Unit 1 Starting out
Inside view
Conversation 1
Porter Good afternoon.
Janet Good afternoon.
Porter New student?
Janet Yes.
Porter Welcome to Hertford College.
Janet Thank you.
Porter Can I have your family name, please?
Janet Yes, it's Li.
Porter Er, L-double E?
Janet No, L-I.
Porter And what's your first name, Ms Li?
Janet Janet.
Porter Janet Li... ah yes, there you are. Here are your keys.
Janet Where's my room?
Porter You're in Staircase 6 Room 5.
Janet Who am I sharing with?
Porter Nobody. You have your own room. Er...there's a Ms Santos in the room next to you.
Janet Oh. My own room? In China we usually have several people in a dormitory. Porter Well, here you don't have to share with anyone.
Janet Thank you Sir.
Porter No need to call me sir, Ms Li. Everyone calls me Stewart.
Janet Please call me Janet!
Porter OK, Janet, um, can you just sign for your keys, please?
Conversation 2
Kate Hi, have you just arrived too?
Janet Yes!
Kate I guess we're neighbours. My name's Kate Santos.
Janet I'm Janet Li. Where are you from?
Kate From New York. How about you?
Janet I'm from Anshan in China.
Kate Is Janet your real name?
Janet No, it's my English name. My Chinese name is Li Hui. Is Kate your full name? Kate No, it's short for Catherine.
Janet So do I call you Catherine or Kate?
Kate Everyone calls me Kate.
Janet Nice to meet you.
Kate OK, Janet. See you later.
Janet Bye!
Conversation 3
Kate Hey! This is awesome! Look at the size of this dining hall.
Janet Is this where we have all our meals?
Kate I guess.
Mark You just arrived?
Girls Yes!
Mark Me too. By the way, I'm Mark. Nice to meet you.
Kate Hi, I'm Kate.
Mark Hi Kate, I guess you're from the States.
Kate Right! How can you tell? You're British, huh?
Mark Yes, I'm from London. And you are ...?
Janet I'm Li Hui. I'm from China. But you can call me Janet.
Mark Hi Janet. Welcome to England. What are you reading?
Janet English.
Mark How about you, Kate?
Kate My major is law. And you?
Mark I'm studying PPE.
Kate That's a special Oxford subject, isn't it?
Outside view
Julie My name's Julie Dearden, and I'm the Director of International Programmes here at Hertford College.
Eugene My name's Eugene Berger, I studied here in Oxford for four years er, studying modern languages at Somerville College.
Julie Oh, there are many Oxford traditions. Oxford is a very old university, the oldest English-speaking university in the, in the world. And so there are many traditions which are associated with the colleges, with the times of the year, and with sport, and with eating, for example.
Eugene Each college is very different um, from um, the others, and it has its own character. Some colleges are very conservative, and some are much more liberal and have a tradition of um, kind of liberal politics. But there are also some specific traditions.
Julie Formal Hall is when we all eat together here in college, the professors and the students. Usually it takes places at seven o'clock in the evening, and the professors sit on high table which is the table over here, and the students sit on common table, which are the tables here. But everybody eats together. It's a very beautiful evening because there are, there's a special meal and we eat by candlelight.
Eugene I think er, the traditions that make Oxford so unique are firstly the Oxford Union and er, secondly, May Day. The Oxford Union being a debating society where speakers come from all around the world to address the students and even allow themselves to be questioned by the students, making it a very interesting forum.
Julie My favourite is er, May Day. And May Day is the first day of May, and we have
a tradition called May Morning, and on May Morning everybody gets up very
early and the students have a celebration. There is a choir which sings on top of the tower at Magdalen College and all the people of the town and all the students go to listen to the singing. So it's very nice.
Eugene The tradition that er, was most important to me was probably Summer Eights.
I was a rower. And Summer Eights is a rowing competition, held in May in the
summer term. And in this competition, each college is trying to improve its place which it won the previous year and gradually work its way up the river.
Julie When the students take exams, they must go to a special building and it's called Examination Schools. And also they must wear a special uniform, so they wear E.
gown like mine, a black gown, and they wear a white shirt, arid the men wear a
white tie and black trousers. The women wear a white shirt and a black skirt or black trousers. And they must wear this uniform, which has a Latin name - sub fuse — and they must wear this uniform in order to take their examinations. Eugene I think the Oxford traditions lend character to the place and it's such an old institution, it should have traditions, but they can be very inconvenient. For example, sub fuse. This is the uniform that we are required according to the university rules, to wear.
