Listening Texts to Unit One (Students’ Book)
1 This woman is one of the greatest scientists of all times. Even her name tells you that she likes science: a good scientist should want to find out answers and ask many questions --- in other words they should be curious. This woman was certainly curious. Together with her husband, she tried to learn the secrets of radioactivity. The couple were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903. Eight years later, she received a second Nobel Prize, this time for chemistry.
2 It is said that this English gentleman was sitting in his garden one day when suddenly he was hit by a falling apple. The story is probably not true, but this man did mention that he got one of his best-known ideas while watching apples fall from a tree. His name makes you think that he was not too interested in old things. He discovered the force of gravity, and he drew up a system of how objects move. His laws for motion are still used in physics today, at least in schools and universities.
3 Food is what sets this great mind on fire. Rice, to be exact. This great mind has spent most of his life looking for ways to help farmers grow more rice so that all of us will have enough food to eat. He is known as the father of modem rice, but because of his long friendship with all the farmers in China, he would rather be known as “the farmer”.
Listening Texts to Unit One (Workbook)
Part 1
Scientists often look at nature in order to find new ideas. In ancient times, Chinese scientists studied how spiders make silk. Modem scientists are interested in the spider, too. A spider can make silk that is much stronger than most man-made materials. A spider’s silk doesn’t break easily. Instead of breaking, it gets longer. Best of all, the spider produces the silk without the use of dangerous or poisonous chemicals. If we could learn to use the technique, we might be able to use the strong silk to make things like seat belts and wires that hold up bridges.
Part 2
There are many other examples of how new technology has been developed by learning from nature. A group of German scientists wanted to find out why leaves and flowers are able to stay so clean. They decided to take a closer look at the white lotus, a flower that is known for its clean leaves. At first, the scientists believed that a very flat leaf would be better at staying clean. However, when they looked closely at the white lotus, the scientists saw that the leaf was in fact covered with tiny hairs and needles. The needles and hairs collect the dust that falls on the leaf so that a raindrop can easily wash it off. The German scientists used this technique to design a new kind of paint. The new paint could keep houses looking clean for years.
Scientists also believe that the butterfly could teach us a way to keep our computers cool. A computer must be kept cool to function well. The fans we use today are not always good enough. The butterfly is cold-blooded and must change its body temperature all the time. Scientists have found that there are small parts on its wings that the butterfly uses to change its temperature. If scientists can learn how this is done, it may be possible to use the same method to keep computers from becoming too hot.
Listening Texts to Unit Two (Students’ Book)
Part 1
R: Reporter K: Mr Keller
R: Good morning, Mr Keller. My name is Harry Hunter and I work for the Daily Times. I would like to ask you a few questions about Jim Gray.
K: Good morning, Mr Hunter. What would you like to know a1’out Mr Gray?
R: Well, I want to know if it is true that Mr Gray no longer works for your company.
K: Yes, that’s true. Mr Gray was fired today. He has been having problems lately and it was time for him to leave.
I see. What kind of problems?
K: Mr Gray was too slow and it took him too long to do his job. He talked too much and was noisy and sometimes even wild. He was not serious enough. Instead of thinking about work, he would spend too much time disturbing the other workers with questions and comments.
R: So the other workers didn’t like Mr Gray?
K: Mr Gray was very nosy, always trying to find out what other people were doing. Many people were also unhappy with Mr Gray because he was rude and said bad things about people.
R: I see. Were there any other reasons why you fired him?
K: Yes, Mr Gray was also careless with his money. Now if you will excuse me, I have to get back to work.
K: Thank you for answering my questions.
Part 2
P: Paul W: Wendy
P: Hi, Wendy. Did you hear that Jim was fired today?
W: Yes, I did. Isn’t it awful! I have worked with him for ten years and he is one of my best friends. I can’t believe that he was fired.
P: I don’t understand it, either. Jim faced many difficulties but wouldn’t give up. He was careful and always took the time to do a job well.
W: Even when he was very busy, Jim always found time to speak to others. He was funny and happy and liked to make others laugh. He always had a kind word for me.
