Exercise 1
A. Listen and complete the notes.
1 Ships’ round windows: ……………….
2 Number of hairs on a human head: ……………….
3 A plane flies over a volcano: ……………….
4 The Beatles broke up: ……………….
5 Reasons for war: different ideologies, a sense of honor, ……………….
Answer & Audioscript
1 are stronger
2 10,000
3 the engines shut down, stop working completely
4 they all grew up and wanted to do things their own way
5 economic reasons, fear
Audioscript
A: Why are the windows round on ships?
B: Round windows are stronger, aren’t they?
C: Are they? I have no idea.
A: That’s right. According to the book, they’re less likely to break.
C: Ah.
B: There you go.
A: What about this second one? How many hairs are there on the human head?
C: Erm … A million?
B: No, it’s not that many, is it?
C: It depends whose head, doesn’t it? On my dad’s there are about three.
A: The answer is about ten thousand.
B: Oh, really?
C: I think that’s a bit of a stupid question because it depends, doesn’t it?
B: Well, it was a four-year-old who asked the question.
C: Oh, yeah, that’s true.
A: Next question: What happens when your plane flies over a volcano?
C: Umm.
B: Nothing happens, does it? Well, it depends on whether the volcano is erupting or whether it’s active.
C: Yeah.
A: Well, according to the book, Jamieson asked a pilot. And the pilot said that, as he was flying over the volcano, his engines shut down, stopped working completely.
C: Scary. Did he get hot?
A: Hmm, it doesn’t say. But he obviously survived. So there you go. Anyway, what about this one? Why did the Beatles break up?
C: Dunno. They got old, didn’t they?
B: No, John Lennon went off with Yoko Ono, didn’t he?
A: Well, Jamieson wrote to Yoko Ono and she replied, “Because they all grew up, wanted to do things their own way, and they did.”
C: Oh, that’s interesting.
B: I’m amazed she replied.
A: Me, too. OK, last one. After watching a violent video game, the little boy asked, “Why is there war?”
C: Great question.
B: That’s a really good question.
C: Hmm, because men like fighting?
B: Political reasons. One country wants the land or the oil or the gold.
A: Well, Jamieson asked lots of experts. Most of them didn’t or couldn’t answer. Then he asked an American army colonel, who said there are four big reasons: different ideologies, a sense of honor, economic reasons and fear.
B: Uh-huh.
C: Good question for a four-year-old.
B: And a good answer.
Exercise 2
A. Listen to four conversations. What is the problem in each case?
B. Read questions 1—8. Which can you answer? Listen again to check.
1 In conversation 1, what question does the man ask?
2 Where does the woman suggest that he go?
3 In conversation 2, what does the woman “keep losing”?
4 What does the man suggest?
5 In conversation 3, what does the vacuum cleaner “keep making”?
6 Does the woman give the man instructions about what to do to fix his vacuum cleaner?
7 In conversation 4, what does the man ask for?
8 Whom does the man need to speak to?
Answer & Audioscript
A
Conversation 1: ATM not working
Conversation 2: laptop crashed
Conversation 3: vacuum cleaner keeps making funny noise
Conversation 4: machine has taken money
B
1 If there’s another machine somewhere.
2 to the shopping mall
3 her documents
4 saving the documents onto a memory stick
5 a funny noise
6 No. She sees if she can find someone to help him.
7 a refund
8 the manager
Audioscript
Conversation 1
A Argh! Oh no.
B What’s the matter?
A Oh. This ATM’s not working. Do you know if there’s another machine somewhere? I really need to get some money.
B Hmm … I’m not sure. There might be one in the shopping mall.
A Thanks.
Conversation 2
A Argh!
B What’s the matter?
A My laptop just crashed, again. That’s the third time it’s happened. Would you mind looking at it for me?
B Sure.
A Thanks. It’s so annoying. I keep losing my documents. Do you know what the problem is?
B Let me have a look. There’s a lot of stuff on here. Why don’t you save the documents onto a memory stick?
A That’s a good idea.
B And then do you want me to try …
Conversation 3
A Customer Service. Good Morning.
B Um, yes. I’ve got a problem with my vacuum cleaner.
