WORKBOOK AUDIO SCRIPT
Unit 1 in age tend to be more competitive with
1C LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
4 Exercise 1, page 7
Good morning everybody! Today we’re
going to be looking a little more at the
topic of twins. As I’m sure you’re aware
by now, twins are endlessly fascinating
to psychologists. We already heard about
the famous twin studies when we were
looking at the topic of nature versus
nurture, but what I didn’t mention at the
time is that I’m actually a twin myself.
When I tell people this, they are usually
taken aback at first. And then maybe a
little bit inquisitive – they always want
to ask questions. No wonder really,
because it is estimated that only three
percent of the population are twins, so
it’s fairly unusual, though actually much
more common than it used to be. The
percentage was closer to two percent
until relatively recently. This is largely due
to scientific advances, but also partly as a
result of many women choosing to have
babies later in life, when the chances of
having twins increase.
Now, let me see if I can guess the first
question that popped into your mind …
‘Are you an identical twin?’ I know this
because that’s the first question that
everyone asks. And the answer is …
no, we’re not identical. Only about a third
of twins actually are, and the others are
fraternal. Yet somehow people still seem
to expect that we’ll be like two peas in
a pod.
In fact, whether identical or fraternal,
twins are absolutely not clones of each
other. They may look alike or have similar
traits, but differences may even develop
in their DNA, despite it having started off
as exactly the same. And their fingerprints
also vary. So, all those murder mysteries
where the evil twin commits the crime
wouldn’t work the same in these days of
forensic evidence!
Another topic that often comes up is
the question of whether having twins
is genetic. Many people believe that, as
a rule, twins skip a generation. In other
words, if your grandmother had twins, so
might you. There’s no evidence to back up
this myth, but it is true that having twins
can be genetic – at least with fraternal
twins. A woman who has a set of fraternal
twins as siblings is 2.5 times more likely to
produce twins herself.
Having identical twins is, however, not
hereditary at all. Fascinating, isn’t it? So,
what’s it like being a twin? Well, obviously
I can’t speak for all twins, but I like it. It
was great when I was a kid always having
someone to play with. We know from
research that offspring who are very close
1 PHOTOCOPIABLE © PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED 2021
each other, but it seems as if twins might
be an exception to the rule – especially
identical twins, it must be said. My twin
and I are both quite strong-willed, so we
clashed a fair bit as kids. Of course, he’s
far more highly strung than me. And what
about the famous ‘twintuition’? No, that’s
not a real word! I mean the sixth sense
that twins are supposed to have about
each other, or the ability to read each
others’ minds. Does it really exist?
Well, I think it’s important to recognise
that any two people who have so much
shared experience would probably get
pretty good at being able to finish each
others’ sentences or sensing how the
other one was feeling.
You can see the same kind of thing in long
and happy marriages. Being together so
much can certainly mould you. However,
as we saw in the twin studies, there are
many examples of twins separated at
birth who nonetheless marry people
with the same names, and so on. Are
examples like these just a fluke, or is there
something about being a twin which
makes them have such similar tastes?
Or what about the stories of twins
who communicate with each other
telepathically, alerting one of them to
the other being in danger? Of course, it’s
hard to prove this one way or another, but
we do need to remember that these are
the stories we hear about, and there are
probably many more sets of twins where
these odd things don’t happen. This kind
of thing has certainly never happened to
me and Will, my brother, but then again,
I don’t know that either of us has ever yet
been in that much danger, so perhaps
I shouldn’t rule it out.
So, anyway, what do these studies tell us
about …
5 Exercise 2, page 7
1 And then maybe a little bit
inquisitive – they always want to
ask questions.
2 Now, let me see if I can guess the first
question that popped into your mind.
3 Many people believe that, as a rule,
twins skip a generation.
4 My twin and I are both quite
strong-willed, so we clashed a fair bit
as kids.
5 Are examples like these just a fluke?
Unit 2
2D LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
7 Exercises 1 and 2, page 22
W = Woman M = Man
1
W: I’ve just been reading about the
latest astronauts to blast off to join
the International Space Station.
It brought back vivid memories of
desperately wanting to become an
astronaut when I was old enough
to start dreaming about the future!
M: I have to say the thought never
crossed my mind – it all seemed
too fantastical, and way beyond
my abilities – I was a pretty realistic
kid and even at a tender age,
I somehow knew it wouldn’t be
for the likes of me.
W: But someone has to get the job –
well, that was my thinking at the
time. Later on it became clear that
not only did you have to be in
superb physical condition, but you
had to have impressive brain power
too. What’s also important is being
the right age and the right height.
