LONGMAN

EXAM
SKILLS

Proficiency

Longman
Pearson Education Limited
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow
Essex CM20 2JE
England
and Associated Companies throughout the world

www.longman -elt. com

Pearson Education Limited 1999

The right of Fiona Scott-Barrett to be identified as

author of this Work has been asserted by her in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved; no part of this publication

may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise
without the prior written permission of the Publishers.

ISBN 0 582 36340 3

First published in 1999

Second impression 2000
Set in Wilke and Delta

Printed in Spain by Mateu Cromo

Acknowledgements
Edited and designed by Gecko Ltd

Photo acknowledgements
We are grateful to the following for their permission to
reproduce copyright photographs: Camera Press for
58 top left; Colorsport for 58 bottom right and
Rex Features for 58 top right.
CONTENTS MAP

Section Page

Proficiency Listening and Speaking: an overview page 2

Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency: Exam factfile page 2

Additional ideas and activities page 4

Lesson notes and answer key (Units 1-10) pages 6-50

! Practice exam pages 51 -53

Mock exam pages 54-56

Proficiency Listening and Speaking TeMtatflcMiKI

Proficiency Listening & Speaking: an overview

Approach and organisation of the Students' Book
Proficiency Listening & Speaking is organised around ten theme-based units. Each unit contains two
listening sections and two speaking sections:
Listening A: introduces the topic and key vocabulary
contains two or more listening passages with tips and guidance
Speaking A: provides speaking practice on topics related to those in Listening A
includes tips, guidance and language support
Listening B: expands and develops on the topic
contains three listening passages (From unit 3 onwards all three of these passages
are of UCLES Proficiency exam length and format.)
includes tips, guidance and vocabulary support where appropriate
Speaking B: provides speaking practice on topics related to those in Listening B
includes tips, guidance and language support
Through this approach the learners:
are given gradual and thorough familiarisation with key themes and vocabulary related to
contemporary topics and issues which commonly feature in the Proficiency exam
build up strategies for dealing with the tasks that appear in papers 4 and 5 of the exam.
The units may be used in chronological order, or at random.
However, if used at random, it should be noted that the later units offer fewer tips and less
guidance and language support than the earlier units.

Organisation of the Teacher's Book

The unit-by-unit notes contain:
Boxes containing background information on people, places or events mentioned in the
Listening or Speaking sections
Boxes highlighting common errors of vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation
Answers to 'Before you listen' activities
Answers to the Listening tasks
Tapescripts for the Listening passages with the sections where the answers may be found
highlighted in bold
Model responses for Speaking activities which are fairly controlled
Answers to questions on passages in the Speaking sections

Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency: Exam factfile

About the exam
The UCLES (University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate) examination leading to the
Certificate of Proficiency consists of five papers:
Paper 1 - Reading Comprehension
Paper 2 - Composition '
Paper 3 - Use of English
Paper 4 - Listening Comprehension
Paper 5 - Interview
There is a maximum of 180 marks for all five papers. A candidate must achieve a minimum score of
about 60% of the total marks in order to pass. The marks for all the papers are combined; it is not
necessary for candidates to achieve a pass mark in each individual paper.
A pass in the Certificate of Proficiency is generally recognised by (some) universities in Britain as
indicating a level of competence, which fulfills their entrance requirements in English language.
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking 1tatftafttifii$f-

Paper 4 - Listening

ff#v^ about 40 minutes

m^m^ groups

three or four sections making up a total of 25-30 items. Unlike the First
Certificate, there is no set format for the different tasks. They could take the
form of:
multiple choice questions
true-false questions
. . * - " *

note-taking and blank-filling exercises

. > . ,">? ,
yes-no questions
;
' V-.-.:'*
identifying who said what
labelling diagrams
. ;.' ?: '.
listen to a spoken text and:
.'. ' '
understand the gist
" : " . : ' '?:
follow the significant points
identify specific information
- understand points of detail
recognise attitude, emotions and opinions
infer underlying meaning

by giving one mark for each correct answer. Each candidate's raw score is
converted to a final score out of a total of 20 marks.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking TaacfeMjSg Bpflfc