P: Yes, he was always interested in other people and cared about their life and problems. When my wife was ill, he always asked me about her and tried to cheer me up.
W: Jim was always so generous. He was happy to spend money on good meals and gifts.
P: Yes, he was. And he was also very honest and always told people what he thought about something.
W: I suppose we won’t see him very often in the future. I’ll miss him.
F’: I’ll miss him, too.
LISTEN1NG TEXT to Unit Two(for workbook):
The chief editor of a daily newspaper is having a meeting with the journalists. She is telling them what she wants them to do today
Good morning, everybody. Listen carefully. This is what I want you to do.
Mick, Jane Scott, the sportswoman, is arriving at the airport this morning. Her plane arrives at 11. Will you be there please? I want you to get a good photograph of her. See if you can talk to her. Ask her what her future plans are, OK?
Bob, the medical conference opens today at the Capital Hotel. It starts at 9 o’clock, so you’ll have to hurry. I want you to listen to the opening talk and make some notes. Get a photograph too of the person giving the talk.
Susan, I want you to interview someone at the Home Office. These new traffic plans are very interesting. I want you to set up an interview today. I want you to put your report in tomorrow’s paper. Get as much information as you can. Try to collect some plans or diagrams. They will be very useful.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Three (for Students’ book):
S = Shop assistant A = Amy D = Danny
S: Can help you? What is it you are looking for? Furniture for the bedroom, the kitchen or the living room?
D: We’re looking for a few things, but we aren’t very sure yet. We bought a new flat, and we already have some furniture, but the new house is so big. We can use a few more things, and perhaps replace some very old pieces.
A: I think we need a kitchen table, one that is large enough to have dinner with five or six people.
S: Very well. If you would like something modern, I suggest you think of something like this. The legs of the table are silver coloured while the table top Is made of thick glass. Very 1’eautiful and very easy to clean.
D: Yes, I really like that.
A: No. I don’t like such cold and hard things. I think a table made of wood would look much nicer. Wood is warm, and makes you feel comfortable.
D: Honey, I know you like that, but I’m afraid it’ll be too expensive.
S: That’s no problem. I can show you some really nice modern tables that look as if they were made of wood.
A: Great! We are also looking for something on the wall. There’s a Hg piece of white wall over the sofa.
S: Were you thinking of a painting or perhaps a poster or something
D: Yes. Could you show us something?
S: Something classical?
A: Oh, no. You can show us something modern. I like classical things in the kitchen and the bed room, but our living room is quite modern, isn’t it, Danny?
D: By the way, we are also still looking for two comfortable chairs, something modern and classic at the same time. Would you have anything like that?
S: Oh dear! Oh dear! What do you mean by that?
A: Well, something classic and fine but also cool, you know.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Three (for Workbook):
The history of architecture in China and most European countries is very different. As a result, the way people look at art and architecture has also developed along different lines.
Much of China’s ancient architecture was constructed of wood. Only the Great Wall and city walls were made of large bricks. Earthquakes have occurred quite often in China’s history. Besides that, many temples were destroyed by fire. Sometimes the fires were caused by accident. However, it also happened that emperors would destroy temples and architecture that were built in the past. They wanted to get rid of all architecture that reminded people of the former emperor. After burning the old temples and palaces, the emperor would have everything built new in the style that he preferred. That’s why all over China we find many temples that were rebuilt or restored about 250 to 300 years ago, during the age of Qianlong. Few temples are left over from earlier times.
Much of Europe’s ancient architecture is 300 to 1,000 years old. Architects used natural materials, such as stone and brick to construct their buildings. There weren’t many earthquakes, and unlike China, European kings would usually not burn the churches and other architecture built before their time. They constructed new buildings in the style they preferred at other places.
Wood is not a very strong material. Weather conditions make repairs necessary and by the end of about 100 years usually every part of a wooden construction has been replaced. So, although the design can be hundreds of years old, every part of the building may have been made less than a hundred years ago. Stone and brick are strong enough to stand the test of time. These materials do not need to be replaced. So when looking at old buildings in Europe, we are actually looking at what was built many centuries ago. While in China the architecture may be old, what we look at is in fact quite new.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Four (for Students’ book):
A Dialogue between a librarian and a student
S: Hello. Could you help me, please? I want to read some poems.