Julie They also wear flowers in their buttonholes, and those flowers are carnations.
And they wear different colours, the students wear different coloured flowers for different examinations. So when you take your first exam you wear a white flower, and when you take your second exam you wear a pink flower, and when you take your final examination you wear a red carnation.
Eugene So we have to dress up in a full black suit, starched collar, white bow tie and carry a mortarboard. And to write an exam in the summer heat whilst wearing all that which you're not allowed to take off is um, uncomfortable.
Julie I really like the Oxford traditions, I think it's part of our history, and part of um, being a student or a teacher here at Oxford University.
Listening in
Passage 1
Interviewer Can you tell me something about the Ivy League? You're a professor at Harvard, is that right?
Professor That's right, yes.
Interviewer Tell me how many universities are there? How many institutions? Professor In total there are eight institutions: There's Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania. Interviewer Ah, OK. And what's the sporting ... I believe there's some link with sports.
Professor There certainly is, yes. Originally the Ivy League referred to the sports teams from the universities which competed against each other, especially in football, basketball and ice hockey. Now sometimes these universities, institutions, chose their students on the basis of their skills at these particular sports. But in the last 50 years, Ivy League schools have accepted a wider range of students because it wasn't possible to be both world-famous for research and also top class in sport. Interviewer And what about their academic importance? I gather they're academically very, very important, they're very well-known.
Professor Absolutely at the top. They're near or at the top of the USA colleges and university rankings. And they're almost always in the top one per cent of the world's academic institutions for financial resources.
Interviewer And what does it mean socially to go to an Ivy League university? Professor Certainly if you've been to one of these institutions, you are presumed or assumed to be at the top end of the scale. The Ivy League institutions have a reputation for social elitism, many of the students are rich, intellectual, white Anglo-Saxon, protestants. Not all of them of course, but quite a lot of them. Interviewer And do you know ... why's it called the Ivy League, what's the origin of the name?
Professor There are a number of stories, derivations, but possibly it's based on four universities, and IV, the letters IV, that's the Roman numeral for four. Another more likely story is that ivy plants, which are symbolic of the age of the universities, you know, would be grown at the walls of these universities, these
institutions, they cover the walls of the buildings. The term was created by a sports journalist, I think in the 1930s.
Interviewer Right, OK. And which is the oldest university?
Professor The oldest goes back to the 17th century, that's Harvard which was founded in 1636. And the youngest of the institutions is Cornell which was founded in 1865.
Interviewer And which has the largest number of undergraduates?
Professor Cornell has the largest number, about 13,000, 13,500 undergraduates. The institution with the smallest number is Dartmouth College with a little over 4,000. Interviewer And what about the acceptance rate? Is it hard to get into?
Professor That ranges from about seven per cent to 20 per cent.
Interviewer And any famous alumni? Famous old boys?
Professor Hundreds! Hundreds of them. But I suppose worldwide, the two that would be definitely known all over the world would certainly be George Bush who went to Yale, and John F Kennedy, President Kennedy, who was at Harvard. Interviewer Thank you.
Passage2
Andy Did you see the film on television last night?
Jane No, I was out. What was it?
Andy A Beautiful Mind. It's about John Forbes Nash, the mathematician who won the Nobel Prize.
Jane I've heard about that film, yes. He's played by Russell Crowe, isn't he? I like Russell Crowe, he's great.
Andy That's the one, yes.
Jane What's it about?
Andy Well, the story begins in the early years of Nash's life at Princeton University as
a graduate student.
Jane That's one of the Ivy League schools, isn't it?
Andy Yes, it's all set in New England, lovely old buildings, beautiful autumn colours.
It's lovely to look at. Anyway, Nash meets his roommate Charles, a literature student, who soon becomes his best friend. Nash admits to Charles that he is better with numbers than people, and the main thing he's looking for is a truly original idea for his thesis paper.
Jane So he's not interested in having fun?
Andy Well, yes, but he's not very good with people or successful with women, that's all. But, you know, it's one of these bad experiences with people which ultimately inspires his brilliant work in mathematics.
Jane No good at relationships, so he becomes a genius at maths?
Andy That's about right, yes. So when he finishes his studies at Princeton, he accepts
a jo
b at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Five years later, he meets Alicia, a
student who he falls in love with and eventually marries.
Jane Ah! At last, the love interest!
Andy Yes, but wait a moment. Nash believes that he's been asked to work by William Parcher for the US Department of Defense on breaking Soviet codes. At one point he's chased by the Russians, and it's after this that he becomes mentally ill.
