视听说U1-U5 listening in

unit 1 College culture

Listening in

Passage1

V/O

Hi, I’m Nick Carter, and this is SUR, your university radio station. This morning we went around campus to ask freshers – now half-waythrough their first year –the question, “How are you finding uni?” Here are some of the answers we got.

Speaker 1

It’s cool. It’s everything I hoped it would be. I’m very ambitious, I want to be a journalist and I want to get to the top of the profession. I’ve started writing for the university newspaper so I’ve got my foot on the ladder already.

Speaker 2

I’m working hard and the teaching is as good as I expected. And I’ve made some good friends. But I’m very homesick. I’m Nigerian and my family’s so far away. I went home at Christmas for a month – that really helped, but man, I miss my family so much.

Speaker 3

“How am I finding uni?” It’s great. It’s not perfect, nothing is, but, like, I’ve got a brilliant social life, just brilliant, and I’ve made lots of friends. For the first few months I just didn’t do, really enough work. But I –I talked about it with my parents and I’m working harder now and getting good grades.

Speaker 4

Actually, I’ve been quite lonely to be honest. I’m a bit shy … everyone else seemed to find it so easy to make friends straight away. But things have been better recently –yeah, they have. I’ve joined a couple of clubs and like, it really helps to get to know people when you have shared interests. So, yeah –I’m feeling a lot happier now.

Speaker 5

Uni’s great, I love it. My only proble m –and it’s quite a big problem – is money. My parents are both unemployed so, you know, they can’t help me financially. My grant just isn’t –it’s just not enough for me to live on, so I’ve taken a part-time job as a waitress – a lot of people I know, like a lot, have had to do the same. I don’t want to have huge debts at the end.

Speaker 6

I love my subject, History, and I’m, I’m getting fantastic teaching here. I want to be a university lecturer and that means I have to get a first. I have a good social life but work definitely comes first for me.

Passage2

Oxford and Cambridge – two universities so similar that they are often spoken of together as “Oxbridge”. They’re both in the UK, fairly near London, and both regularly come top in any

ranking of the world’s best universities.

The two universities began within a century of each other. Oxford University, now 900 years old, was founded towards the end of the 11th century. In 1209 there was a dispute between the university and the townspeople of Oxford. As a result, some of the Oxford teachers left and founded a university in the town of Cambridge, some 84 miles away. Ever since then, the two institutions have been very competitive.

Unlike most modern universities, both Oxford and Cambridge consist of a large number of colleges. Oxford has 39 and Cambridge 31. Many of these colleges have old and very beautiful architecture, and large numbers of tourists visit them.

In all UK universities, you need good grades in the national exams taken at 18. But to get into Oxford and Cambridge, it’s not enough to get A grades in your exams. You also have to go for a long interview. In these interviews, students need to show that they are creative and capable of original thinking.

Through the centuries, both universities have made huge contributions to British cultural life. They have produced great writers, world leaders and politicians. Cambridge, in particular, has produced scientists whose discoveries and inventions have changed our lives.

Among the great university institutions is the world’s most famous debating society, the Oxford Union, where undergraduates get a chance to practise speaking in public. Cambridge’s comedy club

Footlights has produced many first-class comedians, while some of the UK’s most famous actors and actresses began their careers at The Oxford University Dramatic Society, known as OUDS. Then there’s the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, which takes place every year in March or April, and is watched on television all over the UK.

So with all this excellence in so many fields, it’s not surprising that the ambition of clever students all over the world is to attend either one of these great universities.

Unit 2 Mixed feelings

Listening in

Passage1

Presenter

We’re fortunate to have as our guest today Dr Jenna Hudson, who has just written a book about how colours affect us in our surroundings, especially in the world of advertising. It’s called Market Colours. Dr Hudson, which are the most common colours in advertising and marketing?

Dr Hudson

Well, of course, it depends what image the marketing team wish to project with their products. So for example, we often think of blue as a cold colour, but it also makes you feel peaceful, quiet, and it doesn’t suggest strong emotions. So it’s a favourite for banks and insurance companies, who wish to suggest the image that they are trustworthy. And for selling products, it’s often used to

suggest something is pure and fresh.

What about red?

You can sell almost anything with red. It’s a hot colour, which suggests a feeling of energy and even passion. It grabs your attention, and can make people buy almost anything. You often see red on magazine covers. But if you use it too much, it looks cheap and may make people tired. And orange has a similar effect to red, it’s upbeat and happy, it suggests pleasant feelings and images. Most people react well to orange, and it’s especially popular in advertising and on packaging for baked food.

What about yellow, for instance?

Yellow is the colour of sunshine and it’s a positive, happy colour, so it’s used a lot in advertising. But it’s also often used for warning signs, direction signs, and so on, where you have to read the message quickly and at a distance.

What about less popular colours for advertising?