L: Have you read any poetry before?
S: Yes, we read some at school, but I didn’t like it very much. I want to find something nice.
L: There are different ways to choose a poem. If you have a favourite writer, you can choose a book with his or her poems, but if you don’t know any names, you’d better start with books that are collections of poems. In such books you usually find poems by different writers. You see here’s a book called A Garden of Poems, or this one, 1001 Songs and Poems in English.
S: Should I read all those poems?
L: No, don’t worry. What most people do is to go through them until you see a poem that you like. Maybe you like the title, or the topic, or you might like the first or last lines of the poem.
S: I see. What else have you got?
L: Some books bring together the work of writers from a certain period of time. You see, English Poems of the Early Seventeenth Century or Poetry between the World Wars. Other books have poems about a certain topic. The topic can be human feelings, such as humour or love. There is also poetry about nature, you can look for poems about flowers, trees and plants or, about the sea or the countryside. So, what would you like to read?
S: I don’t know. Shakespeare, maybe?
L: I think Shakespeare is a little bit difficult for you. It’ll be easier if you choose something modern. What kind of topic would you like?
S: I like reading about nature.
L: Have a look at this book. It’s called The Earth is Painted Green. If you have any more questions. you can come and ask me.
S: Yes, I’ll do that. Thank you very much for your help.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Four (for Workbook):
People invented poetry as a help to remember things. Before the invention of writing there was no other way to remember important things. People early discovered that rhyme and rhythm were very helpful when they were trying to remember things. So, they made poems to help them remember all the things they needed to know and sass on from generation to generation. For example. to remember their history they recited great stories about their ancestors and the wars that were fought. But people
also needed to remember practical things such as where to find good caves to sleep, where to find water that could be drunk or when to plant crops.
We no longer need poetry to remember things. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t or couldn’t use it to help us remember and learn things better. In fact, there are a number of quite famous short poems that can help us with things that are difficult to remember.
We can learn and remember important dates in history using rhyme. The most famous of these is: ‘In fourteen-ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” To remember that it was in 1492 that Columbus discovered the Americas. There are also short rhymes to remember how many days each month has.
30 days has September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have 31. Fine!
February 28 except when 29.
We can even learn how to spell English words from a short poem. The word “receive” sounds like “believe”, but the spelling is not the same. Listen to the following short poem. It is very useful to help students learn and remember how to spell some difficult words in English and it always works.
I before e except after c
or when sounding like a
as in neighbour and weigh.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Five (for Students’ book):
Good morning and welcome to the Language School at Dublin University. I’m very happy to greet you all to our Summer Programme and hope that you will not only learn a lot more English, but also learn about the Irish way of life. Before you go to your classrooms, I want to have a quick look at your weekly timetable with you. Classes are taught from Monday to Friday with four classes in the morning and three classes in the afternoons. One lesson takes up 50 minutes. We start every morning with two lessons of what we call Language Study, which will mostly be grammar and vocabulary. The rest of the morning classes are either spent in the computer lab, or in workshops. There’s a Conversation Workshop to practise your speaking skills, one lesson on Tuesday, directly after the Language Study class and there’s a Reading Workshop of two times fifty minutes on Friday morning. There are also two fifty minutes classes in the computer lab which form the third class on both Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Lunch is from half past twelve till one o’clock. Each afternoon, except for Wednesday, starts with two lessons of skills practice. In those classes you will mostly practise listening and speaking. On Monday and Tuesday they are followed by a class of fifty minutes at the language lab.
The language lab is open Monday to Friday from half past eight in the morning until eight o’clock in the evening, while the library is open every day, including the weekends, from eight am till ten pm.
