Section 1 Audio script:

Q: What made you decide to get a job as a janitor? Aaron Bostian: I had left my job as a shipping clerk and was sick of getting up early in the morning, so I opened the newspaper to "J" and started looking. When I applied, they told me "If you can speak English, lift five pounds, and pass a drug test, you're hired." Q: How long have you been doing this? Bostian: About five years. Q: Tell me about your first assignment. Bostian: They sent me to a metalworking shop. The sinks were covered in grease and the vacuum had a big magnet on the front to pick the metal shavings off the floor. The first vacuum I worked with, I called it Maud. She was a good vacuum. You know, life is like vacuuming you're going along and everything is fine, when suddenly it shuts off and you realize you've run out of cord. Q: So what did you do after the metalworking shop? Bostian: I worked at this school for naturopathic medicine. It's this old brick building in southwest Portland. The original building was built in 1905, and they've made a bunch of additions to it since then. Q: Did you tell me once that you thought it was haunted? Bostian: Well, there was a time when it was windy outside, and I swore it sounded like children screaming in the distance. Q: Are you making this up? Bostian: No, A lot of weird things happen to you at two a.m. Q: So what else about that place was creepy? Bostian: Well, I would be cleaning the hallway and the elevator would suddenly come open, even though there was no one inside. I would just turn up my Walkman. I usually listened to books on tape to pass the time. I listened to "War and Peace" in about a month. It was fifty cassette tapes.
Answer the following questions.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Why has the man come for becoming a janitor? How many years has he been a clerk before? What did he do after metalworking job? What are the requirements to become a janitor? What does he hate the most in the clerks job? What was his first job? What was Maud? Is he speaking the truth? What was haunted according to him? What did he listen to? How many tapes were there for it?

Section 2 Audio script: Christmas is for most of us a time for a break from work, for family and friends, for presents, turkey and crackers. But we should not lose sight of the fact that these are traditional celebrations around a great religious festival, one of the most important in the Christian year. Religion and culture are much in the news these days, usually as sources of difference and conflict, rather than for bringing people together. But the irony is that every religion has something to say about tolerance and respecting others. For me, as a Christian, one of the most important of these teachings is contained in the parable of the Good Samaritan, when Jesus answers the question, Who is my neighbour? It is a timeless story of a victim of a mugging who was ignored by his own countrymen but helped by a foreigner, and a despised foreigner at that. The implication drawn by Jesus is clear. Everyone is our neighbour, no matter what race, creed or colour. The need to look after a fellow human being is far more important than any cultural or religious differences. Most of us have learned to acknowledge and respect the ways of other cultures and religions, but what matters even more is the way in which those from different backgrounds behave towards each other in everyday life. It is vitally important that we all should participate and cooperate for the sake of the wellbeing of the whole community. We have only to look around to recognise the benefits of this positive approach in business or local government, in sport, music and the arts. There is certainly much more to be done and many challenges to be overcome. Discrimination still exists. Some people feel that their own beliefs are being threatened. Some are unhappy about unfamiliar cultures. They all need to be reassured that there is so much to be gained by reaching out to others; that diversity is indeed a strength and not a threat. We need also to realise that peaceful and steady progress in our society of differing cultures and heritage can be threatened at any moment by the actions of extremists at home or by events abroad. We can certainly never be complacent. But there is every reason to be hopeful about the future. I certainly recognise that much has been

achieved in my lifetime. I believe tolerance and fair play remain strong British values and we have so much to build on for the future. It was for this reason that I particularly enjoyed a story I heard the other day about an overseas visitor to Britain who said the best part of his visit had been travelling from Heathrow into central London on the tube. His British friends were, as you can imagine, somewhat surprised, particularly as the visitor had been to some of the great attractions of the country. What do you mean they asked? Because, he replied, I boarded the train just as the schools were coming out. At each stop children were getting on and off - they were of every ethnic and religious background, some with scarves or turbans, some talking quietly, others playing and occasionally misbehaving together, completely at ease and trusting one another. How lucky you are, said the visitor, to live in a country where your children can grow up this way. I hope they will be allowed to enjoy this happy companionship for the rest of their lives. A Happy Christmas to you all.

Listen to the passage carefully and fill in the gaps with the missing information. A. _____11_____ is for most of us a time for a break from work, for family and friends, for presents, _____12_____. But we should not lose sight of the fact that these are _____13_____ around a great religious festival, one of the most important in the _____14______. _____15_____ are much in the news these days, usually as sources of difference and conflict, rather than for bringing people together. But the irony is that every religion has something to say about _____16_____ others. For me, as a Christian, one of the most important of these teachings is contained in the parable of the _____17_____, when Jesus answers the question, Who is my _____18_____? It is a timeless story of a victim of a mugging who was ignored by his own ______19_____ but helped by a foreigner, and a despised _____20_____ at that.

Section 3 Audio script: English folklore is the folk tradition that has evolved in England over the centuries. England abounds with folklore, in all forms, from such obvious manifestations as semi-historical Robin Hood tales, to contemporary urban myths and facets of cryptozoology such as the Beast of Bodmin Moor. The famous Arthurian legends may not have originated in England, but variants of these tales are associated with locations in England, such as Glastonbury and Tintagel. Examples of surviving English folk traditions include the Morris dance and related practices such as the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance and the Mummers Plays. In many, usually rural places, people still gather for May Day festivals on the first of May to celebrate the beginning of summer. This traditionally