Surprisingly, green isn’t used much in advertising except for garden products. It’s friendly and restful. It can be cool and soothing, the colour of apples and mint, but it can also be quite strong and many people associate it with unpleasant ideas of decay or slimy creatures. But most colours are not primary colours, they’re a com bination. Absolutely. So yellow-orange is common, and often used to give animpression of style and class, it looks like gold. But it’s not often used in letters because it’s not very strong. And yellow-green reminds people of feeling sick.

Blue-green works well as a cool colour, suggesting freshness, and is sometimes

used for toothpaste products, bathroom products, food and household cleaning products. It has many of the advantages of blue without the disadvantages of green.

Fascinating.Thank you very much, Dr

Scripts

Hudson. Market Colours by Dr Jenna

Hudson is on sale from next week,

priced ￡15.99 …

Passage2

Presenter ：What makes you embarrassed, Sally?

Sally ：Oh, I’m easily embarrassed. If anybody notices me or looks at me, I get very embarrassed.

When people sing me Happy Birthday on my birthday, I get very embarrassed.

Presenter ：And what makes you upset?

Sally ：When people are selfish, people who think only of themselves. And cruelty –I can’t bear people who are cruel, especially to animals or children.

Presenter ：Jake, what makes you depressed?

Jake ：I hate it when it rains, and I don’t like people who look down on me, who think they’re superior to me without any reason.

Presenter ：And what makes you angry?

Jake ：When people don’t behave properly in public, bad behaviour like dropping litter or people pushing each other on the bus or the train.

Presenter ：Andrew, what makes you cheerful?

Andrew ：I like to see everyone around me being happy and having a positive attitude towards the future, optimistic people.

Presenter ：And what makes you jealous?

Andrew ：Well, to be honest, I just never feel jealous. I can’t see the point of it.

Presenter ：Monica, what makes you proud?

Monica ：I’m proud when I’m successful, especially in my work. Being recognized by my boss for what I can do makes me feel really proud. Oh, and my family. I’m very proud of them. Presenter ：And what makes you nervous?

Monica ：Every time I teach a new class. The night before I’m very nervous. You don’t know what the kids are going to be like and how they might behave, or if they’re going to like you. Presenter ：Anything else?

Monica ：Doing interviews like this.

Unit 3 Crime watch

Listening in

Passage1

Patrick ：I read a funny story today in the paper –true story.

Steve ：Go on, then.

Patrick ：OK. This 72-year old guy stole a pair of trousers from a department store in Paris. A security man saw him and alerted the police and they were waiting for him when he came out of the shop. The shoplifter started running, but the policeman soon caught up with him. The man thenbit the policeman on his arm several times.

Steve ：He bit the policeman?

Patrick ：Yes –you have to remember, he was 72.

Steve ：I’d forgotten that.

Patrick ：Problem was, it didn’t hurt the policeman at all, ’cause the guy had forgotten to put his false teeth in before he left home.

Steve ：Very funny!

Patrick ：And the moral of the story is –

Steve ：Always remember to wear your false teeth if you’re going to bite someone.

Patrick ：That’s good. I read a funny crime story the other day. Let’s see …yeah …this guy …

this guy robbed a supermarket somewhere in America –I can’t remember where exactly –anyway, he got away with about 4,000 dollars. The next week the local newspaper reported the story but said he’d stolen 6,000 dollars. The thief rang the newspaper office to complain. He said, “Look, I only took 4,000 dollars. I’m wondering if the supermarket manager took another 2,000 and said I’d taken it. I did not take 6,000, I promise you.”

Steve ：He was probably telling the truth.

Patrick ：He probably was. Anyway, the newspaper managed to keep the guy talking while they rang the police. And the police traced the call – the guy was ringing from a phone booth – and they arrested him while he was still talking to the newspaper.

Steve ：That’s good. Stupid guy! I’ve got another true story …This –this –old guy was in court for some crime –and he fell asleep. His case began and his lawyer stood up and said, “My client pleads not guilty.”The man suddenly woke up, but wasn’t sure what was happening. He jumped up and shouted, “I plead guilty! I plead guilty!”

Patrick ：So what happened?

Steve ：The judge allowed him to plead not guilty.

Patrick ：That’s the best, I think.

Passage2

Presenter ：You’re listening to Kevin Fallon and my topic for today is street crime. Being mugged is something that can happen to anyone –and it’s a very frightening experience. So it’s positive when you hear of someone who was attacked by a mugger and defeated them –especially when that person is a woman. Anna Black was attacked by a mugger. She’s here to tell us about it.

How long ago did this happen, Anna?

News 24/7 Unit 4

Anna

Just over a week ago. The day it happened,

I was coming home from work a bit later

than usual – I think it was about seven. I

was on my mobile phone, talking to my

husband.