A Could you tell me what the problem is, sir?
B Yes, I can. It keeps making a funny noise. And it’s just not working properly.
A You say it keeps making a funny noise …
B Yes, that’s right.
A OK. Let’s see if I can find someone who can help you. Could you hold please?
B Yes, of course.
Conversation 4
A Oh, I don’t believe it! Excuse me, this machine isn’t working. It just took my money. Could you give me a refund?
B I’m afraid I can’t do that.
A Why not?
B Well, I’m not allowed to give refunds.
A But I’ve just lost my money. And I still need a ticket.
B I can sell you a ticket, but I can’t give you a refund.
A Well, could you tell me whom I should speak to?
B Yes, of course. You need to speak to the manager.
A OK. Would you mind calling him for me?
B Of course not. I’ll just call him.
Exercise 3
A. Listen to someone talking about a new machine. What is the invention? What does it do?
……………………………………………
……………………………………………
Answer & Audioscript
The invention is called Robo-Chef, and it prepares meals automatically.
Audioscript
I’m going to tell you about Robo-Chef. Basically, Robo-Chef can prepare and cook all your favorite recipes. It works like this. First of all, it washes and prepares all the vegetables. Then it prepares your dish and cooks it for you on your stove. Robo-Chef comes complete with hundreds of menus already programmed. But, you can also program Robo-Chef with your own recipes. Or, if you want to try something new, you can download new recipes whenever you like. All you have to do is choose the dish you want, decide how many people you want Robo-Chef to cook for, and what time you want the meal to be ready. So, let’s say you would like a vegetable lasagne for six people ready by 8 o’clock. Then, just make sure you have all the ingredients in the kitchen, press the button, and that’s it. You can go to work, and, when you come home in the evening, your delicious dinner will be ready. What could be easier? Robo-Chef is the chef of the future.
Exercise 4
A. Listen to Mia, Tom and Owen answering the following questions. Write M (Mia), T (Tom) or O (Owen) next to the question they answer.
1 How has your country changed in the last thirty years? …………………..
2 Is the world getting better or worse? …………………..
3 How has your life changed in the last thirty years? …………………..
B. Circle the correct option to complete the sentences.
1 Mia thinks that thirty years ago …………… .
a) life was simpler
b) the pace of life was faster
c) people were happier
2 Mia thinks that email puts pressure on people because …………… .
a) people’s computers crash
b) emails sometimes don’t arrive
c) we are expected to give an instant response
3 Tom says that Beijing has grown because people …………… .
a) don’t have as much money as before
b) came from around the world to get rich
c) came from all over China to make money
4 Tom says that life in the countryside …………… .
a) has changed enormously because of new technology
b) will never change because people do not have access to technology
c) has not changed that much, but people have more technology
5 Owen says that living conditions around the world …………… .
a) are improving, even though many people are still living in terrible poverty
b) are terrible and are going in the wrong direction
c) are not improving, and more and more people are living in poverty
6 Owen thinks that there are …………… .
a) fewer wars than before, but weapons are getting more dangerous
b) more wars than before, and weapons are getting more dangerous
c) the same number of wars as before, and weapons are getting safer
Answer & Audioscript
A
1 T 2 O 3 M
B
1 a 2 c 3 b 4 c 5 a 6 b
Audioscript
Mia
Well, it’s changed a lot, goodness, enormously. I mean thirty years ago, I was still at school. I was ten years old. Life was a lot simpler then. All I had to think about was doing my homework and enjoying my free time with friends. I think life was simpler for everybody then. We didn’t have all this technology, and I think the pace of life was slower. At work, when someone sent a letter, it could take a week or two even before they would get a reply. Nowadays, people email, and they expect an instant response, on the same day or within an hour or two. That puts a lot of pressure on people. We say that technology has saved us time, but it just speeds things up, and we’re expected to do so much more. It’s non-stop. We have cell phones and smart phones and tablets. So, we don’t just turn off and relax.