Paper 5 - Interview

takes about 15 minutes (for individual candidates) OR

about 20 minutes (paired candidates) OR
about 25-27 minutes (groups of three)

it conducted ki a one-to-one interview with an examiner OR

an interview in pairs with an examiner OR
an interview in groups of three with an examiner

consists of four parts:

some general, personal or social questions (about 1 minute)
a discussion based on one or more photographs (about 5 minutes for
individual candidates; about 7 minutes for paired candidates; about 10
minutes for groups of three)
commenting on a short passage (about 2 minutes for individual
candidates; about 3 minutes for paired candidates; about 3 minutes for
groups of three)
a communicative activity (about 5 minutes for individual candidates;
about 8 minutes for paired candidates; about 12 minutes for groups of
three)

tests b*y to interact in a theme-based conversation in English on general, specific or

abstract topics while demonstrating appropriate control of:
fluency
accuracy
pronunciation of sentences
pronunciation of individual sounds
interactive communication
vocabulary

kmartnd by awarding marks out of five for each of these six areas.
The raw score out of 30 is adjusted to a final score out of a total of 4 0
marks.

Additional ideas and activities

Dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary in Paper 4
Sometimes the questions related to listening passages may contain vocabulary that candidates are
not familiar with. This can cause learners to get anxious about being able to answer the questions,
and so they tend to ask for explanations or translations of unfamiliar words. However, as they will
be unable to ask for clarification during the exam, they need to learn the skill of deducing meaning
from the context. Often the meaning of unfamiliar words will become clear during or after the first
listening. To help them develop this skill, do not always define unfamiliar vocabulary before
listening. Instead, put the unfamiliar word(s) on the board before the first listening.
Then ask them after the first listening if they now have a general idea of what the word relates to.
Frequently, a general understanding is sufficient in order to complete the task.

Unit 2, Listening B, Listening 1, page 16

In question 5 mink may be an unfamiliar word. After Listening 1, however, it should become clear that:
a it is an animal which is used to make fur coats
b it is a predator.
A more precise understanding of the word is not needed in order to complete the task.
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking ItadHflrUPBook

Recording vocabulary
Proficiency students can very usefully spend time recording and revising vocabulary at home.
This assists them with all aspects of exam preparation, not just paper 5. Many learners, however,
are not sure how best to go about this, so you can do this the first time together in class.
Example: recording vocabulary by topic
1 Put this blank chart on the board
health and medicine

illnesses/health problems treatments/medicines preventive measures

2 Ask learners to go through the unit, adding vocabulary they find in the correct section.
3 The completed chart could be:
health and medicine

illnesses/health problems treatments/medicines preventive measures

surgery surgery vitamins

diabetes tonics tonics
obesity vitamins diet supplements
heart disease diet supplements vaccinations
high blood pressure an injection antiseptics
degenerative diseases an operation
an allergy a transplant
infections/infectious diseases a life support system
cancer pain relief
rickets
scurvy
food poisoning
AIDS
depression

Example: recordina vocabularv bv tvpes of word/phrase

adjectives to describe adjectives to describe adjectives to describe

people's physical condition people's character emotions/attitudes

healthy, obese, chubby, humane, compassionate reassuring/reassured,

overweight, sedentary, enthusiastic, scornful,
terminally i l l astonished, furious,
guilty, depressed