Jane I think I've seen this in the trailer to the film.
Andy So when he's put in a psychiatric hospital, he thinks the Soviets have captured him. He's given this painful treatment which affects his relationship with his wife.
And his intellectual skills. So he stops taking the medicine.
Jane It sounds quite hard to watch.
Andy Well, it is, but it's well acted and directed, and so, you know, there's a-bit of distance between the audience and what's happening on film.
Jane So what happens next?
Andy Well, then his illness returns, so he and his wife decide to try and live with it. It all gets a bit complicated, because we're no longer sure if Charles, you know, his old friend, or even Parcher were real, or if they were just people that existed only in Nash's mind.
Jane That sounds awful. He must have been so ill,
Andy Actually, I'm kind of giving away the twist in the story. Anyway, later in his life, while he's using the library at Princeton again, he asks his rival Martin Hansen if he can start teaching again. And so the story ends when he goes on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Jane Well, it sounds like a great film.
Andy Yes, you should see it sometime.
Unit 3 Learning to think
Inside view
Conversation 1
Mark Hi, what're you doing?
Janet Oh, nothing much ... Well, I'm just doing this quiz here in the newspaper. Mark Let's have a look then.
Janet Here. It's called, "How much do you know about memory?" I've just done it.
Do you want to have a go?
Mark OK, might as well. I'm not busy.
Janet Right. Look, I'll read the statements. Then you have to answer "true" or "false".
Ready?
Mark Yea.
Janet OK. Physical exercise improves your memory. True or false?
Mark True, I suppose. It sounds like the right answer.
Janet You're right, exercise does improve your memory. Next statement: 30 per cent of people have a visual memory.
Mark That sounds about right. True?
Janet No, wrong, I'm afraid. In fact, 60 per cent of people have a visual memory. Mark Really? Actually, I've got a pretty good memory.
Janet Have you? OK ... Next one ... When you're tired, it's more difficult to remember things.
Mark That's true, obviously. I can't remember a thing when I'm tired.
Janet Correct! If you do one activity for a long time, your memory will improve. Mark I'm not sure ... True?
Janet Actually, it's false.
Mark Oh!
Janet Eating fruit and vegetables can improve your memory.
Mark I read something in The Times about that. True.
Janet True, it says here.
Mark Oh, no! I've got a lecture. I'd forgotten. I'd better get going!
Janet Oh, Mark! What a good memory you have!
Conversation 2
Kate You're looking a bit down, Janet. What's up?
Janet Well... I'm finding studying at Oxford quite hard.
Kate You're telling me! There's so much work!
Janet It's not the amount of work - but everything's so different. In China, generally we have large classes, we don't have tutorials. And mostly, our teacher tells us what we should do. So I'm not used to asking questions or discussing things. I find it difficult.
Kate You have to memorize a lot, don't you?
Janet Yes, but I'm good at that.
Kate You're lucky. There's so much to remember studying law! I have difficulty sometimes, I really do.
Janet Yes, well, we've been trained to do that. But we don't have so much training in critical thinking.
Kate What do you mean by critical thinking?
Janet Let me think ... I think it's giving your opinion and then justifying it.
Kate Yes, I suppose that's what our teachers have always encouraged us to do.
Janet I am getting better at it, I suppose.
Kate Hey! How about this? Let's pretend I'm your tutor. I'll make a statement. Your task is to examine it and then ask questions.
Janet OK.
Kate Everyone is capable of learning a second language. Go on, ask a question! Janet Why do you say that?
Kate That's what the research tells us. Now ask another one.
Janet Can you give an example of some research?
Kate Um ... No! Look, I'm starving and I can't think at all when I'm hungry. Outside view
Part 1
Teacher Good morning, class.
Students Good morning.
Teacher What we're going to do today is start off looking at mind maps or mind mapping. Now have any of you heard about mind maps before?
Students Yes ... No ...
Teacher Yes. Some of you have, some of you haven't. OK. Have any of you actually used mind maps in the past?
Students No ...
Teacher No? OK. Who can tell me what a mind map is?
Student 1 It's a way of thinking.
Teacher It is a way of thinking. Mind maps are diagrams which help us to generate ideas, and also to organize or structure our ideas related to a topic. What I'd like to do next is look at some of the uses or the reasons for using mind maps. What are some of the reasons for using mind maps?
Student 2 To make a list?
Teacher To make a list? Yes. We could say to brainstorm ideas. Everyone contributes then-ideas as many ideas as quickly as possible, from everyone in a shorter time, er, as, as we can manage. OK, brainstorming is one of the most important um, um, uses of mind maps. What might be another use or another reason for using mind maps?
