Upper Intermediate

Unit 3 Audio Script

CD 1 Track 17
Well, I’m sure that many people have different definitions of what a hero is,
and in most cases we see it in the context of war. Erm, if I had to think of the
people who I consider heroic in my life, I would think of people who do things,
erm, that we can learn from and things that give us inspiration for how we can
react in times of pressure and times of crisis. Erm, and in that sense my father
is probably one of my big heroes. Erm, he wasn’t famous, erm, although he
travelled internationally and, erm, he achieved a fair high degree of success in
his job. He was actually born, erm, not in poverty, but he was born in a mud
brick house in the Kalahari, erm, in a family of farmers, sheep farmers, erm,
living in the desert. And when I was a young man he told me – and he didn’t
tell me this as a lesson really, he was just telling me about something that
mattered to him – he told me that his father had once explained to him that a
person, a man or a woman, should want no more in life than the satisfaction
of being able to rest with their head on a stone. And it sounds perhaps a bit
clichéd but I do think, erm, my father actually believed in that, erm, and lived
by that. Now what did he do? Well, he was a human rights activist. Erm, his
job was mainly to help people who were confronted, erm, by social injustice in
one form or another. So, in a way he – he did fight wars, but he didn’t fight his
wars with weapons, he fought his wars with words and public opinion,
information and at times, erm, the legal system.

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT
 Upper Intermediate
Unit 3 Audio Script

CD 1 Track 18
M = Mei, P = Presenter
P: Hello, welcome to Then and Now. Today we’re talking about an
incredible country, with a fascinating culture and a long history going
back over three thousand years. China is hugely rich in art and
culture, and its food and traditions are well-known around the world.
But two aspects of China are perhaps lesser known. Firstly, this vast
country has a long history of inventing things and secondly, it is now
the third-biggest economy in the world, with ultra-modern cities and
many booming industries. Today we’ve got China expert Mei Zhang
here to tell us all about this flourishing ‘Land of invention’. Hello Mei.
M: Hello.
P: Well, this programme is called Then and Now, so let’s start with
‘Then’ – China’s history, and this idea of a ‘land of invention’. I knew
that the Chinese invented paper, but I must admit I didn’t know that
they invented so many other important things. Before we talk about
those, can you remind us about the story of paper?
M: Yes. It was in one o five AD that paper-making was perfected in
China. The first paper was made of silk. Well, it was really the waste
from silk-making, which they pulped up to make paper.
P: Of course, paper had an enormous impact on China, didn’t it?
M: Yes, with paper and then printing, it meant people could get
information much more easily.
P: Mm. So, what else did the Chinese invent?
M: Well, quite a few simple but important things. I think one of the
simplest inventions was the wheelbarrow, invented around two twenty
AD, which meant that enormous loads could be carried by just one
person – as well as other things that we take for granted today like
silk, porcelain, the kite and even the umbrella!
P: And we have the Chinese to thank for fireworks, don’t we?

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT
 Upper Intermediate
Unit 3 Audio Script

M: Yes, that’s right! In the eighth century, the Chinese discovered

gunpowder. And by the tenth century, it was being used to make
fireworks, the gun, the rocket and the bomb – so, it eventually had a
huge influence on the whole world, of course. Another major invention
was a machine for making cast iron, which they first developed in the
6th century BC.
P: Wow! That really is a long time ago! That must have made a big
difference to people’s lives too.
M: That’s right. A lot of iron was used for agricultural tools, so production
was increased hugely, which brings me quite nicely to the present,
really – to the ‘Now’ – to present-day China.
P: Mm. Is agricultural production big in China now?
M: Well, yes, there’s a lot of agriculture – about fifteen percent of the
economy is based on agriculture. You know, things like rice, tea,
cotton and fish. But it’s certainly not just countryside and agriculture.
There are some massive cities in China, like Shanghai, whose
population is around twenty million. And, as I said, China is now the
third-biggest economy globally. Industry is huge and expanding all the
time. Production of iron, for example, is growing at a rate of about
twenty-two percent a year at the moment.
P: That’s certainly a booming industry. So, what other industries are
important now?
M: Well, so many of the things we buy are made in China, aren’t they?
Industrial production accounts for over half of China’s economic
wealth, including such consumer items as toys, clothes, shoes, cars
and electronic goods, as well as the heavier industrial products like
iron.

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT
 Upper Intermediate
Unit 3 Audio Script

CD 1 Track 19
1
I went out for a delicious meal in a Chinese restaurant recently.
2
I think the giant panda is one of the most beautiful animals in the world.
3
I think that China sounds like a really interesting country and I’d love to visit it.