Language Study and the classes in the computer lab are taught by Dave. Conversation and skills are taught by Flora and Sarah. Reading is taught by Andrew and the teacher who will be with you in the language lab is Julia. If for some reason you cannot come to class, you have to phone your teacher half an hour before class begins.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Five (for Workbook):
Wales is one of the four countries that form the United Kingdom. The Act of Union in 1536 combined West and East Wales into a single state. Wales was considered by the English and later Great Britain and the United Kingdom governments as a separate part of England and Cardiff was named in 1955 as its capital. Since then we speak of “England and Wales” where before only “England” was used.
Travelling from England, you will know when you are in Wales, because all street signs and names of railway stations are written in two languages: English and Welsh. Welsh is the original language of the people in Wales. The landscape in Wales is also different from England. While England is mostly hilly, the central parts of Wales are mountainous. It is here that we find the highest mountain in the UK. As it is impossible to grow crops on the mountains, Welsh farmers keep sheep instead. It is difficult to get around the steep mountain slopes, even in a jeep. So the Welsh sheep farmers use dogs to move the sheep from one field to another.
The weather in Wales is warmer and wetter than in other parts of Britain. This is because of the high mountains. The wind here usually comes from the southwest. As it moves across the warm Atlantic Ocean, the wind carries water from the sea. When this wind hits the mountains of Wales, the air rises causing rain to fall.
Wales is popular with holiday visitors. They go hiking in the mountains, or spend their summer days by the sea, swimming or sailing. People interested in history and architecture can visit some of the many historical sites in Wales. Most ancient castles and churches are open to the public. During the holidays, there are festivals too, with singing and dancing. Wales is often called “the Land of Song” and its people are famous for their love of poetry and music.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Six (for Students’ book)
Part 1
Hello! Greetings from the future! My name’s Mekanika and I live in the year 3044. Well, that’s what you would call it. We call it the year 58 AL. AL means “After Leaving”. You see, 58 years ago, people on the earth decided that they had to do something to save the people on the planet. There were so many people on the earth, and there was so much pollution, that the only way to keep the planet from dying was to send
people into space. My family was one of the chosen ones. About one third of the earth’s population was left back home, and the rest of us went into space. We’re now living in a new city on the planet Mars. Life here is very nice, and we are happy in our new home. We still keep in touch with the people on earth and some of us go back for short visits. The earth is better now, and the people back home are doing their best to clean up the planet. I was born here on Mars and I’ve never been to earth. My grandparents and parents tell me about the earth and it sounds like a beautiful place. When my science teacher told me that we could use our school’s time machine to send messages to the past, I wanted to send one to you and tell you about life here.
Part 2
Every morning, I have to get up at two o’clock. That probably sounds very strange to you, but, you see, we have a different time system here. We divide the day into eight parts. Two o’clock in the morning here on Mars is almost like six o’clock on earth. I eat breakfast with my family before I go to school. The food here is different from your food: we eat pills and drink juice to stay healthy. My history book says that you ate something called bread
and even ate meat from other animals! That sounds very strange to me. We don’t eat any animals here and I’ve never even seen bread. At three thirty I catch the school spaceship and fly to class. We don’t have schools and classrooms. We meet our learning guides (you called them teachers) in different places and solve problems together. I love school. My friends are wonderful and I like to think about the world in new ways. I also like creating things with my mind box (you called it a computer). I’m very interested in what you call “painting” and “singing”. Can you please tell me more about what they are? I’ve read about your life in my history book, but it’s difficult to understand how you lived such a long time ago. Could you please write to me and tell me about your life? Thank
you. I have to get back to work. I have a test in Mars geography next week, so I need to prepare for it.
Best wishes,
Mekanika
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Six (Workbook)
Here is the news for Saturday, the 14th of April.
The first group of Chinese tourists have returned from the moon. A group of 25 tourists landed last night at the Space Research Centre in Qinghai Province. They had been in space for one week. Their trip included a visit to three different places on the moon. Each of the tourists paid one and a half million yuan for the trip.
Anew speed record had been set for the underground railway that joins Chengdu and Xi’an. The railway was completed last year. Yesterday a train reached a speed of 821 kilometres per hour. The train was carrying 1,200 passengers. The journey of 842 kilometres took one hour and eleven minutes.