Student 3 It can help me take notes in the class.
Teacher OK, for the note-taking, a very good reason. Mind maps help us to get an overview or a, a quick understanding about a subject. By using mind maps to collect the main ideas from what the teacher says, you can keep a, a very general understanding of a topic and understand connections quite easily and um, quickly.
What are some other uses of mind maps?
Student 4 Preparing for exams?
Teacher OK. Preparing for exams. That's a, a very good reason. We might call this, er, revision. Before an exam, after having studied for many, many days or even weeks, you might want to capture the, the, the very general understanding about the subject. Are there any other uses that you can think of for mind mapping? Student 5 We can also use it for finding answers.
Teacher For finding answers. That's, that's a very good, good answer. We could call this problem-solving. We can use mind maps to, to see other possible alternatives, or options to, to, to solve a problem. OK. Next, I'd like us to talk about some of the advantages or the benefits of using mind maps instead of just writing everything on a piece of paper. One of the most obvious advantages, as you can see, is that mind maps are very visual. They give us um, almost a picture, a, a different perspective in terms of a picture, or a diagram of understanding information or understanding connected ideas, which is very helpful for people who like to learn from a different way. Are there any other advantages that you can think of for mind mapping?
Student 4 It lists the main points.
Teacher They do. They do list the main points. We could call this um, a quick summary. As you can see, we have main ideas throughout our mind map, not long texts. And in this way, it helps us to grasp the, the key ideas and the key connections for mind maps or for our given subject. Are there any other advantages you can think of?
Student 1 To think creatively.
Teacher To think creatively. That's, that's a very good point. We could call this creative thinking. And what we mean here is basically thinking outside of the box or thinking laterally. Mind maps are illogical and by being illogical they encourage us to think creatively, you might say.
Part2
Teacher Next, I'd like us to think about aspects of design or constructing mind maps.
So far we have completed three quarters of our mind map about mind maps. And then I'd just like you to have a look at this mind map and tell me what some of the most noticeable or striking features are that we can talk about.
Student 2 There is a centre.
Teacher There is a centre. There is what we call a central word, a central word or a phrase. It might also be a sentence or a question. You might have that in the centre of the board and your related thoughts spiraling or radiating out. What else do you notice about the design of this mind map?
Student 1 There are only words, not sentences.
Teacher Exactly. There are many what we call key words as they capture the main thought of, of an issue rather than a long sentence or, or a passage. This helps us to concentrate on the main issues and find connections between these issues as well. What other aspects of design do you notice here?
Student 5 It looks like a tree.
Teacher It does look like a tree because it has branches. By having branches, it shows
how, um, thinking is radiating out or spiraling out from key ideas or central ideas to key words to sub-words and, and so forth. Are there any other aspects of design which you notice in this particular map?
Student 2 You used a lot of colours.
Teacher I did. I perhaps use too many colours. I have used different colour to show the different key words or different aspects of mind mapping. You might like to use different colours to highlight different sections of a mind map or key information. Or you may, you may choose to have it all in one colour. It's very much a personal choice, depending on how you like to, to think and, and plan your thinking. You might also like to use images or pictures related to some of the key words. Or you might even use symbols. We'll put a question mark because this again is a personal choice and how you like to design your mind maps. For example, I might choose to use a thought bubble as a symbol, highlighting or identifying my central phrase, mind maps. This could be a, a feature of my own mind maps. Whenever I design a mind map, I highlight my central thought using
a speech bubble symbol.
Listening in
Passage 1
Interviewer With us today is Martin Downes, a carpenter, who's 51. A year ago, Martin had a stroke. But he's been lucky enough to make a full recovery from it.
Can you tell us how it all began, Martin?
Martin I'm very happy to - not that I remember much at all. I was at a customer's house, building a cupboard, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in hospital with people in white coats bending over me.
Interviewer It must have been very frightening.
Martin It was. But what was really frightening was that I couldn't speak. I couldn't say a word. And I couldn't understand much that people said to me.
Interviewer How awful!
Martin Yeah! I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't had my family. But they were there for me, they really were. I had something called aphasia, where the part of your brain gets damaged that affects your speech and language. But they started treatment for the condition almost immediately. This speech and language therapist came to see me every day for 12 weeks. They made me do all these exercises.
Interviewer What kind of exercises?
Martin I had to match words and pictures and say their names. You see, I'd also forgotten the names of a lot of things. She had this thing called a word board and I could point to words and phrases on it that I wanted to say. I had to repeat words up to 20 times - boy, it was hard, so hard.