Add to that the need for enormous
confidence and determination, and
that cuts out a fair share of aspiring
astronauts.
M: And apparently, the application
process is really gruelling and
takes forever. Tim Peake, the British
astronaut, was originally one of
10,000 who applied back in 2008.
He was subjected to test after
test and they finally whittled the
number down to six. He eventually
got to the space station in 2018 –
that’s an amazingly lengthy
process, isn’t it?
W: Absolutely. When kids, like I was,
envision flying to the moon, there’s
no conception at all of the length
of time it really might take to get
there – or the number of setbacks
you might face!
M: But going back to your first
comment – you’re right. We do
need dreams, don’t we?
2
M: Do you think NASA and other
space organisations are going to
push ahead with plans to send
astronauts to Mars, or is it just a
pipe dream?
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 W: You know, I think it’s something
that we’ll see in our lifetime.
There’s no real reason to hold back,
is there? The finance is there, even
if it is partly commercially funded
because of cutbacks. That’s not
saying that I think they should press
on, because we’re talking maybe
three years to get somewhere like
Mars and they still aren’t sure of
how long space flights would affect
the human body.
M: No, we certainly don’t want
astronauts arriving there unhealthy
and unable to make the most of the
opportunity. The experiment that
we read about in class last month
didn’t come to any real conclusions,
did it? I thought that comparing
the biological changes in identical
twins after one has been in space
for a year was a really interesting
experiment.
But I’d expected the results to be
more conclusive. It was a bit of
a shame that a year’s research
couldn’t have produced more
useful results.
W: I don’t know how feasible it is to
study the effects after just one
year in space. But, they did find
indications that the ageing process
accelerated after all that time in
zero gravity. It’s the long-term
effects that they can’t really assess
properly yet.
M: And that’s understandable I suppose!
3 J:
W: Elon Musk has been in the news
again about his partnership with
NASA in sending some astronauts
to the Space Station. Do you
remember when his company sent
the Tesla car into space?
M: Oh yes, I watched the launch live!
It’s quite surreal to think about that
car still hurtling through space at
breakneck speed with the dummy
driver in his space suit …
W: Yeah, I admit it was definitely a novel
idea, although I’m not sure it’s got
much real value. It just cost a load
of money and all it’s done is add
one more item to the load of space
debris circling our planet.
M: That’s a bit hard, don’t you think?
It was mainly financed privately
and for me it’s a brilliant work
of art! Whether or not it survives
the ravages of radiation and
everything else up there, I just love
the idea – it’s carrying some of our
best science fiction books – and its
radio is belting out David Bowie!
I also found out recently that it’s got
‘Made on Earth by humans’ written
inside it.
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W: Mmm … I have to say I’m not that
worried to have missed out on the
live launch. Aren’t you even a little
bothered that it might carry bacteria
from earth and contaminate
something, or someone out there?
M: But then you’d have to really
believe in little green men,
wouldn’t you?
Unit 3
3B LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
13 Exercises 1 and 2, page 30
P = Presenter ​S = Sarah ​J = Joe
P: Welcome to the Young Entrepreneur
podcast, where we look at all of
the different aspects of setting up
your own business – whether that’s
a modest side gig to earn you a
little bit more spending money as
you go through college or the start
of a multimillion pound business.
Today, I’d like to welcome Sarah
Eastley and Joe Briggs, authors of
a new book – Lessons to be learnt
from business superstars. Sarah, Joe,
what do you mean by a business
superstar?
S: Well, we’ve chosen people with the
most interesting stories, of course.
But also those who can, as the title
suggests, teach us something if we
want to run our own business.
The names might be renowned,
but you probably didn’t know
their stories. For example, what’s
the first tradename that pops into
your head when you think about
chewing gum?
P: Er, probably Wrigleys?
S: Yes, absolutely. And William Wrigley
has a fascinating story. His family
owned a manufacturing company,
and William started working as
a salesman at the age of 13, selling
soap from a basket on the streets of
Philadelphia. This was the 1870s by
the way, so that wasn’t so unusual,
but it’s clear that he had a knack
for selling even then. It’s possible
that having such a harsh start to life
was ultimately what drove him on,
though I wouldn’t like to say that
you have to suffer to be successful.
J: Anyway, when Wrigley grew up,
he moved to Chicago and set up
a branch of his family’s company.
That’s when he had a brainwave –
he would start giving away baking
powder as a freebie when people
bought soap. And he discovered
that actually, the baking powder
was more popular than the soap.
So, he pivoted the business, and
started selling baking powder.