Presenter

And it was still daylight?

Anna ：Yes. Anyway, suddenly, someone pulled my hair from behind –and at the same time they grabbed my mobile phone. Now, I’m a karate black belt –

Presenter ：Really!

Anna ：Yes, I practise three times a week –so I’m ready for situations like this.

Presenter ：I bet you are.

Anna ：Yes, I can react very fast. So as soon as this guy grabbed me, I did what you’re told to do in these situations.

Presenter ：And what’s that?

Anna ：I fell backwards onto him.

Presenter ：You fell backwards onto him!

Anna ：Yeah! I’m tall and quite heavy –so we both fell to the ground together.

Presenter ：Goodness!

Anna ：I er, yeah –I was ready to hit him but then next thing I knew, two men had seized

the guy. They were driving past and they, they stopped to help. They were big strong guys. They called the police who came in five minutes.

Presenter ：So the mugger was arrested?

Anna ：Yes, he was.

Presenter ：Do you think, if that hadn’t happened, you could have injured him?

Anna ：Oh, I’d like to think so. I’m a black belt, that’s what I’m trained to do. Presenter ：Well, it’s great to hear of women coping well in situations like this. Perhaps we should all learn karate.

Anna ：I think it’s a good idea to have some kind of defence training. Yes, especially if you

live in an area that isn’t very safe.

Unit 4 News

Listening in

Passage1

Phil ：Hello.

Tony ：Hello, is that Phil Taylor?

Phil ：Speaking.

Tony ：Hi, Phil, my name’s Tony, and I’m a reporter for SUN.

Phil ：The uni paper! I suppose you want to talk to me about the fire.

Tony ：Yes, if it’s OK with you. We’d like to do a piece on the fire for next week’s paper. Can you tell people how it happened?

Phil ：Yeah, OK, it probably is a good idea.

Tony ：So when can I come and see you?

Phil ：Um …Wednesday afternoon? Three o’clock? I’m in South Block, Room 18.

Tony ：OK, I’ll be there.

…

Tony ：OK, so let’s get started. When did the fire happen?

Phil ：Two days ago.

Tony ：November the 10th. OK, so tell me how it

happened.

Phil ：Um …It was about 11 pm. I decided to fry some chips, I used quite a lot of oil –I was deep-frying. Um … And I put the chips in. And then my girlfriend rang.

Tony ：OK.

Phil ：We’d had a quarrel, and I was pretty upset, so we started talking, and I completely forgot about the chips and went back to my room.

Tony ：You fool!

Phil ：Thanks. We talked for a quite long time. Next thing I knew, there was this smell of smoke, and someone was shouting, “Fire! Fire!” And I realized immediately of course, it was my chips! And I rushed out of my room – the kitchen was next door –and … well … there were flames all over one wall.

Tony ：And it was all your fault!

Phil ：It was. But people were in the kitchen throwing blankets over the flames, and someone had already called the fire brigade and they came –in ten minutes I think –and put it out very quickly.

Tony ：So what was the damage?

Phil ：They’re gonna to have to replace the cooker, two kitchen units, repaint one wall.

Tony ：Sounds pretty bad.

Phil ：It could have been a lot worse.

Tony ：Can I take a photo of you for the paper?

Phil ：Do you have to? Oh, OK.

Tony ：Thanks. It’ll be front page news.

Phil ：Oh dear! Haven’t you got anything else to write about?

Tony ：Not this week. There’s not much happening on campus. I’m joking. You’re on Page 2. Phil ：Thanks!

Passage2

Presenter

Today’s discussion is about reality TV programmes, the programmes loved by millions and hated by just as many. We have three people on our panel – Tricia a student at Liverpool University, Rick from Luton, and Karen who is a full-time mum.

Panel ：Hello.

Scripts

Presenter ：So let’s begin with a very obvious question. Do you watch reality TV programmes and if so, why?

Tricia ：Yes, I do, I love them, I’m addicted to them, I’m afraid.

Presenter ：Addicted to them?

Tricia ：Yes, I think all my friends are really. I guess it’s just, you know, fascinating to watch real people put under a bit of pressure and then see how they behave.

Presenter ：That doesn’t sound very nice exactly.

Tricia ：No, it isn’t. But reality TV isn’t very nice actually.

Presenter ：Karen, how about you?

Karen ：Yes, well I watch them but I’m not like Tricia. I’m definitely not addicted to them.

I can take them or leave them. But I do like to watch property programmes.

Presenter ：Property programmes?

Karen ：You can learn a lot from them. And it’s –it’s great to see real people buying a property and then doing it up, the mistakes they make, that kind of thing. And yes, you know, there’s the human interest factor as well.

Presenter ：Rick –

Rick ：I can’t stand reality TV. I mean, OK, if it’s a property programme or a gardening programme, fine, but most of them are just –they’re set up to humiliate people.