Pronunciation
In total, pronunciation makes up one third of the marks in the Proficiency interview. Some common
pronunciation errors are highlighted in the unit-by-unit notes.
However, as pronunciation errors tend to be particular to individual students, it is not possible to
predict which areas will cause most difficulty. The following ideas may take up a little more time in
class, but will pay dividends in making learners more aware of their pronunciation of individual
sounds and of complete sentences.
Play selected sentences from listening passages in Proficiency Listening & Speaking and ask the
students to repeat them, reproducing the sounds and intonation patterns as closely as possible. You
could even record the students' pronunciation of the target sentence for them to compare and
correct against the original.
Record students talking in the classroom while carrying out any^of the tasks in the Speaking
sections of this book. Two to three minutes per student should be a sufficient sample. Play the
recording back to let them hear and analyse their typical intonation patterns and/or pronunciation
difficulties. Provide a correct pronunciation model for them to practise on their own. This could be
done two or three times in the school year.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
Man and the environment
Listening A
Before you listen
Answer key
1 b 2d 3a 4c
Listening 1, page 4
Answer key
a a past participle of a verb 4 5, a figure 2, an
adjective describing geographical location 3,
a service or organisation 6, a day or date 1,
a noun relating to people 7
b 1 Monday (or Monday morning) 2 200
3 central 4 died 5 injured 6 Weather Service
7 local residents
Background information
A tornado and a hurricane are both violent winds. A
tornado, however, is characterised by the circular movement
of its funnel-shaped centre.
Listening 1 - Tapescript
; You will hear part of a radio news bulletin about a natural
I disaster in Florida.
Announcer Severe storms ripped across Florida in the
J early hours of Monday morning, stirring u p
; deadly tornadoes that knocked out power and
; damaged or destroyed scores of buildings. It is
: estimated that some of the t o r n a d o e s h a d w i n d
; speeds close to 200 miles per hour, which
represents an intensity of f3 on the six-point Fujitsa
; Tornado Intensity Scale. The areas affected, all in
* central Florida, are Seminole County, Osceola
County, Orange County and Volusia County. Reports
; are still coming in of casualties, but current
estimates place the death toll at at least 36
: people alid another 21KJ are believed to have
; sustained injuries. Although the National
" Weather Service issued tornado-watch
; warnings o n Sunday evening, by the time these
* had been upgraded to full-scale tornado warnings
J many Florida residents had already gone to bed.
; Ironically, Monday was to have been the start of
Florida Hazardous Weather Awareness Week, an
* event which would have included a state-wide
; tornado drill. Instead, local residents a n d
' emergency-management officials find
; themselves facing an e n o r m o u s clean-up
operation. Now, we'll go over to our correspondent
l in Orlando, Florida for an on-the-spot report on the
tornado damage.
Listening 2, page 5
Answer key
1 Orange County, Osceola County, Volusia County
2 Orange County, Osceola County, Volusia County
3 Orange County
4 Orange County, Osceola County
5 Orange County
6 Orange County, Volusia County
7 -
8 Osceola County
9 -
Listening 2 - Tapescript
\ The news bulletin you heard in Listening 1 continues.
; Local correspondent Well, the scene here in central
Florida is one of total devastation. T h r o u g h o u t the
disaster-stricken area, trees have b e e n
u p r o o t e d and p o w e r lines d o w n e d . Here in
: Orange County, three people have died and about
; 100 mobile h o m e s a n d an a p a r t m e n t complex
have b e e n severely damaged or destroyed. In
t Winter Garden, a suburb of Orlando, the rrtnf of a
convenience store was ripped off and several
cars in t h e p a r k i n g lot t h r o w n skyward by the
; force of the wind. Luckily, however, the three
theme p a r k s in the county -Walt Disney World,
Universal Studios Florida and Sea World - have all
escaped damafie. The death toll has been heaviest
in neighbouring Osceola County - so far twenty-
: five deaths have been reported. Many of the victims
were residents of a campsite near Kissimmee which
" has n o w been reduced to n o t h i n g b u t rubble.
: Also near Kissimmee, a 27-store s h o p p i n g centre
has b e e n t o r n to pieces, leaving only the facade
J standing. A woman up in Volusia C o u n t y had a
: lucky escape - she heard the tornado approaching
and ran next door for safety. Unfortunately, her
' boyfriend refused to join her. She was gone for just
three minutes when the tornado struck, destroying
I their mobile h o m e and killing her boyfriend.
: Meanwhile in Seminole County ... (fade)
Before you listen
Answer key
1 e 2a 3b 4c 5d
Listening 3, page 5
Answer key
1 December 2 three to seven years
3 higher (or warmer or about ten degrees higher)
4 from east to west 5 Eastern
6 arid conditions or droughts
7 Guano 8 anchovies