But he had realised the powerful
attraction of getting something for
nothing, and the way it can build
brand loyalty, so he started putting
in a complimentary packet of gum
with the baking powder, to entice
people to buy. And, guess what …
P: Er, people wanted the gum more
than the baking powder?
S: Exactly! So, in another about-face,
he changed his business model yet
again. I think one of the key lessons
we can learn from Wrigley is just
how willing he was to take risks
and make changes if he saw they
were necessary.
J: You could argue that he was
sometimes a bit hasty, but it
has to be said that his gambles
always paid off, which suggests
they weren’t really gambles at
all. A good example is what he
did in 1907, when there was an
economic depression happening.
People stopped buying chewing
gum, which had always been an
impulse buy. Rather than cutting
back on his business expenses,
Wrigley splashed out a fortune on
a massive advertising campaign.
He mortgaged his house and
everything he owned.
S: I can’t imagine that his wife was
especially pleased!
J: No, probably not, but, while risky,
what he did was a stroke of genius,
probably never replicated to this
day. Wrigley’s became a household
name. Within three years, he
was selling three million dollars’
worth a year. And that was in the
1900s, so the equivalent would
be a lot more now. He had also
learnt a valuable lesson from the
economic depression in 1907.
He didn’t want chewing gum to
be just an impulse buy that people
would stop purchasing when
times were hard. So, instead,
he repositioned the product to
highlight its, perhaps dubious,
health benefits. Using his flair for
marketing, he prevailed upon
people to buy gum to chew after
a meal to aid digestion and clean
teeth. He managed to convince
them that not only was it not
rude to chew gum, but that it was
essential for good health, and that
even children should chew it.
P: I’m not sure if that’s ingenious or
devious!
S: It’s certainly clever. And his business
acumen didn’t stop there. A few
years later, he had another lightbulb
moment, and basically invented
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 direct marketing. I suppose he
reasoned that everyone who owned
a telephone – then an innovative
product – was probably pretty well-
off and could easily afford his gum.
So, he sent all of them a free packet
through the post. He even sent extra
packs on children’s birthdays!
P: He was determined, wasn’t he?
4E LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
23 Exercises 1 and 2, page 47
Good afternoon. As part of our series
on the history of various traditions
and customs, today I’d like to focus on
something quite close to my heart – and
that is etiquette, or to put it perhaps a
little more clearly – table manners. What
is amazing is how rapidly trends come
and go and our notions of what is or isn’t
acceptable can change like the wind. What
was considered good table manners for
one generation is simply not necessarily
the same for their children. And this is
not down to sloppiness or defiance at
all. Having said that, yes, there are some
people who take a perverse delight in
being outrageous and flying in the face of
what is expected of them. But generally,
I would say people are social animals and
we mostly try to fit in with our peers. Our
basic need is to be accepted, so adopting
different behaviour – for example while
eating – would make us stand out and
sometimes perhaps even result in our
being ostracised.
Another point I should like to make is
that table manners are not a recent
invention. They are not something
dreamed up by our grandparents or even
our grandparents’ grandparents! Manners
of some kind have existed for a very long
time, in fact there are references going
back to the writer Chaucer’s time. In the
14th century – one of the characters in
The Canterbury Tales talks of not letting
any food drop from her mouth. However,
ask anyone how people used to eat in
medieval times, and it’s odds on that they
would talk about people eating meat
with their hands – greasy fingers – not a
big problem then! In fact, it wasn’t until
Renaissance times that paintings show
how eating and drinking became a more
sophisticated affair. Pictures of beautifully
fragile Venetian drinking glasses indicate
how impossible it would have been to
handle these roughly. Paintings continue
to reveal how table manners developed
in later centuries. There is a 1740 painting
by Chardin, a French artist, in which two
children are being taught to eat properly
at a table, minding their manners.
Using fingers has given way to using
cutlery and sitting on stools, benches or
on floors has been replaced with straight
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backed chairs. There are rules to follow.
Around this time other eating occasions,
such as afternoon tea, were being
introduced as opportunities to socialise,
rather than simply to eat. Etiquette
developed about how to pour tea, how to
drink tea, without slurping, how to hold
a sandwich or a piece of cake and so on.
Initially, these forms of etiquette were
adopted by the upper classes, but slowly
filtered through to the rest of society on
simpler levels.