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT
 Upper Intermediate
Unit 3 Audio Script

CD 1 Track 20
C = Carla, J = James
C: So James what do you think, what's the most important invention?
J: Well, perhaps gunpowder.
C: Why do you think that?
J: Because it's … even though it's had quite a negative influence on
world history it has had a significant in … influence on world history. It
changed, um, the power in – in global communities …
C: But it only changed, erm, in some countries. I don't think you can
really say that that has had the biggest effect in every single nation or
every single country. And also, I mean if you take into account what a
negative influence it's had too, I don't think it is the most important,
because the most important is more influential and – and therefore
positive.
J: Right OK, so we could argue that importance – or that we want to look
at importance from a positive perspective, yeah?
C: I think so, yeah.
J: So what would you say?
C: Well I would actually say paper. I think paper really changed, ah,
changed the world. Changed how the fact that we, ah … you can
document history, can communicate, that was really the first way of …
of communicating something, ah, in a concrete way rather than just
word of mouth.
J: Communication, yes … and communication which you can hold on to
rather than – yes, as you say, rather than just anecdotal.
C: And we … and we would never have had computers if we hadn't had
paper I think. And it's a knock on effect.
J: Although, ironically, we possibly don't need paper now that we have
computers.
C: I still write letters.
J: Yes – we're sat here with paper in front of us, both of us, yeah.

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT
 Upper Intermediate
Unit 3 Audio Script

C: Exactly, I don't think …

J: You write letters?
C: Of course. Do you not?
J: I don't, no, I only write emails now.
C: I send birthday cards and …
J: Birthday cards yeah, yeah you're right.
C: What about the computer, then? Was that really as fundamental as
the others?
J: It's changed our lives, hasn't it … our generation?
C: Unfortunately, yes.
J: Erm, for work it's something that we use all day every day.
C: Mm … But then again, so has the light bulb.
J: Yes the light bulb is something, the light bulb … and what's the other
one and the wheel, and paper to an extent, you don't even notice
them any more, whereas a computer, a telephone you would … you
would notice.
C: Yeah, because they were all invented before we came along.
J: Yeah, they've become normalised.
C: Exactly.
J: So, what would you say, what would you say is the most important, pa
… would you stick with paper, or the computer?
C: I … no, I think paper.
J: Yes I like the communication idea. It has, it has, erm, changed the
way that communication happens throughout the world. Yeah OK,
paper it is.

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT
 Upper Intermediate
Unit 3 Audio Script

CD 1 Track 21
I really like the town where I live and I think one of the main reasons is that, in
terms of shopping, there’s a lot of variety. The main street has many different
types of shops. Some of them are run by local people and they have been
there for a long time. I like going into these shops because you get very good
service. They are always very helpful and friendly. Also, if you’re buying food,
like vegetables, meat or fish, for example, the food is always fresher, tastier
and cheaper than in the large supermarkets. There’s one large supermarket in
the main street which is very convenient for lots of the basic things you need
to buy. I’d say that I’m very lucky because there’s such a good variety of
shops in walking distance of where I live. I have a mixture of local shops and
large supermarkets and therefore I have the best of both worlds.

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT
 Upper Intermediate
Unit 3 Audio Script

CD 1 Track 22
There's a saying that your school days are the best days of your life. Well, I
definitely wouldn't agree with that. My life since leaving school has been much
more interesting and rewarding and I definitely wouldn't want to live my school
days again. But that said, my memories of school were pretty good, and I've
still got really good friends that I went to school with, you know, thirty years
ago. When … when I was at school, there was some idea that if you studied
hard and you passed your exams and maybe went to university and got a
degree, that somehow you were … you know, guaranteed to get a good job
and a good salary. But with the benefit of hindsight I've realised that while
that's true to an extent, success in life is really about what you can do, not
what you know. And I think that in schools these days with … with teaching
these days across all subjects, they have a much greater emphasis on
vocational skills where school children learn to think and they learn to apply
their knowledge, which I think can only be a good thing. When I was at school
the most important subjects were English and maths, and I don't really think
that's changed. Of course it's essential to have, you know, good language and
communication skills, and a good grasp of, you know, at least basic
mathematics, whatever you end up doing in life. But, erm, in addition to
English and maths, I think it's become more and more important to learn a
foreign language. I think it really opens up opportunities for work and travel,
and I really regret not studying harder in French class at school. I left school
without any foreign language qualifications which, erm, which is a real shame.
But you know I shouldn't complain, I ended up with a career in marketing
which is stable and yes, you know, I find it interesting and enjoyable, and you
know, I'm … I'm quite good at it. But looking back, I wish I'd followed my heart
at bit more and not just my head. When I was at school, I was really
passionate about drama and the arts, but I never studied it or pursued it. My
parents always encouraged me to be, you know, sensible and study maths
and sciences, which I did, and, you know I … I was quite good at those

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT
 Upper Intermediate
Unit 3 Audio Script

subjects … but now, now I'm, you know, I'm a bit older and wiser, one of the
biggest lessons I've learned in life is that you can … if you can find your
passion in life, you should follow it whether it's art or science or sport or
economics, whatever, it will inspire you and it will energise you and you're
more likely to be happier and fulfilled in life, and you're more likely to be good
at it too.

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