A new type of lemon tree for cold countries has been developed by the Agricultural Research Service of Liaoning Province, where research has been going on for seven years. The new lemon tree will be grown in cold parts of China. Normal lemon trees are killed when the temperature falls below 0 degrees Centigrade.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Seven (for Students’ book)
The Disease Detective
Jane is one of the experts at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. People at the Center study how diseases start and spread and, as the name shows, try to control and prevent diseases. We asked Jane about her work.
J = Jane; I = Interviewer
Part 1
J: Well, I have to be a detective: I go to a place where a disease has broken out and look for clues about the disease. I try to find as much information as I can about what happened. Who is sick? What are the signs - do they have a fever, a headache or a sore throat? When did they get sick? When I have collected the information, I use it to find out what caused the problem. We can use what we learn to prevent others from getting sick.
Jane and other disease detectives at the Center do their jobs in different ways. Some detectives work in laboratories where they examine tests and samples. Others travel to towns or villages where there are diseases and talk to people who are sick. All of the experts at the Center know that their work is important. If they do their jobs well, they will save lives.
Part 2
I: How often do you actually go to places where a new disease has broken out?
J: Oh, it happens every now and then. Probably about every three months or so.
I: How do you find out about new diseases?
J: We will usually hear from doctors and hospitals. If they notice anything strange, they will give us a call and ask for help. If we think it is necessary, we’ll go to the place where people are getting sick.
I: Aren’t you afraid of catching the diseases you are studying?
J: Well, yes, sometimes. But we are always very careful. If you know what you are doing, you can protect yourself. Besides, I’m more afraid of what might happen if we don’t find out what kind of disease it is.
What can ordinary people do to protect themselves?
J: The best thing you can do is simply to wash your hands often and try to avoid crowded places. Wearing a mask over your face may help, but it is probably not necessary unless you are caring for a sick person. It is also important to see a doctor if you get sick, so that you don’t spread a disease without knowing it.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Seven (Workbook)
K = Ken; W = Dr Watts
Part 1
K: Hello, Pr Watts. Thank you for letting me interview you.
W: You’re welcome. Now, what would you like to know?
K: Well, my first question is about the name of the disease. What does AIDS stand for?
W: When we talk about AIDS, we often use the term HIV/AIDS. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome”.
K: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. OK, got it. But I’m not sure I understand what it means.
W: Well, to “acquire” something is to get something, so “acquired” means that you can get infected with the disease. “Immune” comes from “immune system”, the system that protects our body from diseases.
K: So “acquired immune” tells us that this is a disease that we can get from other people and that has something to do with our immune system. What exactly does AIDS do to our immune system?
W: That’s what the next word tells us. If something is “deficient”, it means that it isn’t functioning properly, it isn’t working the way it should. So “acquired immune deficiency” means that even though we were both with a good immune system, we have now got a disease that breaks down the immune system.
K: Wow, that’s terrible! So what happens when someone’s immune system doesn’t work?
W: Well, to put it simply, he or she gets sick a lot. The last word in AIDS, “syndrome”, means all the bad things that happen to your body when the immune system doesn’t work.
Part 2
People who die of AIDS actually don’t die of AIDS. When a person infected with HIV develops AIDS, he or she easily gets sick. A person with AIDS has a very weak immune system. Many common diseases can be cured in patients whose immune system functions well, but when they enter the body of a person with AIDS, they can kill him or her. Many AIDS patients die of infections or serious colds, but there are also many diseases that we have never heard of. If your immune system is working, they may not be able to do any harm, but because the immune system has been weakened, the diseases can’t be cured. They will grow stronger and stronger until one day they kill the patient with AIDS. Therefore, much of the treatment an AIDS patient receives is meant to help the body defend itself against diseases.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Eight (for Students’ book)
Two people have just arrived at the hospital, each with a child. A nurse is asking them questions.
Part 1
N = Nurse; F = Father; H = Harry
N: Can I help you?
F: Yes. I wonder if you could look at Harry’s leg.
N: What’s the matter with it?