A hundred years after Chardin’s painting,
a journalist called Mrs Beeton published
what became the bible for cooks and
those wanting to use socially acceptable
table etiquette. Whereas today, many
of her recipes and tips are still relevant,
her advice on manners has considerably
dated. However, it serves to show us that
manners were important and, at that
time, extremely strict. There were complex
rules about the order of serving guests at
the table – starting with the gentleman on
the left – and what one should or should
not do at the table. For example, dinner
guests were not encouraged to ask for
a second serving of soup or fish, as this
might delay the next course for the other
guests. Of course, rules like these have
mainly disappeared, but you might be
interested to know that they do, in fact,
live on in the dining halls and rooms of
ancient establishments, such as Oxbridge
colleges.
If we look around today, 150 years after
Mrs Beeton, we see that in some ways we
have gone backwards. Always sitting at
tables is a thing of the past, we eat with
our fingers. But the notion of ‘proper’
dining continues in restaurants, with
tablecloths, high back chairs, individual
glasses, using the right cutlery for the right
food and so on. It would be interesting to
hazard a guess as to how table manners
might change and develop further, over
the next hundred years. Any thoughts?
Unit 5
5D LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
28 Exercises 1 and 2, page 58
1
I love singing in the shower or whatever,
but I’ve never really thought of myself as
a singer. So, when my sister suggested
that I sang a song at a charity gig she was
organising, I was horror-struck. But then
again, it was for charity, and maybe I just
needed to get over myself? So, I agreed.
But on the day of the performance,
I started to get really nervous, imagining
the audience giving me dirty looks and
muttering to themselves, ‘Just who does
she think she is?’ I could feel my throat
starting to close up, which is not exactly
what you want, as you really need to be
able to breathe when you’re singing.
Luckily, I remembered an exercise where
you work through your body from top to
toe, letting the tension release as you go.
It worked, and I really didn’t do a bad job
at all in the end. I gave it my best shot at
least, and I think I’m a stronger person
for the experience of stepping out of my
comfort zone.
2
I was the first one of my friends to learn
to drive, and of course, they all wanted to
go out for a drive with me once I passed.
So, I had three passengers, all of them a
bit overexcited. I was up for it at first, it
was fun to show off a bit, but they soon
started egging me on to go faster and
faster. They were just having a laugh,
really, but it was tricky, because obviously
I didn’t want to put us in any danger, but
I also didn’t want to fall out with them
or anything. The whole situation was
making me really anxious. I had this little
voice in my head saying, ‘If you get into a
row with them, maybe they won’t want to
hang out with you anymore’.
Eventually, I realised that I didn’t have to
take any notice of that little voice, and
I told them all to put a sock in it, especially
as none of them even knew how to drive.
It worked, and I didn’t hear another peep
from them the whole time.
3
Last summer, I got a job working in
a local café. It was my first job, and I
hadn’t realised just what hard work it
would be. The café was really popular,
and the queues at lunchtime were much
longer than I had imagined. Lots of people
suffering from hunger and low blood
sugar, and feeling irritable, all wanting
what they wanted, and preferably
immediately. And then I couldn’t get the
coffee machine to work. I quickly lost faith
in my ability to do this job, and I could
literally feel my anxiety going through the
roof! But I took a few deep breaths and
told some of the customers that it was
my first day, and they were actually really
nice about it. And it got easier. I’ve been
working there a couple of months now,
and I love it.
4
I was really pleased when I was chosen
to give a presentation on behalf of my
class. We’d been doing an environmental
project in the town, and it was my job
to tell a group of local councillors about
the project and to try and get some
more funding for it. I was chuffed to
be asked, but there was a lot at stake.
I mean, what if I made a mess of it?
Eventually, I confided in the teacher
and she reminded me that it wouldn’t
just be me doing it unaided in a room
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 full of strangers. We’d be preparing the
presentation as a group, and if I did
run into difficulties, then someone else
could always step in. Just knowing that I:
made me feel better, and it actually went
without a hitch on the day. D:
31 Exercise 8, page 58
1 A scavenger is someone who collects
things that people have thrown away.
2 If you linger somewhere, you take
a long time to leave.
3 A plunger is used to unblock a pipe.
4 A banger is an informal way to
describe an old car.
5 A sponger is an informal way to
describe someone who takes money
from others instead of working.
6 A ranger is someone whose job is to
protect a forest or natural park.
7 A zinger is an informal word for
a funny or clever comment.
8 A whinger is an informal word for
someone who complains a lot.
9 If you malinger you are pretending to
be ill in order to avoid work.
10 A warmonger is a leader who I:
encourages a country to go to war.
Unit 6
D:
6D LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
35 Exercises 1 and 2, page 70
I = Interviewer ​D = Dave
I: This morning I’m pleased to
welcome Dave Judd onto the
programme. Dave is an expert
on animal senses and his recent
documentary series on the subject
is quite fascinating. We fully
appreciate how busy you are, so
your sparing some time to join us
today is great. Thanks, and good to
meet you, Dave.