involves local children skipping around a maypole - a large pole erected on the village green (historically a tree would have been specially cut down) - each carrying a coloured ribbon, resulting in a multicoloured plaited pattern. The festival traditionally features Morris dancing and various festivities, culminating in the crowning of a 'May Queen'. Many regional variations of the festivals exist; the oldest still practiced today is the "'Obby 'Oss festival of Padstow, which dates back to the 14th century. England has a long and rich musical history. The United Kingdom has, like most European countries, undergone a roots revival in the last half of the 20th century. English music has been an instrumental and leading part of this phenomenon, which peaked at the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s. The achievements of the Anglican choral tradition following on from 16th century composers such as Thomas Tallis, John Taverner and William Byrd have tended to overshadow instrumental composition. The semi-operatic innovations of Henry Purcell did not lead to a native operatic tradition, but George Frederick Handel found important royal patrons and enthusiastic public support in England. The rapturous receptions afforded by audiences to visiting musical celebrities such as Haydn often contrasted with the lack of recognition for home-grown talent. However, the emergence of figures such as Edward Elgar and Arthur Sullivan in the 19th century showed a new vitality in English music. In the 20th century, Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett emerged as internationally-recognised opera composers, and Ralph Vaughan Williams and others collected English folk tunes and adapted them to the concert hall. Cecil Sharp was a leading figure in the English folk revival. Finally, a new trend emerged out of Liverpool in 1962. The Beatles became the most popular musicians of their time, and in the composing duo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, popularized the concept of the self-contained music act. Before the Beatles, very few popular singers composed the tunes they performed. The "Fab Four" opened the doors for other English acts such as The Rolling Stones, Cream, The Hollies, The Kinks, The Who, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Pink Floyd to the globe. Some of England's leading contemporary artists include Eric Clapton, Elton John, George Michael, Blur, The Spice Girls, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, Robbie Williams, Oasis, The Smiths, Radiohead, David Bowie, Coldplay and Muse. Listen to the passage carefully and complete the following summary. A. English folklore is the folk tradition that has evolved in England over the centuries. England abounds with folklore, in all forms, from such _____21_____ as semi-historical _____22_____ tales, to contemporary _____23_____ and facets of _____24_____ such as the Beast of Bodmin Moor. B. Examples of surviving English folk traditions include the _____25_____ and related practices such as the _____26_____ Horn Dance and the Mummers Plays. In many, usually _____27_____, people still gather for _____28_____ festivals on the first of May to celebrate the beginning of summer. C. Some of England's leading contemporary artists include _____29_____, Elton John, George Michael, Blur, The Spice Girls, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, _____30_____, Oasis, The Smiths, Radiohead, David Bowie, Coldplay and Muse.

Section 4 Audio script: The Colorado River is one of the most dammed in the world. Over the last two hundred years, fortunes have been made harnessing its flow. But the Colorados role in supporting a unique and biodiverse ecosystem for long went unnoticed. Recently, I was lucky enough to visit the area and see for myself its rivers, mountains, forests, grasslands and snowfields. But what made the greatest impression on me was the contrast between US and Chinese attitudes when it comes to dams and ecology; to development and conservation. About 50 years ago, people in the United States realised that the country had made a huge blunder; too many dams were causing rivers to dry up, deltas to become deserts, and species to disappear, with many varieties of fish facing extinction. The idea of returning the rivers to nature took hold and, decades of hard work later, we are seeing the results: sluice gates opened according to the needs of fish; some dams demolished; nearby forests, grasslands and wetlands recovering; birds returning to their old haunts; and threatened alligator populations rising. Unfortunately, the foolish errors made by the United States in the past are still happening in China. The most important and last endangered fish reserve on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River is soon to be moved to allow the building of the Xiaonanhai Dam. Aquatic organisms unique to the river are, one after the other, being sacrificed, and this relocation of the reserve will prove a disaster for biodiversity. Even more astonishing is a recent announcement by Chinas Ministry of Environmental Protection. While construction of two dams on the Jinsha River, a western tributary of the Yangtze River, will cease, work is set to begin on a dam at Liyuan on the same river. This is close to Tiger Leaping Gorge, home to stunning rapids and the stretch of the Jinsha River least affected by humans. The Liyuan reservoir will partially submerge the Haba Snow Mountain nature reserve as well as Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and its celebrated scenery. Chinas rivers, lakes and wetlands are already in a sorry state. Despite the desperate pleas and unstinting efforts of scientists, conservation groups, the public and the media, the interest groups that thirst for profit from the rivers have not been stopped. Robert Wigington is a freshwater conservation expert at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and is based in its Colorado office, in the city of Boulder. He says his organisation aims to have one million kilometres of river under protection and flowing freely by 2020. TNC has 170 river and freshwater experts and runs over 500 river recovery and protection projects worldwide. In the United States, it works with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which is known for building dams, on ecology protection projects around 60 dams of particular importance for biodiversity. According to Wigington, the Colorado River flows through many different ecosystems during its course from the mountains to the river basin, and is of huge ecological value. It irrigates some 23,000 square kilometres of farmland and provides water for many cities, including Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver and Salt Lake City. Analysis of its 45 different ecosystems including comparative studies of soil constituents,

fish, microorganisms and aquatic plants has shown that, while the upper reaches of the river are wellprotected, downstream there are problems.

Match the Columns to make complete statements. A 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. Chinas rivers, lakes and wetlands Robert Wigington is a freshwater conservation expert at The Colorado River flows through many different ecosystems during Over the last two hundred years, Aquatic organisms unique to the river are, About 50 years ago, people in the United States realised The Liyuan reservoir will partially submerge The Colorado River irrigates some 23,000 square kilometres of farmland and The foolish errors made by the United States in Even more astonishing is a recent announcement by B a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. the Haba Snow Mountain nature reserve. fortunes have been made harnessing its flow. its course from the mountains to the river basin. are already in a sorry state. The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Chinas Ministry of Environmental Protection. the past are still happening in China. provides water for many cities. that the country had made a huge blunder. one after the other, being sacrificed.