Tricia ：Not always.

Rick ：I disagree. People are on show. It’s like watching animals in a zoo. I mean, would

you appear on a reality show?

Tricia ：Maybe. I don’t know. Probably not.

Rick ：There you are you see? You don’t want to be humiliated.

Karen ：Some people do very well on reality shows. They win a lot of money.

Rick ：OK, that’s true, but –standards on reality shows can be pretty low, you can’t deny it. Presenter ：Tricia, what have you got to say to that?

Tricia ：Well, it’s true, yes.

Karen ：I agree with Rick.

Presenter ：So, next question …

Unit 5 War

Listening in

Passage1

There are many war novels but the novel I’m going to talk about today is unusual because it’s war seen through the eyes of a child. The “eyes” are those of J G Ballard, one of Britain’s most respected novelists.

Let’s begin with some information abo ut Ballard. He was born in 1930, in Shanghai, where his father was a businessman, and he was only 11 years old when the city was occupied during World War II. Ballard and his family were placed in a prison camp and he has said that his experiences there affected him so deeply that it was 40 years before he felt able to write about them. “Twenty years to forget and 20 years to remember.”

The result of Ballard’s experiences was a semi-autobiographical novel called Empire of the Sun, published in 1984. It quickly became a success and in 1987 it was made into a movie by Hollywood director, Steven Spielberg.

Let’s move on to the novel itself. Empire of the Sun tells the story of how a young boy, Jim Graham, survives the Japanese occupation. Interestingly, Jim i s J G Ballard’s first name and his second name is Graham.

Also, Jim is the same age as Ballard – 11 – when the occupation begins. At the start of the story, Jim is living with his parents in a wealthy part of Shanghai. When the invasion begins, many of Sh anghai’s inhabitants flee from the city and Jim’s parents do the same. But the

boy becomes separated from them and finds himself all alone. He goes back to their empty home and lives alone there. Inevitably, he’s found and then he’s sent to a prison camp.

It’s a terrible four years, but the boy somehow survives. He steals food, finds w ays of getting in and out of the camp, and is befriended by some Americans and a Japanese boy.

Is there a happy ending? Yes and no. Jim sees many people die; his Japanese friend is killed by the Americans. But at the end of the war, he gets back to Shanghai and is reunited with his parents.

Jim’s experiences are terrible, as a child who discovers the depths of human cruelty. But he learns also about the strength and courage that is possible, even in these circumstances. Both the great power and the truth of the novel come from the fact that it’s based on the author’s own experiences. The general opinion of critics is that Empire of the Sun is one of the best war novels ever written –so read it, it’s worth it.

Passage2

Host

On Women’s World today, we look at women’s role in the Second World War and the important part they played in it. In the First World War, women had worked in factories and as nurses, both at home and at the front. In the Second World War, women were even more essential to the war effort. Doris Watts was just 18 when the war began and Mavis Grey was only 20.

Host

Do you remember how you felt, Doris, the day the war was declared?

Doris

Oh yes … of course I do. I felt frightened of course, but we had known it would happen. The fi rst thing, more than anything I think, that I felt was … was that I wanted to do something! You know, do something useful, so I joined the Land Girls.

Host

Ah, yes, the Women’s Land Army. That was an organization started in the First World War. Women worked in agriculture as the men were away fighting. Did you enjoy the experience? Sporting life Unit 6

Doris

Not really. It was very hard work, very physical. You never saw anybody except the officer coming to inspect your work. So when I heard about the WAAF I signed up.

Host

That’s the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. WAAF, for short. So why the WAAF?

Doris

I’d always thought planes were very exciting. And it’s silly but I liked the light blue uniforms. Host

That’s a good enough reason! Now, Mavis, you were in the WAAF at the same time as Doris. Can you tell us more about it?

Mavis

Yes. Organizations like the WAAF were a way for women to join the armed forces, since they weren’t allowed to fight. Instead, th e army, the navy and the air force all had support services,

which women could join.

Host

And Doris. What kind of things did you have to do?

Doris Oh, well, a lot of different things. I worked in transport and catering. We were very young but we were given a lot of responsibility.

Host

And what did you do, Mavis?

Mavis

Various jobs but eventually I worked on a ighter station, tracking the German bombers

as they flew towards London. It was very exciting.

Host

Was it ever dangerous?

Doris

Yes, we were always in danger of being bombed. They tell me that over 1,500 young women lost their lives. I was lucky.

Host

And what about social life?

Mavis

We did have some wonderful parties. And of course I met my husband, Eric. He was an electrician at the station.

Host

One last question, Doris. Do you think women’s work in the forces changed things for women? Doris

Without a doubt. Oh absolutely! After the war the position of women could never be the same again –we’d contributed so much.

Host

Doris and Mavis, thank you both.