Interviewer Could you say anything to begin with?
Martin I could say three words. "Hi", "Yes" and "No". That was all. And there were a lot of words I couldn't understand -1 had to learn their meanings all over again. Interviewer It must have been very frustrating.
Martin It was, but I was determined to get better. I was in hospital for three and a half months. When I got home I got a special computer programme that I worked with every day. And slowly my language came back to me. It was a struggle, a big struggle. I had to learn to read and write again too.
Interviewer Why do you think that you were able to recover completely? It's not that common, is it?
Martin I was lucky. I was given the right drug at the right time. And I had 12 weeks of therapy, five days a week. That's very important, apparently.
Interviewer And now that you're better how do you feel about your life?
Martin What can I say? I'm just grateful to have my life back.
Passage 2
Interviewer In 1907 an Italian educator called Maria Montessori opened a school in Rome that taught young children using methods that were very different from traditional teaching. Today, the Montessori method, as it's known, is used in nursery schools in countries such as America, Canada, Britain and Germany.
Recent research shows that children educated at a Montessori nursery do better later on at school than other children in all subjects. We asked two Montessori teachers, Claudia Rosella and Sarah Harrington, to explain what makes their nursery school different. Sarah...
Sarah I think the first thing to say is that a Montessori classroom is very quiet, very clean. Everything stays in the same place. So the children are calm and quiet as a result.
Interviewer So they're not encouraged to be noisy.
Sarah No, definitely not...
Interviewer Claudia?
Claudia Yes, the classroom's very important. Another important principle is that children direct their own learning. They choose what they want to do. Interviewer So the teacher doesn't tell the child what to do?
Sarah Not at all. While a child is doing an activity we observe them. Then we work with the child for a short time and then leave them to work on their own. Interviewer That sounds excellent. And what about your equipment? It's often made of wood, isn't it?
Sarah Yes, and a piece of equipment is often designed for one activity only. Claudia Right. It's so that the child can see if they're getting something right or wrong.
Interviewer So they don't need the teacher so much"?
Sarah That's right. Another Montessori principle is the importance of physical activity. Children learn by doing, so when they're learning to read, for example, the letters are made of sandpaper so that children can feel the shape of the letter. Interviewer Do you think there are disadvantages with Montessori methods? Claudia Yes, there are. Maria Montessori didn't understand how important it is for children to use their imagination. If she was alive today, she would recognize that.
But still, the fact is, her methods are very successful.
Unit 4 Person to person
Inside view
Conversation 1
Kate Oh, I must make a quick call.
Jacky Hello, Jacky Gordon speaking.
Kate Hello, can I speak to Abbie, please?
Jacky I'll see if she's in, can you hold on?
Kate Sure.
Jacky Hello? She's out, I'm afraid. Can I give her a message - er ... or I can ask her to
call you back?
Kate Could you ask her to call me back?
Jacky Sure. Who's calling?
Kate Kate Santos.
Jacky Kate Santos, OK. Does Abbie have your number?
Kate Yes, she does.
Jacky I'll tell her you called.
Kate Thanks.
Janet Abbie? I know a girl called Abbie. She reads English, doesn't she?
Kate Yes, how do you know her?
Janet She has a tutorial just after me so we chat a bit. We get on really well.
Kate Yes, everyone likes Abbie. I think it's because she's really interested in people - she's a very good listener. She should be, she works for Nightline.
Janet Nightline?
Kate Oh, I haven't told you, I've joined it.
Janet What is it? I've never heard of it.
Kate Look, I've got a leaflet about it.
Janet So...
Kate It's a university helpline for students who are having problems. I'm training to be one of the people they can call to talk to.
Janet You mean, you're a volunteer?
Kate Yes.
Janet Oh, that's great, Kate.
Conversation 2
Abbie Hi, Abbie speaking.
Kate Hi, Abbie, it's Kate Santos.
Abbie Hi! I'm sorry not to have called you back. I've got a lot on at the moment.
How's things?
Kate Fine. I just wanted to let you know I won't be able to come to the next training session.
Abbie Um ... It's quite an important session. Oh, can you hold on a moment. There's someone at the door.
…
Abbie Hi, I'm sorry, look, can I call you back later?
Kate Sure. What time?
Abbie Is three o'clock OK?
Kate Three's fine.
Abbie OK, I'll call you then. Speak soon.
Kate Bye.
Abbie Bye.
…
Kate Abbie's my Nightline trainer.