Tom
That’s an interesting question. It’s changed a lot. I live in Beijing. So there has been a huge advancement in technology and huge growth. There are more people, with more money. There has been an economic explosion here, so the city has grown. All the offices and high-rise buildings. Lots of those weren’t here thirty years ago. And it’s very multicultural nowadays. People from all over the world live in Beijing. People came from everywhere to see if they could get rich, and many of them did get rich. They made millions. I think in a lot of places out in the countryside, things haven’t changed that much. Life is quite similar to how it was before for farmers and their families. I suppose they have more technology now. They have cell phones and televisions and the Internet, so they know a lot more about the wider world and what is going on. Thirty years ago, they just had a radio, and it was difficult to find out information. That’s much easier now.
Owen
Oh, well, both probably. The world is getting better in many ways. I think, if we look at living standards across the world, obviously there are still millions of people living in terrible poverty, but I think the situation is getting better. People have better access to food and medicine and education. So, these are all things that are improving. Medicine is improving, so people live longer, and we can fight infectious diseases. People’s lives have improved because of technology, so life is easier now than it was before. A lot of manual work is done by machines. But, in some ways, the world is getting worse. War, for example, is a bigger problem all the time. There are more and more wars, which is surprising. And weapons are becoming even more dangerous. I think the environment is definitely suffering, so we are polluting more than we used to because of all the industrialization. And I also think socially things are getting worse because people are less social now than before. They spend more time on their own, with computers and computer games, and less time talking to others and working together. I think that is a great shame and a problem for the future, too.
Exercise 5
A. Listen to eight conversations. What does the person want each time? Match pictures A—H with conversations 1—8.
B. Listen again. Complete the conversations with one word in each gap.
1 A: Excuse me. ………… you tell me the way to the swimming pool, please?
B: Yes, of ………… I can. You keep going this way until you get to the traffic lights. Then, …
2 A: Hello. Do you ………… what time the bank opens?
B: I’m not ………… . I’ll just ask someone.
3 A: Do you want us to bring anything?
B: That would be great. Could ………… bring some salad and maybe something for dessert?
A: Yes, ………… course. Anything else?
B: No, that’ll be fine.
4 A: Could you ………… me with my bags?
B: I’m …………, I can’t. My hands are full.
5 A: Would you mind ………… the door for me?
B: Of course ………… . There you go.
A: Thank you. That’s very kind.
6 A: Could you ………… me what time the show starts?
B: ………… me take a look. The afternoon show starts at 3 p.m.
A: Thanks very much.
7 A: Would you ………… coming to get me at the station?
B: OK. ………… . Wait outside, and I’ll be there in ten minutes.
8 A: Do you know ………… there’s a post office near here?
B: Yes, ………… is. There’s one just down this road.
Answer & Audioscript
A
A 3 He wants to know if they have to bring anything.
B 4 She wants someone to hold something for her.
C 7 She wants someone to pick her up from the station.
D 2 He wants to know what time the bank opens.
E 1 She wants to know the way to the swimming pool.
F 8 She wants to know if there is a post office near there.
G 6 He wants to know what time the (afternoon) show starts.
H 5 He wants someone to open the door for her.
B
1 could, course 2 know, sure 3 you, of
4 help, sorry 5 opening, not 6 tell, Let
7 mind, Sure 8 if, there
Audioscript
1 A: Excuse me. Could you tell me the way to the swimming pool, please?
B: Yes, of course I can. You keep going this way until you get to the traffic lights. Then, …
2 A: Hello. Do you know what time the bank opens?
B: I’m not sure. I’ll just ask someone.
3 A: Do you want us to bring anything?
B: That would be great. Could you bring some salad and maybe something for dessert?
A: Yes, of course. Anything else?
B: No, that’ll be fine.
4 A: Could you help me with my bags?
B: I’m sorry, I can’t. My hands are full.
5 A: Would you mind opening the door for me?
B: Of course not. There you go.
A: Thank you. That’s very kind.
6 A: Could you tell me what time the show starts?
B: Let me take a look. The afternoon show starts at 3 p.m.
A: Thanks very much.
7 A: Would you mind coming to get me at the station?
B: OK. Sure. Wait outside, and I’ll be there in ten minutes.
8 A: Do you know if there’s a post office near here?
B: Yes, there is. There’s one just down this road.
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