D: Likewise. I’m a regular listener to
the show.
I: Interesting that you start off with
the word ‘listener’. Your speciality is
how animals listen, or rather how
they hear, isn’t it?
D: You’re absolutely right. I’ve always I:
been intrigued by how animals
communicate and ultimately how
they perceive sounds. It all started
when I realised that our dog could
hear sounds that I couldn’t. His
ears would twitch, and he’d move
to the door, and a moment later D:
I’d hear my dad’s car turning up
the drive. And a dog’s sensitive
hearing is surpassed by that of the
domestic cat. Their ears are tuned
to pick up high frequency sounds
4 PHOTOCOPIABLE © PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED 2021
over a distance of up to fifty metres.
Noises like a mouse rustling in the
grass will carry straight to them!
So, are these sounds always picked
up through their ears, like we do?
This is where it gets very interesting.
Take the elephant – you would
imagine that with its enormous ears
it can hear sounds over a very wide
area. And that is true. What they can
pick up is what we call ‘infrasound’
waves. For example, for us these
sounds would be like a low rumble
of thunder. But in addition to this,
elephants can actually ‘hear’ the
movement of clouds. This tells them
where rain clouds are gathering
and therefore where to find water.
And it’s not only the way their ear
canals are structured that is
responsible for their hearing, they
can also use nerves in their feet to
pick up vibrations in the ground
from other elephants pounding the
earth a long way away. It’s a way of
letting other elephants know their
location.
Incredible. Another animal that
always fascinates people is the bat.
It’s anecdotally reported that they
can’t see, but is that really true? Do
bats navigate completely by sound?
It is not quite true. Bats do have
vision, but it’s limited. Being
nocturnal creatures, they are
active in the darkness, and their
eyes are tuned to differentiate
between shades of grey and
black, as opposed to humans and
other animals who have colour
vision. To assist in flying they
have developed an acute hearing
system, echolocation, which is
when the animal produces a very
high frequency sound. This bounces
back to them when it hits objects
and they get a picture – map-like –
in their brains of the area and
how to avoid obstacles safely. And
similar to elephants, they don’t
depend solely on their ears for
hearing – really tiny hairs on their
wings pass on information to their
brains about changes in the air,
helping create the perfect map.
Wow! I freely admit that my
knowledge about such things is
limited. Something else that you
touch on in your series is noise
pollution. We are all fully aware of
how it can affect our lives, but you
suggest that it affects animals too.
Oh, big time! It’s a huge topic,
but suffice to say that one of
the worst impacts we have had
is on sea life, and in particular
on the whale. This is all down
to shipping. It’s been common
knowledge for a while now that
whales use special songs, or
calls, to communicate over huge
distances. It’s also been believed
that ships’ sonar systems operate
on the same frequencies as those
that the whales use, and that this
causes disruption to the whales’
communication, causing distress
and even death. But what has
recently come to light is that the
main culprit is the ships’ motors
and the sounds of the propellers.
In episode 4 of the documentary,
we closely examine these claims and
find out what we can do about it.
I: One thing I got having watched the
programmes, Dave, was a very poor
impression of humans’ hearing
abilities, compared to the animal
world.
D: You’re right. But having said that,
we do have superior hearing to
a few. Take the poor snake – it’s
said to have to rely on ground
vibrations to know if anyone is near
it. At least we have ears!
Unit 7
7D LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
40 Exercises 1 and 2, page 82
1
S = Sam ​B = Becky
S: What did you think about the
exhibition, Becky?
B: Honestly? I thought it was dire.
Those weren’t portraits, they
were just a collection of different
geometric shapes.
S: Admittedly it was a bit different,
and probably not what most people
would expect. But who says that
a portrait has to be a picture of
someone’s face or head and
shoulders?
B: Isn’t that obvious, Sam?
S: I agree that it’s a bit more
ambiguous this way, less obvious,
but I think we can get a real sense
of the person the artist is trying
to capture through an abstract
painting. I think it’s really profound.
It’s like a window straight into the
soul of the person. The exhibition
was a breath of fresh air.
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 B: It’s not that they were badly painted,
but if I’m going to look at a portrait,
I do want to see what the person
looks like, not just an impression of
their personality.
S: Fair enough. But I think if you went
back and looked again, you might
get a different perspective.
B: Hmm. I guess this kind of thing just
isn’t my cup of tea.