Janet You're saying she's your Nightline trainer! But she's still a student.
Kate Well, experienced students train new students, that's the way it works.
Janet Oh, I see.
Kate It's great! At the moment, she's training us in listening skills.
Janet Listening skills? What do you mean, listening skills?
Kate Um ... The ability to really listen to someone and make them feel you're listening. It's very important.
Janet I've never thought about that before.
Kate Yes, for example, one thing you can do is listen carefully and then repeat what someone says but maybe a little differently.
Janet So what you're saying is, repeat what someone says but maybe not the exact same words?
Kate Yes. You see, when you do that, you check you've understood and you show them you're really listening.
Janet So they know you've really heard them.
Kate Very good, Janet. I can see you've got it already! Hi,... how's it going?
Outside view
Voice-over It's the most popular means of communication in the 21st century.
Nobody writes letters any more, especially young people. They all use text messaging instead. Officially called SMS - short message service - text messaging is slow to enter, and you can only key in 160 characters. So why is it such a success? The first text message was sent in 1992, but texting only became commercially available in 1995. It has grown incredibly quickly since then. Just look at the graph. In 1999, the number of texts sent reached one billion. Over the next three years, it grew to 20 billion! So people have now sent billions of texts, and the number continues to rise. It isn't difficult to see why it quickly became part of youth culture.
Emily I use it every day. I don't call a lot of people on it. I just use it for text messages because it's easy and quick to send things and arrange things by text.
Heidi Mainly to friends. Sometimes it's useful to get information for work as well.
You know, if people want to give you contact numbers or things like that, it's easier than phoning.
Andy I've had my mobile phone for about three years. I mostly use it for just texting my mates and arranging sort of social meetings with them.
Alice I like texting. I don't really talk much on it except just to make arrangements but texting's the biggest thing I do.
Male I probably text message about ten, 15 times a day.
Alice Usually, I don't know, about ten. Ten to 15. Fifteen maybe to 20.
Voice-over It isn't just young people who use texting. Companies use it too - for advertising and promotion. For example, the Orange telephone network has run a text message promotional campaign since April 2004. People text a special number on a Wednesday and receive a discount voucher by text. They show this message to any one of 450 cinemas in Britain and get two tickets for the price of one. Why Wednesday? Wednesday has always been the worst day of the week for cinemas.
Since the campaign started, cinema attendance has risen on Wednesdays by nearly ten per cent. And, of course, TV uses text message voting to decide lots of things.
Texting has been one of the most successful inventions for years.
Listening in
Passage 1
John Are you packed?
Mike Yup. Everything's there.
John Sure you've packed your mobile?
Mike I'll look again, John ... yes.
John Well, we've got another ten minutes before we need to leave, so we might as well relax. You know someone told me an amazing story yesterday about these
Australians who got completely lost in some national park.
Mike And don't tell me, they used their mobile to get help?
John That's right!
Mike So what happened?
John Well, it was this guy with his son and niece -I think she was about 14 - and they were hiking in this really rugged country and they got completely lost - no idea where they were at all.
Mike That's not going to happen to us.
John No, it isn't. Anyway, the guy had his mobile and he phoned the emergency services — it wasn't dark yet - and they sent out a search party, but they couldn't find them. And then -this is the interesting bit - the guy sent photos of the place where they were.
Mike I'd have thought of that.
John Yes, well it's pretty obvious, really. And in the photos there were mountains in the background, and the staff at the emergency service centre were able to identify exactly which mountains they were. And they used the photos to pinpoint their location, you know, to get the exact location.
Mike How did they do that?
John They used mapping software.
Mike Right.
John Anyway, by then it had got dark and really freezing. So they slept behind this ridge and covered themselves with leaves. And you know what the young girl said afterwards? She said, "It was quite fun."
Mike Really, wasn't she frightened?
John I don't think so.
Mike So - is there a happy ending?
John Yes, well they sent out helicopters as soon as it was daylight and the helicopter hovered over the area, and the man kept talking to them till they were able to pinpoint his location. And when they finally found them they were only 400 metres away from where they'd expected them to be.
Mike Amazing!
John And that's because they'd moved 400 metres away from where they'd taken their photos because the ground was too rough to sleep on.
Mike Incredible!
John And the moral of the story is-
Mike Always take your mobile phone with you when you go hiking.
John And take one that has a camera.
Mike Hey, I think we should go, John.
John Yes, OK. You think we're going to get lost?
Mike No chance, mate!
