听力原文，全新版大学英语 4

Unit 1 Nine to five

Inside view
Conversation 1
Janet What a wonderful view！This is such a great city. Do you ever get tired of
living in London, Andy?
Andy "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life;for there is in London all
that life can afford."
Janet This is a quotation by Samuel Johnson, isn't it?
Andy Correct! So do you have any plans when you finish at Oxford?
Janet I've got another year to go, and then I suppose I'll go back home.
Andy And will you find a job?
Janet I think I'll have to do my Masters before I look for work. But I must admit
London is very special. Do you think you would ever leave London?
Andy Sure!I'd love to come to China one day, and I like traveling. But I think I'll
always come back here.
Janet Well, your roots are here, and there are so many opportunities.
Andy But have you ever thought of living in London for a year or two?
Janet Yes,but what could I do here? I had planned to become a teacher. But I've
often thought if there was a job I could do here in publishing, maybe as an
editor, I'd go for it.
Andy That sounds like a good idea. I think that would really suit you.
Janet Maybe I should update my CV and send it to one or two publishers.
Andy Don't make it look too good!
Janet Why not?
Andy Well,if you enjoy working with London Time Off, we don't want you working
with anyone else!
Janet Oh, working with you and Joe, it's great fun, and really interesting. I couldn't
think of a better way to find out about a city.
Andy So, maybe you should think about applying for a job with us.
Janet But do you think I'd stand a chance? I mean, I'm not sure if Joe likes me.
Andy Don't even think about it! Joe is very straight talking, and I promise you that
you'd know if he didn't like you!
Janet Perhaps we should both update our CVs and look for jobs together.
Andy Hey,right! That would be fun.

Conversation 2
Janet Talking about future plans, how do you see your career developing?
Andy My career? Will,I like working for London Time Off. It's part of a larger
media company called Lift Of USA, so there are lot's of opportunities. But…
Janet But what?
Andy It's not always very easy working with Joe. I mean, I think of he has a

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 different agenda.I like his work, but sometimes I don't think his heart's in his
job.
Janet How did he end up in London?
Andy He did media studies in the States, and then found a work as an gofer at Lift
Off in New York.
Janet What's an gofer?
Andy Go for this, go for that. It's a word for the least experienced person in the film
and TV industry. Then he came to London and get a proper job as an
researcher at Lift Off UK, and then after a few years he got the producer's job
on London Time Off.
Janet He's good at his job, isn't he?
Andy Yes. He's confident and very competent at what he does, so the people who
work with him rate him quite highly.
Janet Except you?
Andy No,I rate him too. And I get on with him quite well, although we're not best
buddies or anything like that. It's just that…I what his job!
Janet Now we know your little secret. I promise I won't tell anyone!
Andy It's OK,I suspect he knows it too. But if I can't be a producer on London Time
Off, then I guess I'll find something elsewhere. Janet, there was something I
was going to ask you.
Janet Sure, what is it?
Andy I was wondering…oh, it's nothing. Anyway, all this talk about your future
career is making me thirsty. Let’s do for a drink.
Janet Whose round?
Andy Yours!

Outside view
Part 1
Samantha Graduation. What a day! Your life is about to begin! And then your
parents say…
Mother Get a job.
Samantha I tell you! Looking for your first job out of college can be pretty hard.
Reading all the job listings is so annoying. Even trying to figure out
what the actual job is can be difficult. Searching through the want ads
can be so boring. And writing your resume is really hard work.
Samantha I don’t have that day open.
Samantha Getting a job interview, and than going on it– the whole process is pretty
tough .
Interviewer Sorry to keep you waiting. Uh, have a seat. I have your resume here, and
you’re interested in the assistant’s position.
Samantha Yeah. Yeah, I am.
Interviewer Well, the right candidate for this job has to be very outgoing and
sociable. After all, it is a sales position.

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Samantha Well, I’m a real extrovert. Definitely.
Interviewer And the right candidate has to have great self-confidence. Customers
need to fell that you know what you’re talking about.
Samantha Well, I’m really self-confident. Um, I know what I’m talking about and I
think I can project that.
Interviewer So, what skills would you bring to this job?
Samantha Well, I realize that I’m completely overqualified for the position. I
mean, um, in my last job, I was running the whole place.
Interviewer Oh, so you’ve supervised people?
Samantha Yep. Five of them. So, obviously I could do this job, no problem. I also
have really good computer skills. Um, what else do you want to know
about me?
Interviewer Uh …
Samantha Even though I was trying really hard, even though I had sent out about
300 resumes, even though I asked all my friends and relatives if they
knew of anything, I wasn’t getting anywhere! Despite all my best
efforts, I was still unemployed.

Part 2
Mother Please, why don’t you see a career counselor? I’ll pay for it. Anything to
help you get a job!
Phyllis Samantha, I’m Phyllis Stein. Welcome.
Samantha Oh, hi, Phyllis. Nice to meet you.
Samantha So. I figure, heck, why not? I met with Phyllis Stein, a professional job
coach.
Phyllis Interviewing is vital to getting the job that you want.
Samantha She showed me how to prepare for an interview by doing research on the
position and the company. And later, she coached me on my
interviewing skills.
Phyllis I am going to pretend to be your interviewer, and then we’ll stop it and
replay it and look at the video and see what we could learn from that.
OK?
Phyllis I don’t think that you should go into an interview having not practiced
with some of the questions that are pretty standard.
Phyllis Tell me about yourself.
Samantha Well, my parents – my mom is a social worker, and my dad is an
engineer.
Phyllis Your preparation is really important.
Phyllis What do you know about our organization?
Samantha Well, I saw on, um, the Internet that you do business publishing? Right?
Phyllis There’s a whole range of things that have to do with how you present
yourself.
Phyllis Why should I hire you?
Samantha Oh, well, um, I’m a really outgoing person, and I like, I like people a lot.

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 I’m responsible and nice.
Phyllis You need to think about what the interviewer is actually looking for.
Phyllis Samantha, what was a major problem that you’ve encountered and how
did you solve it.
Samantha I haven’t really had any problems to deal with.
Phyllis Thank you. Now, let’s look at your mock interview on videotape.
Phyllis I think it boils down to preparation, presentation, and understanding what
the interviewer is looking for.
Phyllis Tell me about yourself.
Samantha Um, well, my name is Samantha Green and, um, I grew up in Cambridge
and, um, I went to Boston College.
Phyllis Another way of answering it is not telling about yourself, but telling about
yourself in relationship to the job. So, they don’t care so much about
your parents and that your want to live in Cambridge. They may need
you to be able to be a troubleshooter. You use some examples in your
life from being a troubleshooter.
Samantha I haven’t really had any problems to deal wit.
Phyllis One of things that someone who is an assistant in a trade show is doing, is
dealing with problems.
Phyllis You need to be sure that you stay, sourt of, on target with presenting…
presenting yourself in the strongest possible way.
Part3
Samantha This time I felt a lot more confident when I went in for interview.
Samantha I have developed strong communication skills. In college I worked on
the school paper, and I’ve brought some writing samples to show you.
I also worked every summer at a bed-and-breakfast. I worked a lot
with our guests. I booked reservations over the phone, got them what
they need, and handled any complaints.
Samantha Well, I feel like I didn’t really well, We’ll see.
Speaker 1 Making a good first impression is the most important part of a job
interview.
Speaker 2 Arriving on the important parts of a job interview.
Speaker 3 It’s very important that you are being confident and you’re being clear in
your answers and listening carefully.
Speaker 4 Not fidgeting and being confident are the most important things in a job
interview.
Speaker 5 Writing a thank-you note is the most important thing you want to do after
a job interview.
Speaker 6 And go in there with a firm handshake.

