunity to learn how to do things from their parents – it was a kind of apprenticeship for adulthood and increased their maturity. But nowadays there are too few occasions in which they can develop their ability to do the things they will need as adults, like cooking and caring for others. Most contemporary adolescents I know only go to school and hang out with their peers, which means they spend too little time learning valuable life skills from their parents.

B: I agree with Jane there, but we still need to understand the biological changes. Parents wonder why their teenager can be so erratic – responsible in some areas and reckless in others. Hormones may be part of the reason, but at that age there is an innate desire to act and the brain isn’t always able to hold out against it. Kids can often see what their friends are doing wrong without realising their own behaviour is dangerous. They don’t necessarily underestimate the risks – say of driving a car too fast – but the idea is too appealing to hold out against.

C: Yes, the appeal of fun now is too strong. As with teenagers who know they ought to study or get an early night but mess around on the internet instead.

A: So, if a teenage boy says he can’t keep awake at school in the mornings, is he lazy or just tired?

B: Sleep plays a crucial role in a teenager’s ability to learn. Basically, about nine hours a night is about right. Teenagers are physically programmed to stay up and get up late, and the ideal time for learning is two hours after a person’s biological clock tells them it’s time to wake up.

C: So does that mean that schools should start later in the day? Would teenagers really learn better? That’s going too far.

B: No, it isn’t. Teens are struggling to function on a sleep cycle that’s out of synch with their internal clocks and are living with acute sleep deficit.

That’s why they try to catch up on sleep at weekends. I’m all for a radical change in when school starts.

A: Are teenagers more susceptible to negative influences than we are?

C: Why do you think tobacco companies target teens? The teenage brain is like a sponge and, as Tom says, hasn’t the ability to make proper judgements. That’s really what separates us from them. They easily become addicted to all sorts of harmful influences – more than we do. It doesn’t help that in the modern world everything is fast- paced, everyone multi-tasks and there is constant sensory stimulation from technology. Most modern teenagers have twenty-five things coming at them at the same time, and learning to handle this overload is altering the way their brains are wired and makes judgements harder.

A: So with all this knowledge we now have about the teenage brain, what advice do you offer parents?

B: First, to be more understanding. Human children depend on their parents for much longer than those of any other mammal similar to ourselves, which means they can learn more before they are on their own. I tell parents to guide their teenagers with a light but steady hand, stay connected but gradually increase the freedom you give them. Tell them you’re sending them to bed early not to annoy them but so that they can cope at school the next day. And show them yourself how to do things. Don’t just leave it to their schoolteachers to do the teaching. They learn from you about the little things – how you treat strangers, how you deal with the stresses of daily life.

C: Yes, Tom’s right. They can learn from their friends but not entirely. A loving relationship is so important, which means parents spending time with them.

[This track will be repeated.]

Module 10

Listening 1, Page 156, Exercise 2.

Extract One

A: Do you remember those thirty-three miners who got trapped two thousand feet down for – what – seventy days or thereabouts, and managed to survive?

B: Yes, mainly due to the leadership skills of the shift leader, I gather.

A: To an extent, but they would never have survived if they hadn’t worked together as they did. For a start, they would never have shared out what

little food they had if they hadn’t trusted each other. In which case, they would have died. People say it was hope that kept them alive but, if that was the case, it could only have come from an incredible team spirit.

B: Absolutely. But I still maintain this is only because they had someone to inspire them to do this, make decisions and bond them together. I heard that the leader gave each of them a specific responsibility, to emphasise that everyone’s contribution was valuable and that they were all in it together. And to motivate them, presumably. After all, there’s no point digging a well for fresh water if you don’t think you’re going to survive.

A: He did a good job. Apparently, by the time they were rescued they were so bonded that they wouldn’t go home until all of them were out.

[This part will be repeated.]

Extract Two

C: In a world where every dancer must want to be a famous ballerina, does being one of fifty or so identical dancers feel like a letdown?

D: Well it’s a very competitive field and I’m lucky enough to be in one of the top companies, so I’ve come to terms by now with the idea I may just be in the back row for my entire career. It’s actually really good fun – there’s a great sense of unity and discipline. You get to dance with different partners as well, whereas if you’re a principal you often get typecast or stuck with a particular partner a lot.

C: And it must be so much less stressful when you’re not the sole focus of attention.

D: Yes, you can enjoy yourself more and there’s less stress on your body, which means fewer injuries. Of course there are downsides. If I’m honest, it’s hard to let go of the fact that you’ll never be the poster girl, the one in the spotlight getting all the applause, curtain calls and flowers. It’d be very exciting. And it’d make a change to be given a more glamorous part than just a peasant or a snowflake or whatever. You do sometimes feel like just part of the scenery.

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Extract Three

E: I heard your hospital got advice from a formula- one racing team? How come?

F: Well, the hospital needed to make efficiency savings in the work of operating theatres, but was concerned that this shouldn’t be at the expense of patient safety. Our concern wasn’t the operation itself, but the handover of the

patient to the intensive-care unit afterwards. In streamlining the process and increasing the throughput of patients, we were worried that fatal mistakes might be made, like vital equipment not being switched on or whatever. Then a colleague mentioned a Formula One race he’d watched and how a twenty-member crew could change the tyres, fill the car with fuel and clean the air- intake in seven seconds flat. He came up with the idea of asking their technical adviser how they all worked so quickly and efficiently together

  • and what we could learn from that.

E: And was it useful?

F: Definitely. The adviser watched videos of our team at work and was really taken aback to see there was no briefing, no checklists or rehearsals and basically said it was no wonder that things sometimes went wrong. But what really bothered him was the fact that no one individual seemed to be in charge. This meant that if mistakes were made – almost inevitable under such pressure – there was no-one who could be relied upon to put them right and prevent them happening again.

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Listening 2, Page 159, Exercise 2.

A: Having to attend rehearsals can be a drag when you’re busy but it’s very important for a choir and once you’re there the music soon lifts your spirits. There was only one occasion when our sessions were bit unpleasant – when a gifted singer with a huge ego tried to take over. Luckily, at the conductor’s suggestion, he decided to leave and look for a choir more suited to his talents! Mostly, what I gain from the experience is the pleasure of being with like-minded people preparing for a performance – although time constraints mean we don’t really get to know each other – and then on the big night the euphoria when we realise that we’ve done something rather wonderful.

B: Most dog-walkers in our group are retired, so it’s a good way for them to get some physical exercise. Working from home, I get sick of computer screens and, as well as a change of scenery, those walks give me a chance to unwind. On the social side, fellow owners have a chance to swap stories, or useful tips, particularly about a problem dog. Sometimes it can be a bit tedious having to commit to a certain time, and people who don’t know the ropes, particularly first-time owners with badly trained dogs, can be a nuisance, but that’s rare. What do I love most? Seeing my dog wagging his tail, knowing he’s getting a good social life too!

C: I go from match to match, and meet up with other loyal supporters of our football team but rarely