Background information
El Nino: a climatic phenomenon, which occurs along the
tropical west coast of South America and affects weather
patterns worldwide.
Listening 3 - Tapescript
: You will hear a lecture about a climatic phenomenon called
El Nino.
'. Woman Good afternoon and welcome to the third
; lecture in our series on 'Man and Nature'. Our
speaker today is Stanley Green, a meteorologist and
: author of a new book called 'The El Nino
; Phenomenon'. Now, I remember from my Spanish
lessons at school that 'El Nino' means 'the Christ
; Child', but don't worry, you've not stumbled into a
: lecture on religion by mistake! (audience laughter )
" The El Nino Mr Green will be describing is a climatic
; phenomenon which occurs in the Pacific Ocean and
affects weather patterns worldwide. So, let me hand
', over to Mr Green to tell us what it's all about.
; (audience applause)
: Mr Green Thank you. Well, Mrs Murray was perfectly
correct in telling you that El Nino means the Christ
Child and that name originally referred to a warm
: southward current that appears on the
Pacific coast of Ecuador and Peru during the
'
; time
month of December, in other words around the
of Christ's birthday. Nowadays, however, the
term El Nino is used in a rather different sense, to
". describe a collection of oceanic .and
: atmospheric phenomena, which occur every
' three to seven years. These originate in the
: Southern Pacific but can cause climatic disturbances
all round the world. I think the easiest way to explain
". it to you is to show you the normal wind and ocean
I patterns in the Pacific region and to contrast them
with what happens during El Nino. Can I have the
: first slide, please? Thank you.
J So, this shows the normal pattern - here in the
: Western Pacific the water temperature is
warm, about ten degrees higher than over
J here on the coasts of Peru and Ecuador. The
: air pressure is low over the warm regions, so moist
air rises, causing clouds and the typical heavy rainfall
characteristic of South East Asia, New Guinea and
; northern Australia. In the eastern Pacific the water is
cold, the air pressure high and this creates the
: typically arid conditions you find in coastal South
; America. This arrow here shows the direction of the
trade winds, blowing from east to west and
; pushing the warmer surface water westwards. (Next
slide, please.) Now, here we see what happens during
", El Nino. The trade winds die down, or even change
; direction, and so the warmer water of the
western Pacific flows to the east, bringing
: thunderstorms and heavy rain to South
America. At the same time, the weather conditions
J in India and South East Asia change as a result
; of the influx of cold water and high air pressure,
causing unusually arid conditions or droughts.
; So how does this affect the inhabitants of these
regions? Well, apart from the inconvenience and
; discomfort of fluctuating weather patterns, El Nino
; can have drastic effects on the economy of a region.
I The coastal waters of Peru and Ecuador usually
'. support large populations of anchovies, which thrive
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
: in cool waters, and anchovy-fishing is one of the
: economic mainstays of the region. Another important
source of income is guano, which is used in the
I regional fertiliser industry. During El Nino,
; however, the anchovies either die or leave the area
' and birds, which feed on the anchovies, do the same.
; Thus, the region's two most important industries go
I into decline until the weather patterns are reversed
: again. And, frequently, the economic effects are felt
not just locally, but worldwide. To give you an
: example, in 1972/73 Peru's anchovy-fishing industry
; collapsed as the result of El Nino. Now anchovies
\ are a major constituent of fishmeal, which is
; used to feed chickens, so fishmeal prices rocketed.
; Naturally, farmers passed their rising costs on to
'. consumers, sending chicken prices soaring by forty
: percent.
; Now, some of you may be thinking that the unusual
; climatic patterns I've been describing are another
1 manifestation of global warming, which is so much
; in the news these days. But, in fact, many of my
fellow-scientists believe that these fluctuations have
been part of the Earth's weather patterns for
; thousands of years. I'd now like to tell you something
about the evidence ... (fade)
Speaking A
Photographs
Answer key
a 1b 2c 3a
Discussion points
Suggested answers
a 1 S 2 S 3 Both 4 L 5 S 6 S 7 S 8 Both 9 L
10 L
b local governments 3, 5, 9 , 1 0 national
governments 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 , 1 0 charities 1, 2,
5, 6, 7 international aid organisations 1, 2, 5, 6,
7, 8 insurance companies 4 the victims and
their families 8, 9
Passages
Answer key
f a3 bl c2
2 text 1 the most convincing theory/It is believed
that...
text 2 D o not run outside./Take shelter ...
/Count to forty.
text 3 have been drafted.../have had to flee ...
3 a3 b 2 cl
4 text 1 eruption/tidal wave/earth tremors
text 2 earthquake/tremors
text 3 heavy floods/burst their banks
* " *