Passage2
Social networking - it's the 21st century way of having fun - online. And if you're under 40, you probably use a social networking site - maybe when you should be working. It's well-known that -. office workers spend up to two hours a day on a site, exchanging messages and photos. And do students ever do anything else? Different social networking sites are used by different age groups.
For people in their 20s, the most popular site is Facebook, the online phenomenon started by an American student in 2004. It's taken only four years to make Facebook a huge success - and the website's made its founder, Mark Zuckerberg,
a very rich man indeed.
What's extraordinary about Zuckerburg is that he started Facebook when he was only 18. He was a student at Harvard, one of America's top universities, when he launched the Facebook website, working from his college room. In only two weeks, more than two-thirds of his college had signed up and in a year, thousands of colleges were using it. Today, Facebook has millions of users. More than half of them visit the site at least once a day.
So what makes Facebook so special? Like other networking sites, you create a profile with photos, you list your interests, you exchange messages and join groups of friends. But where Facebook is different is that it gives you a privacy that you just don't get on other sites. Unlike other sites, you have a lot of control over what users can see about you. As a result, one-third of Facebook users give out their mobile numbers - they know it's safe to do so.
But you still need to be careful about what you think is safe to show people. One reason is that more and more employers are using Facebook to check out potential employees. Is the person you've just interviewed as good as he seems? Facebook can provide the answer. If a 26-year-old man says on Facebook that he's been travelling round the world for the last three years, and in his interview he said he'd been working in an office - well, he probably won't get the job.
Unit 5 All you need is love
Inside view
Conversation 1
Kate Hi, Becky, how's it going?
Becky Good!
Mark Guys, look, can you help me with a problem?
Janet Yes, of course.
Mark The thing is, there's this girl I really like called Jenny Sparks. She's a Fresher, realty stunning, reads history. I know her name because someone pointed her out to me, but I've never actually spoken to her. Do either of you know her?
Kate No.
Janet No, I don't know her. Mark, how can you like her if you haven't met her?
Kate It's because she's absolutely gorgeous, Janet.
Mark That's right! I want to ask her out, but first I've got to meet her. Got any suggestions?
Becky Guys! You want to order?
Mark Sorry.
Kate Three cappuccinos?
Becky Sure.
Janet Do you know anyone who knows her? You could ask them to introduce you. Mark No, I don't, that's the problem.
Kate Are you matchmaking, Janet?
Janet What's matchmaking?
Kate Making introductions between people who might like each other. We don't do that here. How about just walking up to her and saying Hi? Why don't you do that?
Mark No.
Kate Why not?
Mark I'm not usually shy, but - she's so ... you know ...!
Janet Oh, Mark!
Kate Just believe in yourself, Mark. You're a great guy!
Janet I understand Mark completely.
Kate Well, it's the only way he's going to get to talk to her.
Mark OK, I'll give it a try.
Becky Solved the Jenny problem yet? ,
Girls Thank you.
Janet You'll be fine. Mark. She'll like him, won't she, Becky?
Becky Of course she will!
Conversation 2
Mark Hey, guess what, guys, I've got a date with Jenny.
Kate You did it, you asked her out?
Janet When are you seeing her?
Mark Saturday. We're going to The Eagle and Child.
Janet Sounds great.
Mark Yeah! The thing is, I'm a bit nervous.
Janet Are you?
Mark Yes, I'm afraid I'll make a fool of myself. I could do with some more advice. Kate Any ideas?
Janet Um ... I'm thinking.
Kate Well... One thing is ... if you're nervous, it's easy to talk too much, so remember not to do that.
Mark Good point. I'll remember that.
Janet You should make her feel special. Show her you're really interested in her. Mark I am really interested in her.
Janet Well, you should show her you are.
Mark That'll be easy! What else?
Kate It's a good idea to look good.
Mark That's pretty相当的obvious!
Kate I mean clean clothes, Mark!
Mark Oh ... thanks, Kate! Any more advice?
Kate Yes, the most important thing is, just be yourself.
Becky How's it going, Mark?
Kate He's worried this girl won't like him.
Becky She'll love you! Ready to order?
Outside view
Part 1
Voice-over Finding someone to love isn't easy. For years, single people have looked for prospective mates in a few tried-and-true ways. They met in school or at work, through friends or relatives. Or they met by chance in bars, at weddings, or at parties. Today there's a new way to find that special someone. Many people have met boyfriends, girlfriends, fiancés, husbands, and wives in a way that didn't exist up to about ten years ago. The Internet has completely changed the world of dating. Anyone can look for a match online at one of hundreds of different websites like these.