F: He was bitten by a dog yesterday evening. It was bleeding quite badly.
N: Let’s have a look at it then. I see. What did you do before bringing him here?
F: I washed the wound under running water for a few minutes. Then I dried it with a clean cloth and tied another piece of clean cloth around it.
N: Have you had any pain? Does it hurt?
H: Yes, it does hurt a bit.
N: Was it your dog?
H: No. It belongs to a neighbour.
N: This is very important. The dog must be examined immediately.
F: Why is that? The dog is usually very friendly.
N: If the dog has a disease that makes it bite people, your son could die.
Part 2
N = Nurse; M = Mother
N: Can I help you?
M: Yes. This is my daughter Jill. She’s two and a half. She’s drunk some ink.
N: Some ink? When did this happen?
M: About half an hour ago.
N: Did you give her any first aid?
M: No, I didn’t know what to do. I thought it might be poison so I t9rought her here at once.
N: Have you got the bottle with you?
M: Yes, here it is.
N: Do you know how much she drank?
M: Well, the 1,ottle was almost empty, so I think not very much.
N: Right. I’ll take you to the doctor. Come this way, please.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Eight (Workbook)
Part 1
C = Police Captain; 0 = Police Officer
C: Johnson, come here, please. I have a job for you.
O: Yes, sir. What’s happened?
C: There’s been a traffic accident on West Side. A boy seems to have been hit by a car. Three policemen are there already and there are two eyewitnesses. Please go down there and see if you can find out exactly what happened and who caused the accident.
0: Yes, sir. When did the accident happen?
C: About half past four.
0: And how many people were involved in the accident?
C: Only two, as far as we know. The boy was already sent to hospital with minor injuries:
0: Where are the other policemen?
C: They are by the intersection, on the east side.
Part 2
P = Officer Pei; W = Officer Wang; A = Driver A; B =Woman on bicycle
(Traffic noise in the background; not very loud, but in the pauses the occasional horns or bells can be heard. Driver A is shocked and scared; the woman on the bike is angry and upset.)
P: Miss, please tell me what happened.
B: I was on the eastern side of the crossing, turning north. Ahead of me in the bike lane was the poor boy. He was crossing the street to go to the western side when that man just ran straight into him. Oh, it was awful!
P: Can you please tell me what the car was doing?
B: It was waiting to turn right.
P: I see. Where was the boy?
B: He was standing behind the white line in the bike lane, waiting for the light to turn.
P: Was he moving when the car hit him?
B: No. He was just standing there. Poor boy! The car was moving much too fast and the driver didn’t even look to see where he was going!
W: Sir, please tell me what happened.
A: Oh, it was terrible! I’m so sorry. It wasn’t my fault!
W: We’ll see about that later. Please just tell me what happened.
A: I was waiting on the eastern side. I was turning right, heading north. I started turning right and suddenly this boy ran out in front of me on his bike. I had no time to stop. there was nothing I could do.
W: Did you see the boy before you turned?
A: No, no! He must have been riding too fast. There was no one waiting to cross the street when I looked.
W: How fast would you say you were going?
A: Oh, not very fast. I had stopped and was just beginning to turn when I hit the boy. Really, you know how boys are - they don’t watch where they’re going!
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Nine (for Students’ book )
Part 1
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today we are celebrating Earth Day. Earth Day is a day for reflection and action. Today, people in countries all over the world get together to discuss the earth and our future, and to take action to improve the current situation. Earth Day is a chance for us to learn about the world and change our behaviour. It helps me understand that we must act. If I had known more about the earth in the past, I would have made different choices about what to do and what to buy. It is never too late to change. I am here today to talk about one of the most important problems we are facing. In my view, the most important challenge ahead of us is to find a way to protect the water on our planet. 75% of the earth is covered by rivers, lakes and oceans, so it is truly a water planet.
Unfortunately, most of the water cannot be used for drinking. The earth is already becoming a thirsty planet, but there is still time to do something about the problem. If we want to have enough water in the future, we must learn to take better care of our water. We must stop polluting our water. We must learn to save water in our daily life.