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking TaacnarVtlMft
Background information
Minoan: adjective referring to the civilization that flourished
in Crete from about 3000 BC to about 1100 BC
Common errors
. thp pronunciation of flooded (Phntrv^ph h).
the pronunciation of psychological (Discussion point a 8)
the use of the with nature wher.e nature is used in the
sense of the natural environment.
Before you listen
Answer key
1 soil erosion 2 rise in earth's temperature
3 car exhaust fumes 4 breathing problems, e.g.
asthma 5 oil spills (or untreated sewage)
6 untreated sewage (or oil spills) 7 water pollution
8 increased risk of skin cancer
Background information
CFCs stands for chlorofluorocarbons. These are chemicals
which are used in refrigerators, cooling systems and aerosol
sprays and which contribute to the thinning of the ozone
layer $P.u.&?>". \ y i_ '. -'^ *U\^'u..' />
. '.'< XJ
Listening 1, page 8
Answer key
1 60 2 South-East Asia 3 the Caribbean
4 harbours 5 airports 6 sewage 7 over-fishing
8 fertilisers 9 oil spills 10 dynamite (or dynamiting
them) 11 cyanide (or poison or poisoning them
with cyanide)
Listening 1 - Tapescript
I You will hear a part of an interview with Paul Wrightsman,
; the director of 'Scubatours', a tour company which
specialises in diving holidays. He is discussing the contents
'. of a recent environmental report about coral reefs.
Interviewer Paul, you've read the report 'Reefs at Risk'.
". How do you think the information in it will affect
; your business?
'. Paul Well, the report states that nearly sixty per cent
of the world's coral reefs are at risk from
human activity, and that's a pretty horrifying
: statistic. And the areas which are the worst affected -
South-East Asia and the Caribbean - are the
: ones which are the most popular with our clients.
; But it's hard to say whether that fact will stampede
J people into rushing out and booking scuba-diving
: holidays before all the coral reefs die, or whether it
will encourage more ecologically-minded people not
". to go on diving holidays at all.
Interviewer The report is critical of the role played by
'. tourism in the destruction of coral reefs, isn't it?
Paul That's not entirely true. It does state that tourism
: can have a destructive influence - some reefs have
been destroyed during harbour and airport
I construction, andajot of damage is caused by
sewage discharge from holiday resorts. And for
most people on holiday by the sea, the idea of eating
I fresh fish is pqrt and parcel of the holiday, so over-
I fishing is a problem too.
; Interviewer Right.
Paul But the blame can't all be laid on tourism. The
: report also highlights the role played by agricultural
; products, such as fertilisers, which are washed out
> into the sea, and marine pollution from oil
"spills. And a major offender is the appalling
practice in some countries of dynamiting fish,
\ or poisoning them with cyanide. As a fisherman
: myself, I can't imagine why anyone in their right mind
would do that.
: Interviewer Absolutely.
Listening 2, page 9
Answer key
1 F 2T 3T 4 F 5F
Listening 2 - Tapescript
; The interview with Paul Wrightsman you heard in Listening
*. 1 continues.
; Paul Coming back to the point about tourism, the report
" also notes that in areas where the coral reefs have
been well-managed - Australia's Great Barrier Reef is
J' a prime example here - they can support both
I tourist activity and a healthy and varied
; marine population. Of course, Australia's a
wealthy country. You've got to remember that the
J areas where the reefs are most at risk contain
: relatively poor countries where an enormous
I proportion of their national revenue comes
; from tourism. They've developed tourist resorts
rapidly to cash in on the travel boom, usually without
I appropriate environmental checks or controls, and as
; a result they're destroying the very assets that
people go there to see. It's tragic, but
", understandable, in a way.
Interviewer So, what can be done?
; Paul Well, first of all, the governments of the countries
concerned need to introduce far stricter controls on
I fishing methods, and much heavier penalties for
; poisoning or dynamiting fish. Then I think that
| tour operators, especially the bigger ones, can
'. have some influence. We can educate our clients
; for a start: in fact at Scubatours we've always given
- the people who travel with us a lecture at the start of
; their holiday - we tell them there's to be absolutely
no chipping off bits of the coral to take home as
I souvenirs and no spear-gun hunting of rarer fish
; species.
I Interviewer Good idea.
Paul More importantly, tour operators could use the
: threat of boycotts to persuade hotels to install
; proper sewage treatment systems rather than
pumping raw sewage into the sea. If enough
; tour operators stopped using the hotels and resorts,
which are the worst offenders, they might clean up
their act. Of course, this might force everyone else's
; costs up in the short term, but if something isn't
done soon to protect the reefs, w e won't have
'. a business at all in ten or twenty years' time.