Listening in
Passage 1

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 “It’s not enough to ask what successful people are like…It is only by
asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who
succeeds and who doesn’t.”
This is the basic idea of an intriguing book called Outliers, by the
American journalist Malcolm Gladwell. The book explores the factors
which contribute to people who are extremely successful in their careers,
for example, the role that family, culture, and friendship play.
Gladwell examines the causes of why the majority of Canadian ice
hockey players are born in the first few months of the calendar year, what
the founder of Microsoft Bill Gates did to achieve his extraordinary
success, and why the Beatles managed to redefine the whole of popular
music in the 1960s.
Gladwell points out that the youth hockey league in Canada recruits
from January the first, so that players born early in the year are
bigger, stronger and better athletes than others born later in the year. And
because they have this advantage at the start of their sports career, they’re
given extra coaching, and so there’s a greater chance that they’ll be picked
for an elite hockey team in the future.
He calls this phenomenon accumulative advantage, a bit like the idea
that the rich get richer and poor get pooer. Success depends on the process
by which talented athletes are identified as much as it does on their own
abilities.
Another aspect which contributes to success is the 10,000 hour rule.
Great success demands an enormous amount of time for practice and
Training. For example, the Beatles performed live in Hamvurg Germany
more than 1,200 times over four years, much more than the 10,000 hours Gladwell
claims is necessary for great success. So by the time they returned to England, they
had developed their talent and sounded completely different from any other group.
In the same way , Bill Gates had thousands of hours’ worth of programming
because he had access to a computer at his high school. He also became a teenager
just at the right time to take advantage of the latest developments in computer
technology.
All through the book, Gladwell repeats his claim that it’s not just talent or genius
which determines someone’s success, but opportunity, advantage and even simple
good luck.
Outliers has met with extraordinary success, matched only by Gladwell’s own
career over 25 years in journalism. As a result, many critics have seen it as an
autobiography, in which the writer appears to be apologizing for his own personal
achievements. But the idea that you have to be born at the right moment, in the right
place and in the right family, and then you have to work really hard is a thought-
provoking way of revisiting our traditional view of genius and great achievement. It’s
certainly worth reading, as long as you don’t take it too seriously.

Passage2

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Presenter : Hi we’re talking about typical working hours in the US and in Brazil.
Eric…um… you’re from the States, tell me what are the typical working
hours in the States?

Eric : Er…traditionally people go to work at 9 o’clock in the morning and they

finish at about 5,so sort of a 9 to 5.

Presenter : And, and Penny I…I know you’re English but you work in Brazil, what
are the hours in Brazil?

Penny : Um varies slightly, sometimes you can start um on an earlier shift, say, 8
o’clock in the morning to 5 um or 9 until 6. But in Brazil often people
will work longer hours than this.

Presenter : Right, right, OK. And what kind of clothes do you wear? I mean do you,
do you dress up formally or in a relaxed way?

Eric : It used to be that you would wear a jacket and a tie to work for…for men
but er nowadays an open shirt is OK. You don’t necessarily have to wear
a tie and sometimes on a Friday you can wear a pair of jeans to work.

Presenter : Oh right, the dress down Friday?

Eric : The dress down Friday ,that’s right.

Presenter : Does that still happen?

Eric : Yes, yes sure it does.

Presenter : And how about in Brazil?

Penny : Um it’s fairly casual, quite informal, um I mean you need to look neat
and tidy obviously, but you, you have your own choice really on what
you would wear, there are no rules and regulations. It’s important to look
smart but be comfortable.

Presenter : Right, yeah and do you have meal breaks or is that… you just fit in
meals when you can or…?

Eric : Lunch, lunch is usually an hour, sometimes a little shorter if you have to
do a lot of work from your desk.

Presenter : Yeah. How about Brazil?

Penny : That’s the same, about an hour.

Presenter : And, and with overtime, I mean, if you… I mean you’re obviously
contracted to do a certain number of hours. What happens if you do more
than the hours that you… that’s in your… that are in your contract?

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Eric : I have to make a fairly strict record of my hours so if I go beyond 5
o’clock on most days I put in for overtime.

Presenter : Right.

Eric : And it’s… the first hours is one hour of overtime and then there’s I
think 15 minute periods after that. So I could work an hour and a quarter.

Presenter : And you’d be paid for the quarter hours?

Eric : That’s right, by the quarter hour.

Presenter : How about in Brazil?

Penny : It’s, it’s a lot looser in Brazil actually. We, we often end up doing
overtime but unfortunately not paid.

Presenter : Fine. That’s hard luck. And what about holidays, what about in the
States? You don’t have much holidays in the States, do you?

Eric： No, when you, when you start at a company you get two weeks
holiday or two weeks vacation as we say…
Presenter Yeah
Eric Um then it’s usually not until you’ve been at the company for about five
years that they give you another week. So you get three weeks after
you’ve been there for five years.
Presenter And, and, and what about in Brazil?
Penny Um it’s quite good actually—30days.
Presenter Sounds very generous.
Penny Yeah I can,I can pop back to…
Presenter Is that 30 working days or 30 days in total?
Penny That’s 30 working days.
Presenter Wow that’s….
Penny Yes yeah it’s a good deal.
Presebter What about retirement ？ I know it’s a long way off?When do you
retire?
Eric Generally speaking it’s at 65.
Presenter And,and the same for women?
Eric Um,I think a little sooner than that for women. Women I think 62 or 63.
Presenter Right, good. And, and in Brazil is it similar?
Penny Similar to the states. It’s um after 60 for women,65 for men,or um if
you’ve clocked up about 30 or 35 years of service then you can
retire after that.
Presenter Right.And when…do you have a pay day? When is pay day?
Eric Um well we get paid, er, twice a month, so we get paid at the beginning of
the month and then we get paid in the middle of the month at the

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 15th give or take.
Presenter Yeah, and what about Brazil、
Penny I think it all depends which company you’re working for .For the one I
am working for right now I get paid twice a month but when I
began ,with a different company that was once a month so,it
varies.
Presenter And are there any company benefits that you have in the states? Do
you have a company car or a pension？
Eric Yean we get a company car.We’re able to…we lease a car in effect but it’s
a company car that we get for 18 months to two years and then we
,er…we can move on to another model from that. There is a fairly
good pension scheme, that’s still working, and hospitalization as
well.
Presenter Oh that’s important.
Eric Yeah,a health plan through work is very important.
Presenter Right.And what about in Brazil?
Penny Yean excellent benefits like that. Well I mean it does depend on the
company and the status of you ,of your job but um you might get
a car ,un living accommodation ,um school for the children ,um
they’ll pay for your lunch ,travel passes ,um gasoline ,health
insurance ,all sorts of benefits actually it’s very good.
Presenter Sounds very good, with the holiday and all those benefits it sounds a
great place to work..

Unit 2 A good read

Inside view
Conversation 1
Joe Ok,when you’ve finished chatting ,let’s get down to work.
Andy Ok,sure.
Jenet Fine by me .What’s on the agenda?
Joe First up today is Read all about it!Now .I assum everyone has read all the
books
for the feature ？Has anyone read any of books?
Andy Well, Joe, there are over 20 new books, coming out next month,so…
Joe I’m sorry, I really think that’s quite unacceptable. It’s your job! What about
you, Janet?
Janet I’m sorry but this is the first time I’ve worked on Read all about it, and I
didn’t know I was meant to read all the books.
Andy Have you read them？
Joe No, but that’s why you’re my assistant. You’re meant to assist me.
Andy It’s true that we need to read the books, Joe, but we haven’t…
Joe Ok, here you go. You’re always making excuse!
Andy And what’s more, we haven’t even chosen the book yet.

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Joe OK, let’s get on with it. What’s on the list?
Janet I suppose we’re looking for books with a London angle?
Andy Not necessarily
Janet Is it OK to look for non-fiction too?
Joe Absolutely.
Janet OK, here’s an idea. There’s a new biography of Charles Dickens which I’m
reading
Andy Sounds good-his books are always on TV.
Janet You see I’m studying Dickens at university, and I noticed it in the bookshop
last week.
It’s really interesting.
Joe OK, tell us more.
Janet Well, it’s a description of the London locations where he set many of his
books, like Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.
Andy Sounds right up your street!
Joe Well done, Janet. Maybe you can show Andy how to plan the feature. OK,
that’s it everyone. Let’s get to it!