Part 2
We should take better care of our water. Most of the fresh water on the earth is being used for farming. We use clean water to grow food. We need food, of course, but we must be more careful when we use our water. Too much water is being wasted because we are using old ways of watering our plants. We must solve this problem if we want to have enough water in the future. The best way to solve the problem is to use the knowledge and technology that some countries have already developed. If we work together and share what we know, we will be building a better future for all of us.
We must stop polluting our water. Even if we succeed in making more water available to us, we must still do something about water pollution. We are polluting water at an alarming pace. Cars, factories, and air conditioners pollute the air and the water. We must change the way we think and the way we live. Let’s not drive if we can walk or ride a bike. Let’s try not to use air conditioners more than what is absolutely necessary. Let’s not buy products that cause pollution. Let’s make new rules and use new technology to make sure that factories are green and clean. Keep in mind that we - you and I - are the ones who must change. This brings me to my final point: we must stop using too much water in our daily life.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Nine (for Integrating Skills )
Speech 1
Hi. We are three children from three different continents and we’d like to tell you what we think about the environment. The children of the world are disappointed because too many adults are too interested in money and wealth to take notice of serious problems that affect our future. Young people from all over the world have many things to say about the environment, but we all agree on one serious problem most leaders don’t listen. We are here today because we want you to listen - to listen to everybody.
Here’s what the children of the world are saying:
Governments of the world must:
make sure that all people from developing countries
have free access to clean drinking water;
limit the number of cars per family;
stop cutting down trees without replacing them.
People of the world must:
make use of alternative transportation such as walking, biking and car-pooling;
reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as possible.
We are worried that many governments listen too much to those who care very little for the environment and people. Remember, we cannot buy another planet, and our lives and those of future generations depend on this. We are not asking too much! You said this Summit is about taking action! We need more than your applause and comments of “well done” or “good speech”. We need ACTION!
Thanks for having us here and for listening to the voices of children.
Speech 2
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to
you today. I wish, however, we could do more than just talk. The Earth Summit is not just about good speeches and big words; it is about doing something about the problems we are facing. I will try to do something right now, right here. That’s why I have brought this big bag. What do you think is in it? Well, I’ll show you. Yes, that’s right, rubbish! On my way over here, I picked up the rubbish I saw in rubbish bins on the street so that I could talk to you about what rubbish really is. Some of you might think that rubbish is what we throw away, something useless that only causes problems. Well, I say that that’s rubbish. Let me explain what I mean. What is really in this bag? Resources, possibilities, money, jobs and solutions! What we call rubbish today is actually the resources of tomorrow. Let me tell you how we can use rubbish - some left-over food, a milk carton, and an empty bottle - to make the future greener, cleaner, and better, and to make money.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Nine (Workbook)
1= Interviewer; C = Carl
Part 1
I: Can you tell me about the project you worked on in Egypt?
C: Egypt has developed a large programme to clean up and protect its water. One of the projects is to help small farmers build small channels to make sure that the water supplied by the government can be used in the best way possible.
I: So what was the problem?
C: It was often difficult for farmers to keep the channels clean and in good order. The channels were used as rubbish bins and too many plants grew where the water should flow.
I: How did you solve the problem?
C: At first, we thought that the farmers simply didn’t understand the situation and that we could solve the problem by educating them. But just to make sure, we interviewed some farmers and observed what they were doing.
I: What did you do to learn more about the farmers and their work?
C: Well, we visited many farmers and their families. We also formed small discussion groups in which we talked about the problem and what could be done about it.
I: What did the farmers think and do?
C: We found that the farmers did know a1’out the problem and had paid a company to clean the channels. But they didn’t do it often enough.
Part 2
I Why didn’t the farmers clean the channels often enough?
C They thought that the government was responsible for the channels and they only cleaned them up when there was too much rubbish. They felt that this was unfair and didn’t believe what the government said.
I: And how did the government react to this?