Consultant There are approximately 150 million singles in North America, and what's interesting is that a lot of them are trying online dating.
Speaker 1 I've never tried Internet dating.
Speaker 2 I have friends who have tried Internet dating, and one of them is getting married to the person he dated.
Speaker 3 I have not tried Internet dating, but I have a friend who has.
Speaker 4 I have not tried Internet dating.
Speaker 5 I have tried Internet dating. I had one good experience and one bad experience
Speaker 6 I've tried Internet dating. It worked out very well.
Carol Hi!
Daughter Hi!
Carol Oh, it's good to see you! You look great!
Daughter Thank you.
Carol Hey, I love the color.
Daughter Thank you. Come in, come in.
Voice-over How does Internet dating work? Carol is about to find out. She's having dinner with her daughter, who has just registered on an Internet dating site.
Carol So how's work?
Daughter Work is really good. It's busy, so I've been making money.
Carol Good. Have you met anyone yet?
Daughter No, not yet. But I just signed up. Mum? Mum, come on. I'll show you. Consultant To get started with Internet dating, there are four steps. The first one is to find the service that works for you. Second step is to create your profile. Find a great picture of yourself that shows you doing something that you enjoy. Write about who you are and who you're looking for. Third step is to start searching for that special someone. Use the search function on the site to identify people in your area that you may want to hook up with. Fourth step is to reach out to those people. You write them a nice short letter. Show that you're interested in them and off it goes. After that, sit back, cross your fingers, and hope for the best.
Part 2
Daughter OK. We open the browser, we go to the website.
Carol OK.
Daughter Mum, sit down.
Carol OK.
Daughter And it's basically a search engine – a search engine for a boyfriend. So I enter my criteria. I am a woman, looking for a man between the ages of 24 and
32.
Carol OK. Interesting.
Daughter And then I click "search".
Carol OK.
Daughter And then a screen with all the candidates who meet my criteria comes up.
Oh, look. "I've just come back from a safari and I'm looking for a little more adventure."
Carol He's not interested in a relationship.
Daughter "I'm 30 years old, but I still haven't found my dream lover." He's looking for someone who doesn't exist.
Carol You, you've always stayed away from unrealistic guys. Don't start now. Daughter "I've recently broken up after 12 years of love. I'm looking for another woman just like Linda."
Carol He hasn't gotten Over Linda yet.
Daughter I've never wanted to date a guy who's still in love with someone else. "I'm desperate?"
Carol No way!
Daughter No way! No way!
Consultant Internet dating is not just for desperate people. It's become very mainstream, and the stigma has gone away. It helps because we're very busy in our professional lives now, and it gives us an easy way to meet people that we normally wouldn't come across in our day-to-day lives.
Carol Ooh!
Daughter Ooh!Doctor!
Carol Doctor!
Daughter Ski. Hello! Looking for someone who's funny and spontaneous.
Carol That's you.
Daughter He likes jazz and cycling and skiing. I like to ski.
Carol There you go.
Daughter "My perfect date is dinner at a really nice restaurant, followed by dancing." Carol Aww ... Come on, that's great!
Daughter What's this guy?
Carol He's cute.
Daughter He's 26. He's a marketing assistant. He's looking for a woman who's confident in herself and her surroundings.
Carol That's you.
Daughter Someone who knows how to laugh.
Carol That's you.
Daughter "My perfect date is going to a small club and hearing the latest new music."
That's a good answer. OK. Outdoor guy Twenty-four. Grad student.
Carol So he's smart.
Daughter "I'm looking for a really fun woman who loves the outdoors, hiking, skiing 滑雪. A good sense of humor is a must."
Carol Again, funny, good sense of humor.
Daughter His perfect date is a canoe trip down a river that leads to the ocean.
Swimming and a picnic on the beach.
Carol Well, you could bring the picnic part, anyway.
Consultant A great profile侧面paints a broad picture of who you are and what you like to do with your life but does not bore the person.
It's not a book; it's a brief essay. You have to reel them in in the first five or ten seconds. Otherwise, they're going to move on to the next person.
Voice-over Carol looks for someone too.
Carol What about me?
Daughter OK. Um, looking for a man between the ages of ...
Carol Forty-five.
Daughter To...
Carol Fifty-five.
Daughter Search.
Carol Mmm! What do you think about this guy?
Daughter He's cute. Um, he's 52.
Carol He's looking for an attractive woman who is kind.
Daughter He likes to go sailing!
Carol I love that! Exotic异国places? Come on!
Daughter What if Dad knew you were doing this right now?