Conversation2
Janet What’s the matter with Joe today?
Andy No idea. He’s a bit like that sometimes. He gets annoyed with me, but I don’t
really know why.
Janet He wasn’t being at all fair. How often does he get like this?
Andy Well, I suppose it’s not very often. But sometimes he really gets on my nerves.
Janet Don’t let it get to you. He’s probably got too much work, and he’s stressed.
Andy Well, he should keep his problems away from the studio. Anyway, you’re the
expert on Dickens, tell me something about him.
Janet Well, Charles Dickens was one of the most popular novelists in 19 th century
Britain. Many of his novels first appeared in magazines, in short episodes.
Each one had a cliffhanger at the end that made people want to read the next
episode.
Andy And was he a Londoner?
Janet He was born in Portsmouth but his family moved to London when he was ten
years old.
Andy And he set most of his stories in London, didn’t he?
Janet That’s right. He knew the city very well.
Andy Whereabouts in London are his stories set?
Janet Around the Law Courts in the centre of London. He worked as a court reporter
and many of the real life stories he heard in court inspired some of the most
famous characters in his novels.
Andy I think some of his stories take place south of the river?
Janet That’s right, especially around Docklands. The thing was…Dickens was a
social commentator as much as he was a novelist-his stories describe the
hardship, the poverty, and crime which many Londoners experienced in the

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 19th century. It makes me want to read some Dickens again. Maybe I’ll just
go shopping for a copy of Great Expectations.
Andy Anyway, you did me a huge favor. That was a real brainwave to suggest the
new biography.
Janet Cherr up, Andy. It wasn’t your fault.
Andy No, it’s OK. I’ll get over it. Go on, off you go and enjoy your shopping!

Outside view
Part1
British people read a lot. They read books,Newspapers and magazines. And of
course they read text messages on their mobile phones. Sixty-five percent of
British people list “reading for pleasure” as a major hobby. A quarter of the
population reads more than 20 books each year. So where do these books
come from? Well, there are bookshops where you can buy books. And there
are lots of public libraries where you can borrow books for free.
Part2
In this library you can borrow books but you can also buy a cup of coffee, look at an
art exhibition, sit in a quiet study area or connect to the Internet. You can also
now borrow CDs, videos or DVDs of films and television programmes.
Some libraries even let you borrow computer games. There are often
reference rooms where you can go to look something up or go to study. Many
libraries have also got special rooms with books and photographs about the
history of the area. Libraries are very important in schools and universities
both for reading for pleasure.
 
 
Part3
The British Library is one of the world’s greatest Libraries. The Queen opened it’s
new building in 1998.It receives a copy of every book published in Britain and adds
three million new items every year. It’s got books of course, but also sound
recordings, music, maps, newspapers and magazines. People predicted that radio ,then
television, then the internet would kill reading, but it is still a very popular activity.
 

Listening in
Passage 1
Mike So how long has your book group been running ?
Chris Well , let me see, it’s over 20 years now. I think it’s actually one of the oldest
book groups around , because it was only about 20 years ago that they started
to become fashionable in the UK.
Mike And how often do you have meetings ?
Chris We meet about once every four or five weeks , although we try to avoid
meetings in the summer holidays, and during the run-up to Christmas when
we all start to get busy with other things.
Mike And how many members do you have?

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Chris We’re ten in all .although it’s rare that everyone can attend.
Mike And what happens during the meeting?
Chris Well,we usually meet at one of our homes ,and we start fairly late, around
8.30 ,and the host prepares dinner, and sometime during the meal , someone
asks “So what did you think of the book ?” and that’s when the discussion
starts.
Mike It sounds quite informal.
Chris It is , yes , and sometimes if we haven’t enjoyed the book , the meal becomes
more important than the discussion. But it’s fairly rare that no one likes the
book, and it gets quite interesting when opinions about it are divided
Mkie and what sort of books do you read?
Chris Oh, all kinds, actually, not just novels, although I must admit that being a
member of the club makes me read more modern fiction than I might do otherwise.
But we also read the classics, you know the novels we all read or should have read 30
years ago, and it’s quite good fun to revisit them, to see if our views of the books have
changed. We re-read Thomas Hardy recently, and whereas I used to love it when I was
a student, this time I thought it was exasperatingly dull. And we read non-fiction,
quite a lot of history and travel writing. A couple of the members like poetry, which I
don’t, but you know, we’re tolerant of each other’s choice, and it gives us a chance to
try things we wouldn’t usually read
Mike And how do you choose the books?
Chris Well,at the end of the evening the person who hosts the dinner-basically, the
cook-Has the right to choose the next book.
Mike And that works OK?
Chris Yes, although there’s quite a lot of stress on choosing something that will earn
everyone else’s respect. And we’ve got one member who likes science fiction, so we
try not to goto his place too often!
 
 
 
Passage 2
Well, thank you for your kind welcome, and for giving me the opportunity to give
this brief tour of Literary England. I can’t claim it’s an authoritative tour, as I’m not a
professional literary specialist. However, I have two amateur passions: one is travel
and the other is reading, and English literature in particular. And this lecture is a
description of different visits I have made to places in Britain and Ireland, chosen
specifically for their close links with well-known writers of what we call the classics
of English literature. Just to give you an overview of the lecture, I’m going to start in
my home town of London, which is also the home of many well-known writers. But I
think that the picture we have in our mind of London has been largely fashioned by
the work of Charles Dickens and Shakespeare. Dickensian London illustrated most
clearly by his book Oliver Twist, and Shakespeare’s London brings to mind the plays
written and performed here, such as Romeo and Juliet. We’ll also have a look at the
memorial of great British writers, Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.
Then off we go to Oxford, another city rich in its literary history. I’m going to focus
on the greatest of Oxford’s literary alumni, JRR Tolkien, the professor of English
who wrote Lord of the Rings, which is now famous throughout the world because of
the recent series of films.
Then we turn south towards the gentle countryside of Hampshire, home of Jane
Austen, where her various novels, including Pride and Prejudice are set. She also
spent a period of her life in the magnificent Georgian city Bath.

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 Then we turn north to the hills of West Yorkshire where we find Bronte country, so
called because it was the home of the three sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne
Bronte. Perhaps the two best known novels are Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and
Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, also made into successful films.
Then up to the northwest, to the stunning land of mountains and Lakeland poets.
Perhaps its most famous son is William Wordsworth, whose poem “I wandered
lonely as a cloud” has been learnt by generations of school children not just in
Britain, but around the English-speaking world.
So that’s the basic route Literary England, although I’ll be taking several days to
visit other famous writers whose work contributes to the glory which is English
literature. Let’s start…

Unit 3 Fashion statements

Inside view
Conversation 1
Tanya Hey! That looks good on you! You should try it on!
Janet No thanks. I’m just looking.
Tanya Go on, try it on. I can tell it suits you.
Janet You seem to want to me to buy something. And I’m not sure I want to buy
anything at all.
Tanya Well, yes, I’m pretty sure you want to buy something.
Janet How do you know?
Tanya Well it’s my job to know what women want to wear.
Janet How do you know what I want to wear?
Tanya I can just tell. Most women don’t hold things up like that unless they know
they want to buy it, but either they haven’t got the money or they are nervous about
impulse buying.
Janet So what type of women am I then?
Tanya No money!
Janet Yeah! You’re right, but how do you know?
Tanya If you were nervous about impulse buying, you’d try it on. That way you’ll
feel good that you’ve made a careful decision.
Janet That’s pretty smart. What is your job then?
Tanya I’m a buyer for a store in New York City. I’m here for London Fashion Week.
Hey, do you want to go? I have some free tickets for the catwalk show this afternoon.
Janet Well, I’m not sure. I’m waiting for a friend, actually, and…
Joe Hi Janet!
Janet Joe! What are you doing here?
Joe Why the surprise?
Janet It’s just… I didn’t expect to see you. That’s all. Er, this is..
Tanya Hello, I’m Tanya Feinstein. Is this the friend you were waiting for..
Janet No. Yes!
Tanya So would you both like to come this afternoon?
Janet Tanya has invited us to the catwalk show this afternoon.
Tanya Look at this. Oh, it’s perfect. I’ll just try it on. I’ll leave you two to make up
your minds.