2 dominates the picture. I do think
A = Alice ​J = Jim
A: I’d never really thought about folk
art as a ‘proper’ art form before.
Had you?
J: Yes, of course, but I must say that
the programme was great at
showing the breadth of what could
be included in the term, I mean
that it isn’t limited to solid tangible
items, such as pottery or textiles.
A: Yes, that’s a good point, and
obviously spot on. Funnily enough,
I would definitely have thought
of folk music as an art form,
I just hadn’t considered all the
aspects that might come under the
umbrella of folk art, such as dance
or storytelling.
J: I really liked the way they explored
how an artist can express his or her
individuality within the tradition.
You know, there’s often a particular
style or colour scheme to follow,
but they can still make personal
choices, and of course some artists
are more skilled and others more
mediocre.
A: I loved seeing all the examples of
folk art from different countries
as well. All those detailed and
intricate patterns … but I think they
missed a trick in not clarifying how
the way people lived, and the work
they did clearly influenced the kind
of art they produced.
J: And still do produce in many cases.
A: Yes, that’s right, though a lot of
it is just commercial, and factory
produced these days, sadly. They
did mention that in the conclusion,
didn’t they?
J: Yes, I seem to remember that. It’s
quite sad, really, all those skills
that were handed down from
generation to generation will be
dying out now, I guess.
3
T = Tom ​Je = Jenny
T: I’m really interested to hear about
your process. Do you find that you
tend to wait for inspiration, or do
you just get cracking?
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Je: It can take me a while to get into
the flow, but once I’m there,
I’m completely absorbed by the
process, and can carry on for hours.
Nothing else matters, really.
T: Yes, I’m the same. What would you
say was your signature style as
a photographer?
Je: Well, I like to get really close to my
subjects, so their facial expression
that sometimes people find that
a bit intimidating, or even scary,
and I’ll admit that I can be a bit rude
even, but sometimes it is necessary
to get a great shot.
T: Your work certainly often has
a really visceral impact, it can be
like a punch to the gut.
Je: Thank you. I love your work too. It’s
so atmospheric. Creepy even, but in
a good way.
T: Thanks, I think it’s changing a bit
these days though, and becoming
sharper and more focused. I look
back and I can see the beauty in
what I was doing, but I guess I’ve
changed with more life experience,
perhaps.
Je: I’d love to see some of your latest
stuff then. Do you have any
exhibitions coming up?
Unit 8
8B LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
46 Exercises 1 and 2, page 90
Hello everybody and welcome! How’s
everybody? Good? OK. Let’s get started
then. So, today I’m going to talk about
the history of fitness training. We are well
used to the influence of changing trends
in fashion and beauty and, although not
everyone wishes to follow them, it is
undeniable that a large number of people
do, unwilling to stand out from the
crowd as looking different. This desire to
conform to popular standards concerning
appearance includes attitudes to
keeping fit and developing an accepted
or sometimes idealised body shape.
To this end, the number of fitness and
health clubs and gyms is becoming ever
more widespread, catering to both men
and women of all ages and from all
backgrounds. Have we always been so
concerned about our levels of fitness?
The answer is – not at all. Let’s look at
the timeline of our interest in keeping
in shape.
Going right back to our roots – early
man was naturally fit. He didn’t need to
work out! The work of a hunter-gatherer
required him to run, jump, climb, balance,
lift, throw, etc. and as a consequence
he was strong, flexible and no doubt,
in very good shape for his age. When we
made the move to becoming farmers and
growing crops and raising cattle, daily life
was still physically hard, but the range of
activities was more limited. The need for
certain activities and skills diminished – for
example climbing was now being done
on ladders, and there was less demand
for people to crawl, balance or throw with
accuracy.
In later centuries however, the need for
a whole range of physical skills went up
dramatically as the great ancient Empires
required their young men to engage
in battle. Greek and Roman empires
organised structured physical training
sessions in specific locations which
focused on the same natural skills as
early man had. They learned to run, jump,
throw and catch, and fight. And from this,
competitive sports developed – most
notably the Greeks’ Olympic Games. Based
on military training skills, the sports of
sprinting and marathon running, jumping,
discus and javelin throwing, and wrestling
had their beginnings here. In addition to
this, the idea of honing the body to look
both muscular and beautiful became
popular.