Listening 3, page 9
Answer key
a 1 B 2 D 3 C 4 B
Listening 3 - Tapescript
", You will hear a radio interview with Maggie Kerr, who
; launched the 'Down with Noise' campaign.
" Presenter What exactly is the 'Down with Noise'
; campaign about?
: Ms Kerr Well, firstly we try to raise public awareness of
: the effects that noise can have on your health. Our
second aim is to campaign for reduction of noise
'. levels in towns and cities.
I Presenter How does noise affect health?
r Ms Kerr Very severely. In fact, the World Health
Organisation has declared that noise is n o w
; 'the first envirorimentaTnuisance of
industrialised countries'. But while "many people
nowadays are very aware of other forms of pollution
: and the health risks they carry, like the increased
I
incidence of asWma among children who live in areas
with a lot of traffic, very few people realise that noise
I can be almost as damaging. I myself only realised
it when my doctor discovered I had very high
I Wood pressure.
"- Presenter Indeed.
Ms Kerr I'd never suffered from that before and, as
I far as I knew, was under no more stress than
; usual. Luckily, my doctor questioned me
about changes in my environment. I mentioned
". that construction work had started a few months
; before on a new supermarket opposite my house and
; since then I'd been living with the continuous noise of_
: bulldozers and other heavy machinery.
: Presenter Nasty! C'bttl ,t(oU.2-dS
Ms Kerr The doctor said that was_probably the
source of the problem and indeed, once the
: construction work was over, my blood pressure
gradually dropped to a more normal level.
: Presenter What other health problems are caused by
noise?
Ms Kerr Well, depression is a common problem,
especially when long-term exposure to noise
is combined with other stressful factors such
as job or relationship problems. And one study
done by researchers in Dusseldorf showed that there
was a higher incidence of premature and underweight
babies among mothers who lived near airports.
Presenter Airports?.
Ms Kerr Then, of course, frequent exposure to noise, say
eighty to ninety decibels for six hours a day, can
result in deafness in the long term.
Presenter What is an acceptable noise level?
Ms Kerr Well, that varies very much from person to
person. Some sensitive people start to suffer at levels
as low as thirty-five decibels. Others actually enjoy the
noise level at a rock concert, though of course that's
for a limited period only. The World Health
Organisation recommends maximum levels of fifty-five
decibels in residential areas. But, in practice, many city-
dwellers are subjected to much higher levels than that.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking TeachertsBoak
Presenter So what about your second aim - to get
action to reduce noise levels?
Ms Kerr Well, our main enemy is the car. We get
together with other environmental groups at
local level to put pressure on councils to
reduce car traffic in towns and to improve
" public transport services. We also organise
petitions and set up pressure groups when
any major construction projects are planned
for residential areas.
Presenter How can members of the general public help?
Ms Kerr If you're concerned about noise in your area, as
a first step you can contact your local Environmental
Health Officer. And if you'd like to join the 'Down
with Noise' campaign, we'll be very happy to have
your support.
Presenter A contact number for the campaign will be
broadcast at the end of this programme. Maggie,
thank you very much ... [fade]
Speaking B
Photographs
: Answer key
c They are all environmental problems which have
been caused by man.
Discussion points
Suggested answers
2
traffic
members of the public - use public transport instead
of driving, use bicycles, campaign for the reduction
of car traffic in towns
governments - ban car traffic in town centres, reduce
car traffic in town centres by means of the
alternating number plate system (Athens) or by
imposing tolls (Singapore), build more car parks on