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Conversation 2
Joe Who is she? Is she a friend of yours?
Janet No, she just came up to me and started talking about fashion. She’s a buyer
for some New York fasion store.
Joe But why has she invited us to a catwalk show?
Janet She’s giving out free tickets. Part of her job I think.
Joe So, do you want to go?
Janet I suppose so. Haven’t got any money for shopping, so why not?
Tanya OK, you guys made up your mind?
Joe You sure you got a couple of tickets for us?
Tanya sure!
Joe Thanks. So what’s your take on the London fashion scene then?
Tanya As far as I’m concerned, the clothes shops in London are some of the best in
the world . The way I see it, if I want haute couture I can go to Paris or
Milan, But if I want street fashion that will look good in New York too, I
come to London .The kids here all have this unique style.
Joe But they can’t afford designer prices.
Tanya In London the fashion tends to start on the streets. It gets popular among the
kids, and then the designers come and pick up on their style, turn it into
designer clothes. Whereas, in Paris or Milan, it’s more of a top-down
process.
Janet Top down?
Tanya Sure. The big name designers create these wonderful clothes but they’re really
only for a few rich people.
Joe So you thank it’s different in London ?
Tanya I sure do. And, if you ask me, New York as well. Anyway, you ready?
Joe Sure. Why not? Janet?
Janet Will…Oh well, it’s getting late. So, I suppose so.
Tanya OK, follow me. Let’s get a cab.
Outside view

London has always prided itself on being a little bit different when it comes to
fashion.
At the catwalk shows, designers showcase the hottest new trends for journalists and
buyers from all over the world.
But away from the glamour of designer collections, what do London girls actually
wear? How do they create the affordable, personal style they are famous for?
Hannah, who works for a fashion magazine, says London’s unique style is all about
mixing and matching.
“One day you can be punk.. Next day you can be really girlie. It’s kind of choosing
what you want in your wardrobe. Maybe taking an expensive piece but mixing it with
something cheaper or second-hand. I thank that’s what London girls are really good at
doing.”
Portobello Road, in the trendy Nothing Hill area, is home to one of the most
famous markets in London. Here, you name it and people wear it-anything from

13
market stall bargains to to-die-for designer labels sold in trendy shops.
But how de the capital’s women view their style?
“Eclectic. My style is certainly eclectic.”
“It’s from Tesco. It’s the Catherine Kidston range from Tesco. ”
Sam’s matched her outfit today with a bag she bought in a supermarket.
Angela is a fashion stylist.
“So tell me a little bit about your style. What are you wearing and what would you
say your style is? ”
“My style tends to change week by week. Today I’m wearing some jeans from
Uniqlo. I’ve discovered Uniqlo jeans and bought about five pairs’cause they fit really
well. The boots are by Aldo. My T-shirt is from Topshop. The jacket is a really old
jacket that I bought in the States a few years ago. But um, year I mean, it just…it does
tend to change a lot.”
Over to New Bond Street, London’s designer shopping mecca and the style stakes
have gone up a little. Some of the most famous and expensive shops in the world can
be found here.
Shops where you have to ask the price of that handbag…orpair of shoes…then you
kown you can’t really afford it.
Natatie, a student form the city, says being laid back is what gives London style its
edge.
“Er…I don’t know…Everyone says like…French is like so fashionable and stuff
but I think we’re quite trendy, we’re a bit more casua, but I think we’re still got a
good style going on and everyone still looks cool.”
Seylia works in a jewellery shop. No shabby chic here.
“Cashmere scarf from Louboutin, because it’s clod. Black coat from Prada and a
Valentino bag, which is probably as colourful as it gets.”
Katie is a model and loves how people dress in London because everyone has their
own individual style.
“I love London, it’s so unique. And like everyone’s got their own fashion. I love it
here. Because you can wear whatever and just fit in, it's great. I love London for that."
Laura is a student and says she doesn't really put any thought into what she's
wearing.
"Fashion, I wouldn't really call it fashion. It's just kind of chunked together, basically,
what I'm comfortable in."
Camden is known for its grungy, daring and sometime outrageous styles.
Here fashion is whatever you want it to be. Teenagers don't hold back when it comes
to choosing clothes, they just want to make a personal statement.
"We're just crazy!"
"We don't hold back so much, It's not all about being elegant or something like that.
It's more making a statement, some people."
"And we don't care."

Passage 1
Presenter How often do you change your clothes during the day?
Penny Um I think it all depends on what I'm going to do. Um it might be as

14
many as three times if...
Presenter Three times.
Penny Yes, if I was going to go to the gym, for instance, having dropped the
children off at school, I'd be wearing an outfit for... just a causal outfit for doing the
school run , then I'd go to the gym and, and get changed and er, and then if I was
going out in the evening I'd change again.
Presenter Yeah, How about you ?
Eric Yeah um I think it depends what happens during the day. Most of the time
though I just put on my clothes for work. I go to work, I come home. Um maybe,
maybe take something off, like er my shoes and change into a pair of slippers or
something, just a pair of sneakers. Um but there are times when if I go to the gym,
like penny said ,or if we're going out, my wife and I are going out for some occasion,
I have to change into something a little nicer.
Presenter And, and so what would, what would be the occasion when you
changed into something nicer ? It would be different from a work...?
Eric Yeah like going to someone's house for dinner or going out for dinner, or
going to some kind of event.
Presenter Yeah,yeah, Would that be the same for you ?
Penny Definitely. Going to the theatre,um or meeting, meeting friends for a
drink, yes.
Presenter So you'd always change for a social circumstances ?
Penny Definitely makes it feel more of occasion.
Presenter Ok,and what about the clothes you are wearing at the moment, how
would you...you know,how...what made you choose these clothes this morning ?
Penny Well. I'm going for an interview in an hour's time so I've got to look quite
smart and presentable so that’s why I’m looking smarter than I normally would do in
the day.
Presenter I think you’ve got a head start here because you look very presentable.
Penny Ah thank you.
Presenter How about you?
Eric I’m able to go to work in fairly casual clothes so, um you know it’s fairly
relaxed, nice and easy, anything I’m comfortable with, but as it’s clean and the boss
says it’s all right.
Presenter And so you dress for comfort or do you think you're fashion conscious
as well?
Eric Maybe a little bit fashion conscious, yeah. You don't want to stand
out like a sore thumb and people make fun of you, you know for some reason, but at
the same time you want to have your own bit of individuality.
Presenter I think you're discreetly fashion conscious, would you agree
with...?
Penny Yes, and, and another... a good trick I always do is carry um my
high heels in my hand bag and go in my traines you see, and then I can charge along
and jumpon the bus and then, and then look…
Presenter: And you manage high heels?

15
Penny: Yes, once I’m there and haven’t got to move around too much.
Presenter: Very impressive, very impressive. What do you think your clothes say
about your, your mood or your personality? Do you change depending…if you get up
in the morning do you put on certain clothes depending how you feel?
Penny: Definitely, yes .I f I’m if I’m feeling maybe a bit down I do not want to wear
black because it’s quite draining and also as you get older it’s draining too, so I might
I might put on some um warm colours or…which um, I don’t know , sort of make
your skin look lighter and your eyes sparkle a little more. Um I, I change…I would
say I’ve got a lot of different colours clothes according to my mood.
Presenter: Yeah, and what about you? Do you change dramatically in the evening
when you go out on town on the razz you know?
Eric: Well not really. Um yeah I might put on a nicer pair of shoes or maybe er get out
of my jeans and put on a nicer pair of pants, something like that. But um for the most
part it’s a young organization that I work for and the boss is fairly young so we all
dress um with a …with a youthful thought in mind.
Presenter: Thank you .