Following the fall of the great empires,
the everyday man’s exercise came from
working in the fields. And despite an
academic interest in the benefits of
physical exercise for health during the
Renaissance years, little was introduced
on a practical scale until the early 19th
century. An important open-air
gymnasium was opened in Berlin in 1811
by Friedrich Jahn, who was known as ‘The
Father of Gymnastics,’ and his ideas spread
throughout Europe and across the seas
to the Americas. People attending these
gymnasiums would have been using
some familiar equipment – the horizontal
bars, the rings, the pommel horse – all
used by today’s gymnasts. Whereas the
Greeks had striven for beautiful athletic
bodies, Jahn’s main motivation was
functional. He wanted young soldiers
to be able to avoid the humiliation his
country suffered at the hands of Napoleon.
With fitness training now an accepted
and popular activity, a Swedish pioneer
Pehr Ling took an approach aimed at
developing muscular beauty and he
introduced a form of light gymnastics
which involved breathing and stretching.
Then, in the late 1840s, in Brussels and
Paris, commercial gyms started – and
the big change here was that they were
established indoors. These gyms included
the first elements of circuit training,
with sequences of activities using light
weights done to a backdrop of drumbeats.
The trainers were focusing not on the
ability to fight in combat but to develop
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 an attractive physique. The foundations
of our modern fitness practices had
been laid.
Nearly up to date on our timeline,
post-World War One saw gyms dividing
along two paths – those for men who
were determined to build muscle, and
often took up training for competitions,
and those for others whose aim was to
be generally fit and healthy, and to look
good. Finally, women’s requirements
were also being addressed, as opposed
to previously having had to follow scaled
down versions of the men’s workouts.
Today, as we know, the fitness industry
is huge regarding the numbers who
attend and a new need has arisen. With
some of the biggest health issues of our
day centring on excess weight, perhaps
there needs to be another type of gym.
People who are not in shape can feel
uncomfortable attending the same gyms
as the ultra-fit. Maybe there needs to be
a new pioneer, and who knows, perhaps
he or she is waiting just ahead of us on the
fitness timeline!
Unit 9
9D LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
53 Exercises 1, 2 and 3, page 105
1 It’s true that they often refer to something
Yes, I never cease to be amazed at how
weird our memories are. Obviously,
scientists are making more and more
progress into how memory works, but
I’m pretty sure they’re nowhere near
proving conclusively exactly how we store
or access things in our brains. The way
we retrieve memories may give a clue,
I think. A while back I was scratching my
head, trying to recall the name of a pop
group and I came up with The Dolls. In fact,
what I wanted was the name The Toys,
but I guess my brain was automatically
searching for a category or a similar type
and threw dolls at me! Interesting!
2 56, 57 Exercises 8 and 9, page 105
I dream a lot, as everyone does, and
sometimes have a vivid or interesting
dream I’d like to remember, but an hour
after waking it’s gone, disappeared down
some black hole in my brain. This mystifies
me, and I would love to know why it
happens. Apparently, it’s said that if you
tell someone your dream, or even say it
out loud – to yourself, there’s far more
chance that you’ll remember it. I tried this
the other day and it does work! Again –
I would really like to know why. Of course,
writing it down when you wake is the best
way, but it’d take a lot of time to do that.
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3 Unit 10
You know that strange term ‘earworm’?
When you get a tune in your head and
you can’t get rid of it – I get that a lot, and
sometimes it’s just an annoying jingle I’ve
heard on an advert or a catchy verse from
a pop song, but why oh why is it that once
you’ve got it in there, it won’t go away? It’s
baffling! The more you think about it, the
longer it lingers. The experience is actually
well-documented. I read once that if you
tell someone to avoid thinking about
something, it’s nearly impossible. Like, if
I say, ‘Don’t think about a polar bear’, it’s
highly likely that you won’t get the image
of a polar bear out of your mind for ages!
4
What is it about our memories that long
forgotten ones can surface and override
everything else at times? I was recently
round at a friend’s, everything was good,
and we had the radio on. A song came on
and suddenly, for no apparent reason, my
eyes just welled up with tears! When the
song originally came out, I was having
an amazing summer in France: sunshine,
friends, parties on the beach …
The following September, I was back
studying hard at university and I guess the
song just reminded me of a carefree time
in my life that I would never be able to
recapture. Crazy really.
5 for a variety of reasons and are
People think I have a terrible memory.
they’ve mentioned to me previously which
I have no idea about, no recollection at
all. But it’s not that I’ve forgotten – this is
one of my failings and something that
I definitely need to rectify. The problem
is that I don’t focus all the time. People
can be talking to me, but my mind is
often somewhere else – thinking about
a problem I need to resolve, or even
checking my emails while someone’s
talking to me on the phone. So, of course
I misremember what I’m told. And hands
up – it’s my own fault and I know it. Guilty
as charged!
It’s not that I don’t like his films. It’s
just that I prefer some actors to others.