C: Well, they were very surprised. They decided to show the farmers that they were serious about the problem. Farmers and the government would work together. The farmers formed a group that would oversee the work. A special channel cleaning day was chosen and the farmers and the government decided to share the costs. The farmers would pay for the cleaning equipment and the government would pay for taking the rubbish away.
I: That sounds like a good solution.
C: It was. Working together also gave people a chance to understand the dangers of throwing rubbish in the channels. It stopped the water from flowing and made it dangerous for children to swim in the channel and for women to use the water at home.
I: Were the farmers happy about the solution?
C: Yes, they were. The project was a success. By working together, more things were achieved and everybody learnt from the experience.
LISTENING TEXT to Unit Ten (for Students’ book)
And now the weather forecast for Tuesday, June 24. Cooler and drier air over the Northwest will advance towards the East on Tuesday. But as it does so, it will meet with warm and moist air already in place resulting in showers and thunderstorms.
Thunderstorms are possible in areas from the Southern states to the Northeastern states where we might see some pretty bad weather, with wet snow and strong winds, perhaps even some storms.
The showers and thunderstorms that hit the Midwest on Monday may still be around part of Tuesday, but will disappear during the afternoon.
Comfortable temperatures around 75 degrees are forecast for the South, 68 to 72 for the Midwest and similar temperatures for the Northeast, while higher temperatures, up to 88 will be found in the east along the coast. While the Southwest may see some rain or even thunderstorms, the rest of the West will be hot with temperatures over 100 degrees and no hope of a cooling shower. Far to the Southeast, the storm, which had looked as if it would grow into a hurricane, fell apart on Monday. This year has already seen an unusually high number of hurricanes. Hurricane Danny in the Atlantic Ocean last week has put 2003 in third place behind 1997 and 1959 for having the most tropical storms or hurricanes this early in the season. The fourth storm usually arrives towards the end of August, so Danny, formed on Wednesday, came a month and a half early.
If the fifth named storm - the “E” storm - develops before July 22, this year will have the hurricane season with the fastest start. Its name would be Erika. The hurricane season is from June 1 till the end of November. A typical Atlantic hurricane season has 10 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. The latter can be a real disaster when they hit the coast. Tropical storms such as hurricanes and typhoons are given names to avoid confusion. Their names start with letters in the order of the alphabet. The first five storms in 2005 will be named Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Dennis and Emily.
LISTENING TEXT to Ten (for Workbook)
K = Kate L = Linda
K: Hi, Linda, how’s your life in Taiwan? Po you like it there?
L: It’s fine, Kate. Thanks. Bill and I like China very much.
K: I’ve heard that Taiwan is quite often hit by typhoons. How do you feel about that?
L: That’s right. They are quite common between the months of May and November.
K: Terrible. I would not want to live in a place like that.
L: Oh well. You’ll get used to it. With a Ht of common sense and taking the right measures, typhoons need not l2e a Hg problem.
K: So what should you do when you know a typhoon is coming up?
L: You should always keep some plastic sheets ready to cover furniture. Important papers are best kept in plastic boxes or bags that don’t let any water through. Buy some extra food in metal or in glass containers, and keep a torch, batteries, a first-aid kit, a radio and such things ready.
K: What else do you do when you know there will be another typhoon?
L: If a typhoon is expected to hit within 24 to 48 hours, you should make some extra ice to keep food cooled when the electricity falls away. Fill the bath with water for cooking, and make sure there is enough drinking water; move furniture away from windows; put loose objects, such as furniture and plants in pots, baskets or boxes from the balcony and the yard into the shed. You must close the curtains and take shelter where you cannot be hit by glass that is flying around, for example the hall or a room without windows.
K: Have you ever experienced a big one?
L: Oh, yes. It was a very frightening experience.
K: What happened?
L: When the storm hit, we heard all the windows breaking and furniture being pushed around. The roof made a cracking noise. We thought it would be blown away. Then the storm seemed to die down. But it was the eye of the storm. A few minutes later it came back with full force. I was afraid the whole house would be swept away.
K: Have you thought of moving to another part of the country, where there are fewer natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons?
L: My husband and I have thought about that. But we really like Taiwan, and we prefer to stay here.