Passage2
Organizers of the London Fashion Show have confirmed today that they will not be
following the ban on size zero models which was introduced during similar events in
Madrid and Milan.
Faced with a disturbing increase in the number of cases of the slimmer’s disease ,
anorexia, city authorities in Milan and Madrid decided to take action against the
appearance in fashion shoes of models whose Body Mass Index was less than 18.5-the
level below which a person’s health is considered to be at risk.
The ban follows the death of a Mexican model who ate salads and drank Coke for
three months. She had been told by her model agency that she would be extremely
successful in the fashion world ,but only if she lost weight. A short while after
finishing her catwalk display, she complained of feeling unwell ,and later died of
heart failure.
The London Fashion Show was expected to introduce a similar ban on its own size
zero models—which is a UK size 4, or a European size 32. In recent years, there has
been an increasing tendency by designers to use only the slimmest of models who
show off their clothes to the best advantage. Critics claimed that the size zero models
encourage young women of all sizes to reduce their weight to unhealthy levels.
The Body Mess Index is measured by taking your weight in kilos divided by your
height in metres squared. It’s considered to be a more accurate measurement of a
person’s health than the dress size they wear.
But it appears that contributors to the London Fashion Show are nervous about
Milan and Madrid’s concern for the health of their fashion models. A spokesperson
said,“We refuse to comment on or interfere in the creativity of the designers
displaying their collections at our show.”Others claimed that designers were not
uncaring, and would use their common sense.“It’s an obvious choice not to use a
model who is clearly unhealthy,”said one industry insider.

16
 One unnamed designer said that he couldn’t afford to design dresses in sizes which
are more realistic for the average woman. He said that if he made them any bigger, no
one would use them in photo shoots for magazines. It’s not the designers who are
promoting size zero models. It’s the fashion magazines and ultimately, it’s the
customers—the people who buy the magazines—who decide what we design and
promote in fashion shows.
To explore the different sides of the debate we’ve invited a couple of leading
fashion specialists into the studio…

Unit4 Money talks

Inside view
Conversation1
Andy So what happened then?
Janet I saw some wonderful clothes, and had a wonderful day.
Andy But what were you doing there with Joe? I thought you were meeting me.
Janet You were late.
Andy Ah, yes. You’ve got me there.
Janet Joe is right you know. You are late quite often.
Andy OK.
Janet I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t know you were on your way, and
Tanya offered me the free tickets and then Joe just turned up.
Andy Oh well, look I’m really sorry I didn’t…Oh, I’d better take this. Hi Andy
speaking…Oh, yes of course. Hi, Mr Pearson. Are we still on for today? It’s the guy
we’re meeting today. Yes, we’re already here. Something unexpected has come up.
Ok. Sure, we’ll have to make another arrangement to meet. That’ fine, no problem. So
when it would be convenient for you? I think that’s OK, but can I just check my
schedule? Can you hold on a moment, please? He can’t make it this morning. Are we
clear this afternoon?
Janet I think so, yes.
Andy That’s OK. Could we make it at 2:30 rather than 2? Well, let me think, how
about at our local, the Duck of York? Would that be OK with you? ...Sure no problem.
See you this afternoon. Bye!
Janet What’s he coming to talk about?
Andy The City. The financial capital of the world… next to New York, of course. I’d
better tell Joe about the change of plan.

Conversation 2
Janet So what does the world of high finance have to do with our website?
Joe Well, I thought we could do something on the Bank of England Museum – it’s
really quite interesting.
Janet So who exactly is Tim Pearson?
Joe He works there and he’s coming along today to plan an interview and a tour

17
round the museum.
Janet So we’re not actually doing any filming?
Andy No, just asking him more about the Bank and the museum.
Tim Hi.
Joe Hi , Tim.
Andy Hi, Tim.
Janet Hi, I’m Janet.
Tim Hi, Janet. Right, so where do you want to begin.
Joe I’ve got a plan of the museum. Can we go though it with you?
Tim Fine. Basically, the Bank of England Museum tells the story of the Bank of
England. There’s also a collection of bank notes and gold bars.
Andy Any free samples?
Tim Sorry, no chance! Now, you come in here or the left, past the museum shop.
Then the first room you enter is a reconstruction of a late 18th century banking hall.
Janet And moving through to this room, on the top right hand side?
Tim That’s the story of the early years at the Bank from when it was founded in
1694.
Janet What about this room on the left?
Tim That’s the Bank’s collection of silver goods, a pile of gold bars. And this room
here below contains a description of how the modern economy works.
Janet So is our paper money always backed by its value in gold?
Tim Yes, the notes they gave or received were originally receipts for the loans in
gold. But gradually these paper receipts replace the gold and became bank notes.
Janet So is the Bank was given its independence in 1997.
Janet And why didn’t the Bank help the economy during the credit crunch in 2008?
Tim Well, it’s a bit difficult to explain…
Andy Take your time, Tim we’d really like to know.
Tim Well, uh…

Outside view
Part1
Voiceover So you want to win a million dollars. Who doesn’t, right? Everyone has
fun thinking about how they would spend all that money.
Speaker1 If I won a million dollars, I would take a vacation around the world.
Speaker2 If I won a million dollars, I would feed the hungry children in Africa.
Speaker3 I would buy a Learjet and get out of here.
Speaker4 If I won a million dollars, I would buy a cabin and live in the woods.
Speaker5 If I won a million dollars, I would take a trip around the world, and the
rest of it I would give to charities.
Voiceover Winning a million dollars is a nice fantasy. But for many people, their
fantasy can get them in trouble. Criminals called con artists, scam artists, or frauds,
take advantage of people’s dreams of winning it big.
Maria My dad told my mom, “Don’t do that, because you don’t know if they’re

18
going to trick you or not!”
Voiceover Scam artists trick Maria Ellan’s mother out of thousands of dollars.
These criminals told Maria’s mother that she had won part of a million-dollar jackpot.
But, they said ,since she was not a US citizen, she was not allowed to claim the prize.
They promised to collect the prize for her if she gave them thousands of dollars.
Maria $15,000, uh, at 5 o’clock in the Lottery Texas Department . That’s what
they told her. And my mom said, “OK, I’ll be there at that time.”
Voiceover Police at the Dollars Lotto Claims. Office say that dozens of people have
been tricked out of their money in this latest fraud. Fraud is a common crime. Hoping
to win millions, people make poor decisions and lose their money. But people who
really do win millions can make poor decisions too. Bob Kenny works for an
organization called More Than Money. More Than Money helps who come into large
amounts of money make good decisions about how to manage their unexpected
wealth.
Bob What’s really important to me? My family . The health of my family . The
education of my family .The long-term care of my family . These are the things that
are important to me. These are the things I’m going to use my money to get in the
world.

Prt2
Voiceover Albert Miller and Dorothy Adams who won a whopping $40 million had
many choices to make on how to spend their new wealth.
Albert I was finally able to afford some health insurance, so……
Voiceover And you didn’t have it before this?
Albert No I didn’t , and I worked every, every day of my adult life.
Bob That’s a great decision, buying health insurance . He knows his health is
important to him. His family’s health is important to him. He knows he’s important to
his family. So it’s a really easy decision. I have the money. I need the health
insurance. I’m going to buy it.
Voiceover Now Albert can afford almost anything he wants. He bought an
everyday car, a top of the line Infinity.
Albert It’s low-key…it’s a low-profile car for me.
Voiceover His other new one is not. It’s a special edition Rolls-Royce. There are
fewer than two dozen like this in the world. With a cognac bar, a twelve-cylinder
engine, and one smooth ride.
Albert You fly a Rolls, you don’t drive a Rolls. So, you know, you just fly
along.
Bob He decided to buy one car that was practical,that he could use every day.
And then he decided to buy another car that he knows is not practical, that’s been a
fantasy of his. It’s something that, in some ways, he’s always wanted. And having a
little fun with money while he’s trying to make these decisions is a perfectly normal
thing to do
Voiceover Last time we talked, you were talking diamonds. What happened?
Dorothy Uh, well I got diamonds!