How did Emily enjoy it? Did you tell her
that it wasn’t a comedy? That director –
where did he work before he went to
Hollywood?
10D LISTENING AND
VOCABULARY
58 Exercises 1 and 2, page 118
W = Woman ​R = Ron
W: Welcome to our weekly podcast
Business Matters. There have been
significant changes in working
practices over the last few years
and to talk about them today we
have Ron Green, whose series of
documentaries So, you want to work
from home? is about to be aired on
TV. Ron, hello. Tell us first of all why
you decided to make this series of
documentaries.
R: Hello. Yes – I think it’s quite clear to
everyone that technology is having
a dramatic effect on all areas of our
lives – educational, entertainment,
social and working. Obviously, it
depends on your line of work, but
generally, because of constant
connectivity, employees are being
asked ever more frequently to
work from home, sometimes for
efficiency reasons, and sometimes
because of cost of office space, etc.
In addition to this, many people
are making the choice themselves
requesting their employers to
endorse this form of working.
However, the idea of ‘working
from home’ may not be as
straightforward and attractive as
people seem to imagine. So, we
decided to make this series to show
what the reality of working from
home is actually like with all its pros
and cons and to give advice, so that
people who have set their minds on
this are not completely in the dark
about what it involves. Over the
series, we follow the experiences
of a range of people and hope that
potential home workers will take
on board some of the pitfalls. This
should hold them in good stead for
when they make that jump. Some
people may think twice and decide
that they are not cut out for this way
of working at all. Others may think
that it’s definitely the way forward
for them.
W: This all sounds very interesting,
Ron. Personally, I cannot imagine
not coming into work. What are the
benefits?
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 R: You’re in good company. A lot of
people enjoy the interaction
of being around other people
physically. However, mandatory
working from home may soon
be on the cards, meaning people
won’t always have the choice. And
there are considerable benefits of
remote working. First and foremost
is that there is no longer the need
to commute. Commuting takes
time, costs money, causes pollution
and can be stressful. At home,
you only need to travel from one
room to another! Just think about
it. Your working hours are much
more under your control. You have W:
flexibility. Not only can you get
up later – meaning your brain is
brighter and less tired – but you
can also put in hours when it suits
you. In my book, some people work
better in the evening, so sitting R:
down to work later in the day
would suit them better – in some
cases, even burning the midnight
oil! In addition to this, it has been
proven that remote working
improves efficiency. Reliable online
platforms allow meetings of larger
groups of people than might
otherwise be the case, and more
frequently than might be practical
for physical meetings. People make
better use of their work time, with
fewer distractions from colleagues,
contacting others only when really
necessary, and all in all being more
productive.
W: Ah – I see your point. I know it’s W:
possible for radio presenters like
myself to get the equipment to work
from home, technology allows the
linking these days, but something
you’ve just mentioned makes me
wonder. There must be downsides
too – you talk about lack of
distraction from colleagues – but
what about home distractions?
R: You’re right. I don’t mean to paint
the wrong picture. It’s not all plain
sailing. There are negatives. From
a work angle – online meetings
come with their problems.
Technology can fail and in a large
meeting there has to be a different
etiquette; people need to be more
self-disciplined and not talk across
each other. They need to listen
more carefully and so on. Also, on
screen you cannot rely on body
language to help send a message.
On the other hand, people who
normally take a back seat can
get more of a fair share of the
interaction!
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But with respect to your point about
distraction – it can be problematic.
If you have pre-schoolers at home,
it’s going to be noisy! But the key
is organisation and self-discipline.
You need your own work space
that you can close off to family
members at times – also close off
to pets! One of our contributors in
the series had a cat that used to
sit on her keyboard! And you need
to organise your time – plan what
you’re going to be doing and when.
And stick to it. Self-discipline means
that you have your own working
times and you adhere to them.
A fair point, Ron. I think I need
the discipline of laid down hours.
So, if there is going to be an
inevitable shift to working from
home, are there any other tips your
documentaries offer?
You’ll have to watch to find out!
But seriously – it’s vital to get your
IT up-to-date and reliable as that’s
what you will be dependent on.
And something we don’t always
think about – health and safety at
home! If you’ve got a bad back –
get a proper office chair, make
sure the screen is the right height,
and things like that.
Also, if you are going to be engaging
in online video conferences – make
an effort to look professional. Check
yourself in the mirror before you
go online – you may be wearing
pyjama bottoms, but make sure
your top half looks presentable.
Now that is a great tip to finish on!
Thanks, Ron. And next week, we’re
going to talk about …
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