19
Voiceover Big ones.Eleven carats in all.
Bob I think that was a very sweet thing to do. He had his fantasies, she had hers,
and having diamonds is something she always wanted.
Voiceover A few weeks after the big win, the couple closed their restaurant, called
Bentley’s.Now they have more time to travel, golf and play on the boat Albert just
bought.Still,a lot’s the same. They live in the same house, in the same neighborhood
where they both grew up.
Albert’s son We try to keep everything pretty much the same as it was before. You
know, we tried not to let money change us.

Part3
Bob Our culture wants us to believe that if we’re not happy,if we had more
money,we would be happy.And the research shows that that’s just not true.You’ll still
wake up some mornings with a headache.You’ll still wake up sometimes in a bad
mood.You’ll still have fights with your friends sometimes.It won’t make all of that
better.Having more money will not necessarily improve the quality of your
relationships or the happiness that you actually have in your life.What money does is
allow us to make more choices.And making wise choices is what will make us happy.
Voiceover Despite every man’s dream come true,Albert still thinks about money.
Albert The money pressures not there, but other pressures of having the money
come then, so, you know,I mean,you’re never totally free of something to worry about
Bob Albert’s a pretty wise guy. He understands that the money is going to create
another set of issues for him.
Voiceover I still think.most of us would trade our money problems for Albert’s any
day.
Bob I think most of us think that the problems that we have in life would get solved
if we had more money. But what I’m suggesting is that isn’t necessarily so that money
gives us more choices, but it doesn’t give us the blissful answer.

Listening in
Passage1
Presenter With me today is Tara Black,author of the History of Money.Tara,before
we had money,we exchanged things,didn’t we?
Tara Yes,that’s right.In the Stone Age,people exchanged things like salt or cattle.But
of course the problem is that the things you exchange don’t last.And so money was
introduced as a more permanent way of paying for things.And of couse,money’s also
a lot easier to use.You can carry it around with you very easily.
Presenter So when did people start changing from exchanging goods to paying for
things with money?
Tara Well,as far back as 5000BC,people in China and the Middle East were
exchanging metals for goods.
Presenter As long ago as that?
Tara Yes.The first silver ingots…

20
Presenter Silver bars?
Tara Yes-they appeared around 2200BC in Europe and were used as currency.Coins
then appeared in Lydia around 700BC.
Presenter Lydia?
Tara Lydia was a country in what’s now known as Turkey.Then other countries
followed their example and started producing them.A Greek coin,the drachma,became
standard form of money in large of Aisa and Europe.
Presenter And the first paper money?
Tara Paper money was first used in China around 960AD.
Presenter It’s always China,isn’t it?
Tara Quite often,yes.
Presenter So as well as being long-lasting and convenient,a big advantage of coins
and paper money is that they have a standard value.
Tara Yes.They’ve what’s known as representative money.Every coin or paper note
has a certain value that doesn’t depend on the actual value of the paper
or metal.
Presenter And how did banks start?
Tara Both the early Persians and tne Ancient Egyptians had storehouses where
they kept their country’s grain- we're talking about 3000 BC. They
exchanged the grain for promissory notes.This meant a written promise
to pay back a sum of money to someone.Really,these storehouses can be
seen as the first banks.
Presenter I see.
Tara So over a great many centuries banks became places where money was
deposited and lent.And they guaranteed that a note of a certain value
could be exchanged for a certain amount of silver.
Presenter And then there was the gold standard,wasn’t there?
Tara Yes,the gold standard was applied all over the world from 1870 to 1915,but
it was slowly abandoned.
Presenter When did it become easier…

Passage 2
Speaker 1 As a student, you are probably living on a very limited amount of
money,so here are our top useful tips to help you make your money go
further.
Speaker 2 One. Say no to credit cards! Bands may encourage you to use their cheap
credit card facilities where you buy now and pay later. It looks great but
it’s so easy to get into debt. If you do have a credit card, hide it and get
it out only when you absolutely have to.
Speaker 1 Two. Look for bargains! You can look great in second-hand clothes and
you can find real bargins in second-hand shops and charity shops. Learn
to love eBay and look there first rather than in shop windows. It could
make all the difference.

21
Speaker 2 Three. Stick to a budget! Work out exactly how much you have coming in
each month and your necessary expenditure – what you absolutely must
spend, like rent, bills and food before you look at your disposable
income – this means what you’ve got left for any extras and treats.
Think first – do you really need that pair of shoes and can you afford to
go to a restaurant this month?
Speaker 1 Four. Give up your bad habits (or at least keep them under control!) If yo
smoke, drink,buy expensive coffee or regularly eat out,giving it up or at
least reducing the amount you spend on these things will save you more
money than you’d think.
Speaker 2 Five. Find ways to save money! If you go to the supermarket at the ehd of
the day you may find some fresh produce like meat and vegetables
marked down in price. If you go to afternoon shows at the cinema or
theatre you will save money while still going out and enjoying yourself.
Speaker 1 Six.Beg and borrow before you buy! If you need a book for an essay, has
anyone else got it?Try and borrow it rather than buy it.
Speaker 2 Seven.Plan ahead!A lot of unnecessary spending occurs because people
fail to plan ahead and have to spend a lot of money at the last moment.
Check your diary. When will you need those books for the essay you
have to write in June? Can you borrow them now? Or you need to make
a trip. Can you buy the ticket in advance rather than at the last moment
at a higher price?
Speaker 1 The economical habits you develop now while you’re at college will help
you in later life. Don’t think “I’m poor and miserable” but instead tell
yourself,”I’m developing a highly important life skill.”And it’s
absolutely true.

Unit5 Gender studies

Inside view
Conversation 1
Andy I loved the question you asked Tim Pearson about the financial crisis.
Janet well, I shouldn’t have asked it. After all, he’s an expert.
Andy there you go again, you’re always putting yourself down. You don’t know how
to take a compliment.
Janet true, I never find it easy to accept praise. Do you think woman have been
conditioned to accept criticism?
Andy Well, I think that’s gender stereotyping .Do you think that men are good at
accepting compliments?
Janet Well, they seem to be able to deal with criticism much better.
Andy Don’t you believe it!
Janet Anyway, thank you, I accept your compliment.
Andy Not only that, but I think you’d make a really good TV presenter.

22
Janet I’m not so sure. I haven’t seen many women in television here.
Andy Well, in the media in general, I can assure you that there are lots of women in
presenting and management.
Janet Well, maybe, but I’m Chinese as well. I don’t think I’ll be accepted as a
presenter on a British TV program.
Andy Gender AND racial stereotyping. I mean, it depends on what job and
sometimes where you work in London, of course, but generally, Londoners are
proud of their multi-ethnic community. Especially the Chinese , because you cook
great food!
Janet Now who’s doing the stereotyping! But seriously, look at all these smart
women walking to work. Are they all secretaries or managers?
Andy OK, it’s a good point. I think that many women manage to get middle
management jobs in most professions. But it’s true that a lot of them talk about the
glass ceiling.
Janet What’s the glass ceiling?
Andy It’s the situation where a woman is successful in a company, but then she hits
the glass ceiling-this invisible barrier which stops her going any higher in her career.

Conversation 2
Janet So what do you think causes the glass ceiling?
Andy It’s partly prejudice by men about women’s abilities in management. But it’s
also when women take time off to have children, they don’t always recover the same
power when they return to work.
Janet It’s not fair.
Andy You’re right, it’s not fair. I read here that only five to ten per cent of the top
companies in America and British are run by women.
Janet That’s extraordinary ! In China there appears to be more women in top jobs,
but I may be wrong.
Andy And look, here are some more statistics. About 60 percent of university
graduates in Europ and North America are women.
Janet So the percentage of women in the total workforce is growing.
Andy You got it! But women in the UK are in a slight majority-there are more
women than men.
Janet Do you think it’s especially bad in the UK, and in London especially?
Andy Not really. Some jobs which were traditionally done by women, like nursing,
are now also done by men, and there are traditional job’s, like engineering, which are
done by women. And there are plenty of women’s football teams!
Janet Women’s football! We have women’s football in China too.
Andy Mind you, their matches don't get many spectators!
Janet I give up. What else has changed?
Andy I think father spend more quality time with their children today. But I bet you
it’s still the women who spend most time looking after the children and the home.
Janet I guess that’s true everywhere.

23
Andy Anyway, I’m going home to watch the match on TV. The local women’s team,
of course.
Janet It’s typical of you men! You always bring it back to football!
Andy And that’s typical of you women! You always bring it back to gender
stereotyping.

Outside view
In South Korea, women are participating more in the economic and political
sectors than they were a decade ago.
But career aspirations for female students in South Korea still tend to be based on the
traditional division of gender roles. They are accustomed to thinking of such
jobs as teaching and nursing, whilst their male counterparts aim to
become scientists and judges.
Many of these young women are aware that if they want to be independent they
need to train so they can have their own source of income.
“In the previous generation, women did not have the right to speak, because they
did not have their own financial support. Therefore, our generation of women
must work to be financially independent.” The growth in the number of
women who work has caused the typical Soutn Korean household to change.
For example, there are more women living alone. This is because the they
can make their own money rather than depend on a man to support them.
There has also been a rapid rise in the number of families in which both parents
work. Married women increasingly want to participate in society but they need to
balance family life and work.
“After marriage, we all struggle with how to take care of
our children and work.” The introduction of day care centres at
some work places, such as the Chohung Bank, has helped to make it possible for
mothers to work.
Whilst there women are at work, their children are in the day care centre. There
they are usually very well looked after, receiving a balanced diet, playing lots of game
and doing plenty of exercise.
Day care centres are increasingly popular all across the world because they
enable parents to work. Women employees at Chohung bank find it a big help,
although the system is far from perfect.
“So far, my children have been well taken care of by our day care centre.
However, it will be difficult when my children go to elementary school because I
often have to work late. Who will take care of them? Our family recently decided to
live together with our grandparents who might be able to take care of my children.
Mothers also face other problems when they go to work. Women have
traditionally been responsible for raising their children and often feel a strong sense of
guilt when they put their children into day care. Some worry that it will have a
negative impact on their children and that they may fail as a parent.

24
 On top of this, South Korean women often end up being less well paid than men
with the same education.
“Korean women’s status in the labour market has not been much improved in
spite of a continuing rise in their presence in the labour force and the level of their
education. The majority of working women are still crowded in low status job; many
of which are found in the secondary market.” So there are still lots of issues facing
women going to work- they are still having to choose between their families and their
careers. What can be done to ensure that women are rewarded for their valuable
contribution to the working world?

Listening in
Passage 1
Presenter Has feminism gone too far in the way men are shown in advertisements?
Do you think there are too many ads now in which men are shown as
stupid or weak?
Speaker 1 Definitely, yes. I can think of three ads right now where men are shown
as stupid. The one that annoys me most is the one where this guy is
doing this DIY job and he’s no good at it, and his girlfriend is standing
by waiting to do the job herself. Fine, if it was one ad, but it’s not, it’s a
whole attitude now to men, It’s not good for us, it’s not good for women
either.
Speaker2 Um, well, yes, I do feel that feminism has gone too far. I mean, great,
women have made a lot of progress in the last 40 years, but it shouldn’t
mean we treat men as inferior, which is what we see in quite a few ads
these days. So no,I don’t really like the way men are portrayed in
advertisements.
Speaker 3 Has feminism gone too far in advertisements? No way! Feminism has only
just begun,there’s no real equality of pay in this country, men still have all
the top jobs.Women continue to be shown as objects in ads rather than as
real people, and until that stops I really don’t think we can say that
feminism has gone too far. I agree that in advertisements these days men
aren’t always shown as supermasculine, but that’s good and much nearer
the truth.
Sperker 4 Ads are about selling and I guess selling the idea that men are weak makes
people laugh. And if people laugh at an ad they’re more likely to
remember it and therefore more likely to buy the product. But on the
whole, I’d disagree. I think men are still shown driving expensive cars
and working, you know, looking powerful. Then coming home to their
wives who look after the children.
Speaker 5 Well I find the way men are shown in ads annoying.There’s that one
where this woman is angry with her partner for his choice of car
insurance. The idea is that she’s smart and he’s dumb.

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Speaker 6 I’ve never really thought about it. I think it’s just to make people luagh,
isn’t it? To show the guy as a bit of an
and the woman as the boss. It’s just a joke.I don’t really know much about much
about feminism.I don’t think so,no.

Passage 2
The differences between men and women interest everyone. What are these
differences exactly? How great are they? To what extent are they due to biology and
how much the result of upbringing? A lot of research has been done on the subject.
Tests show, for example, that men tend to be more logical and analytical than women.
Their spatial skills are better and they’re better at problem-solving and mathematics.
Girls, on the other hand, learn to speak earlier than boys and in general women have
better verbal skills than men .They are more nurturing ,have more empathy and have
better social skills.
Research suggests that at least some of these differences are a result of our
biochemistry and brain function. Brain scans show that men have bigger brains than
women. Before men get too excited about this we should point out that both sexes do
equally well in intelligence tests. So the fact that men have bigger brains does not
mean they’re more intelligent. But there are other important brain differences. Men
have more grey matter in their brains and women have more white matter. Because of
the different ways in which white matter and grey matter function, this could explain
why men are better at spatial tasks and mathematics, and women are better at
language skills.
Now let’s take a look at the effect of hormones on the brain. Testosterone is the
hormone that makes the body masculine .It’s present in both men and women but
obviously there’s a lot more of it in men .It seems that testosterone has the effect of
making men more interested in systems and less interested in people .This would
explain why women have better social skills than men.
All this is not to say that it’s biological differences alone that make men and
women different. Upbringing is very important too and parents treat boys and girls
quite differently. For example, up to the age of two , mothers make more eye contact
with daughters and talk to them more. Men are a lot more physical with their sons and
play rougher and noisier games with them. Both men and women speak more loudly
to boys than to girls and girls are stroked more than boys. We will probably never be
able to decide exactly how important upbringing and biology are in creating male and
female differences. But the journey of discovery is fascinating.

Unit 6 All in the past

Inside View

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Conversation 1
Joe I think this is my favourite view in the whole of London.Big Ben is a really
important part of the life of the country.
Andy It’s well worth a visit .
Janet So are you saying that you can go up Big Ben?
Andy Sure I went up when I was a kid I can highly recommend it.
Joe That would be a great idea for the website. Do a report on a visit to the Houses
of Parliament and Big Ben.
Janet So you mean, I can just go to the entrance and ask to go up the tower?
Andy Well, I’m not too sure, actually. But I can try and find out. Come to think of it,
I’m pretty sure you need to get permission from your Member of
Parliament.
Joe Ah, you and I don’t have one, because we aren’t UK residents. So I guess that
means we can’t go up Big Ben.
Andy I don’t really know, to be honest. But it’s also well worth taking a tour round
the Houses of Parliament.
Janet So, what you’re saying is that visitors like myself can go into the most
important government building in the country? Wow! I’d love to do that.
Andy I think they do tours in the summer. But here’s a trick question: Can you
actually see Big Ben from here?
Janet Well…yes. That’s it up there, isn’t it?
Andy Wrong. In fact, Big Ben is the name of the bell, and not the clock tower.
Joe I had no idea.
Andy So if you can do tours round Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament., why
don’t we put something about it on the website?
Joe Fine by me. You OK to do the research?
Andy No problem. But can we get someone from the Houses of Parliament to update
us?
Joe Sure. Actually, I know someone who works there, I’ll give her a call now and
see if she can meet us at lunch time.

Conversation 2
Joe Oh, hi, Sarah!
Sarah Hi, guys.
Joe Thanks for coming.
Andy So, can you tell us what you know about the Houses of Parliament?
Sarah Sure
Joe So tell us about Big Ben.
Sarah Big Ben is widely believed to be the clock tower, but in fact, it’s the bell at
the top.
Andy And when was the tower built?
Sarah In 1859.
Joe And how old are the House of Parliament?
Sarah They were completed in 1870.

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Joe So none of these buildings we can see are really old?
Sarah No, that’s not what I’m trying to say. Er…The oldest part of the ancient
Palace of Westminster is Westminster Hall, which dates
back to the 11th century. It would appear that it was used for entertaining, and as a
court room.
Andy So how did the system parliament we know now first start?
Sarah It seems that over hundreds of years Parliament has developed into two
houses- the House of Lords, and the House of Commons, with elected
representatives from all over the country.
Janet And they were what you now call MPs.
Sarah Yes, there’s little doubt that they were the first MPs, although not
everyone had the right to vote in those days.
Janet So who is more powerful, the king, the queen, or the prime minister?
Sarah Well, it’s widely thought that the king or queen has more power. But it’s
the government which is elected by the people, and the prime minister
is the leader of the government. So he – or she – is considered to be the
most powerful person in the country.
Janet That’s fascinating. But what’s even more amazing is how old the Houses of
Parliament are.
Andy Two large houses, one palace, one hall! I wonder if there’s a spare room?
Janet What do you mean?
Andy Well, I was annoyed to be told that I have to move out of my flat. I was even
more furious to learn that I have to leave by next month.
Janet So what will you do?
Andy Search me! I could do with a royal palace to live in.

Outside view 
In England no town is more than 170 kilometers from the sea .so it's no surprise that 
Britain has a very important history of ships and the sea .the British navy was the bigg
est navy in the world at one time.Now it's smaller,but many other ships are still used f
or importing and exporting goods and for taking people on business or holiday in Live
rpool there is a great museum of maritime history. it's got several ships in the docks o
utside.inside it shows what it was like to be on some of the ships. ships like this one th
e cutty sark at greenwich in London brought tea from India to Britain.It was a very pr
ofitable trade and made many people very rich.the ships used ONLY sail and achieve
d very high speeds.Young men had to climb the ringging to put up the sails. it was ver
y dangerous.between1830 and 1930,more than nine million people from all over Euro
pe left from the Port of Liverpool to Start a new life in America or Australia.in the ear
ly 20th century,thete were large numbers of very elegant passenger ship.they crossed t
he Atlantic from Liverpool or southampton to newyork in five or six days.the most fa
mous ship was probably the Titanic.IT sank in 1912 and over 1500 people drowned.I
T was the worst disaster in maritime history.you probably konw about it from one of t
he most expensive films ever made Titanic!one of the most famous shipping compani

28
es is cunard. it's got the worlds biggest cruise ship,the Queen Mary 2,which crosses th
e Atlantic from southampton to newyork.it still takes five or six days but some people 
prefer that to five or six hours in an aeroplane. the majority of people do travel around 
the world by plane but ships are still very important for moving goods.these metal box
es,or containers,are packed with clothes,television sets,computers,furniture and toys.h
ere at the southampton container terminal,they unload more than one and a half millio
n containers each years.so the sea still plays a very important part inlife Britain.

Listening in 
Passage1
Just as Chinese children learn about the emperors of China,English children learn abo
ut Englands history through its kings and queens.there have been many more kings th
an queens but one of the greatest and most loved rulers of England was a woman,Que
en Elizabeth I.during her reign in the second half of the 16th century
Elizabeth made England rich from international trade and also defeated one of the mo
st frightening invasions England ever faved.
Elizabeth Father,King henry VIII,had six wives he divorced two of them and execute t
wo.Elizabeths mother ,Queen Anne boleyn ,was henrys second wife and one of those 
whom he execute,when Elizabeth was three years old. 
Elizabeth,who was born in 1533,was very intelligent talented,and, education.however,
for much of her early life she was afraid that she would be execute like her mother.but 
after the death of her halfbrother and half sister,she become Queen in 1588 at the age 
of 25.all the rulers of Europe wanted to marry her and Elizabeths advisors also wanted 
her to marry and have a son.but Elizabeth never did ,because she was afraid a husband 
would try to control her.
one of Elizabeths greatest problem Was her Cousin,Mary,Queen of Scots.Mary believ
ed she should have been ruler of England. believing that her Cousin was a danger to h
er as long as she remained alive,Elizabeth imprisoned Mary in 1568 and finally execu
te her in 1587.
TheKing of Spain,Philip II had once wanted to marry Elizabeth but the two countries t
hen became enemies .Mary,Queen of scots shared the same religion as Philip,and her 
death gave the King an excuse to go to War with England,At the.same time Spain was 
the most powerful country in Europe and in 1558 Philip assembled a huge.navy called 
the Spanish armada.it sailed for England with the intention of invading it.Queen Eliza
beth made a famous speech to her soldiers,in which she said. i konw i have the body o
f a weak and feeble woman,but i have the heart and stomach of a King ,and of a King  
of England too .the Spanish armada was defeated.
by the time she died in 1603,Elizabeth was ruler of one of the most powerful and rich
est countries in the world.

Passage2

29
Presenter
Nature disaster happen everywhere in the world and more of the most famous. 
natural disasters is the volcanic that destroyed ompeii,a town in thesouth
of Italy,almost 2,000years ago.I'm with me is Rebecca Young,a guid to the
town.She's going to tell more about what happened on that terrible day
So,what did happen,Rebecca?
Rebecca Well -turn around -what do you see?
Presenter A mountain,a smoking mountain ,it must be the volcano, Vesuvius.So is it
still active?
Rebecca Yes,it could erupt again. And almost 2.000 years ago on August 24th,in
AD79,that volcano suddenly erupted. People weren't expecting it, they were just
doing what they normally do, walking through he streets, buying food at the market.
And suddenly, there was this terrible noise and huge rocks and hot ash started raining
down on the town. Lava was pouring down the mountain and - people died where
they stood. Look over there. What do you see?
Presenter A man and woman, lying with their arms around each other, And what's
this man doing with his hands? Is he praying or something?
Rebecca Yes, he was praying?
Presenter They look so real! How long did the eruption last?
Rebecca Two days. And by the time it had finished, the city had completely
disappeared, buried by ten meters of ash.And everyone forgot about it.
Presenter So when was it discovered again?
Rebecca Not until 1748.People started excavating and they found Pompeii
again.The ash had preserved it and everything exactly as it was on that day in AD
79.There was a forum,four public baths,26public fountains…
Presenter Twenty-six public fountains?
Rebecca Yes! Two theaters,a hotel……
Presenter A hotel?
Rebecca Yes.Let's go into this house here.This is the entrance courtyard.
Presenter What kind of person owned it?
Rebecca There two owners - they had a small business. Look at the floor.Can you
see some kind of writing?
Presenter Yes. So what does it say?
Rebecca It says,"Welcome, money."On Latin,of course.
Presenter "Welcome,money.'that's wonderful?
Rebecca I'm going to take you to another hose, belonging to a wealthy man this
time.
Presenter All these beautiful paintings on the walls!
Rebecca Yes,they covered their walls with these frescoes, which is wonderful for
archaeologists. Look at this woman. Isn't she beautiful?
Presenter Yes! What's she holding?
Rebecca We think it was a mirror although we haven't had…

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