the outskirts of towns, improve public transport,
increase road taxes and petrol prices
forest fires
members of the. public - be more careful about
disposing of cigarettes, be more careful about
extinguishing cainp fires
governments - impose harsher penalties for arson,
appoint more forest wardens
rubbish * - ^ * }
members of the public - recycle more rubbish,
campaign for recycling schemes and facilities,
dispose of used household goods in dc^gnated areas
only __ te&^ltMaidC.
governments -Oct:upjXnorc recycling schemes and
facilities, impose^harsher penalties lor dumping
rubbish TTTcgallv
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
Common errors
Students tend to use the adjective ijnpottgnt to describe
problems. ^ woman who lives in Greece and is married to a Greek
Encourage the use of other adjectivestojWecatewith
problem, such ar$erious^evere/>r (worr
Communicative activities
2 Discussion
Answer key
a covered in concrete: full of roads, hotels,
apartments, supermarkets, parking lots
cleaned up its act: cleaned up beaches, installed
litter bins, instituted fines against littering,
installed waste water and sewage treatment plants
Relationships
Listening A
Before you listen
Suggested answers
1 An extended family comprises children, parents,
grandparents, aunts, uncles etc. living under the
same roof or in close proximity.
A nuclear family comprises parents and
child(ren) only.
A single-parent family comprises a mother or
father only, plus children).
2 If you keep someone company, you spend time
with someone so that they don't feel lonely-
If someone is good company, they are fun to be
with.
If you keep company with a person or group of
people, you spend a lot of your free time with
them.
3 A childminder looks after other people's
children for a living.
A babysitter looks after someone else's children
on an informal, occasional basis.
A nursery school is a school for children who
arc not yet old enough for primary school.
Listening 1, page 12
Answer key
a 1 AO 2 AO 3 I 4 AO 5 I 6 AO 7 I 8 I
b 1 F 2T 3T 4T 5 F 6F 7F 8T
Listening 1 - Tapescript
: You will hear part of an interview with Kathy, a British
: man. She is talking about the differences between family
; life in Britain and Greece.
; Interviewer Kathy, what do you think are the main
; differences between family life in Greece and Britain?
'. Kathy Well, I don't really like to generalise,
: especially as life is changing fast in both countries.
In Britain the divorce rate is very high and there are a
: lot of single-parent families, so not many kids
nowadays grow up in the standard M u m , D a d
' and two kids family that I had. And in Greece
there's been a pattern for a long time n o w of
people moving to the large t o w n s for work,
so the old extended family system is breaking
down. But I think it would b e fair to say that
family links in Greece are still m o r e
important t h a n they are in Britain, a n d that
family m e m b e r s feel m o r e connected here.
Interviewer Can you give me some examples from your
own experience?
Kathy Certainly. As I said, I grew u p in a classic
British nuclear family. My b r o t h e r is five
years older t h a n m e and he left home at
seventeen, so for my teenage years it was m o r e
like being a n only child. I have three cousins on
my father's side, but they lived a long way away from
us so I rarely saw them. Every so often we'd get
together at Christmas with their family and our
grandparents, and that was a real novelty for me,
being in such a big lively group, all relatives. Then,
when Dimitris and I got married and moved here five
years ago, suddenly I was plunged into a completely
different world. We lived in the small flat
upstairs a n d my parents-in-law w e r e in this
one - we swapped last year after our son was
born, to give us more space. Dimitris' brother, his
wife, their two children and his mother-in-
law live in the large flat opposite, across the
hall. So that's ten family members, all within thirty
seconds' of each others' front door!
Listening 2, page 13
Answer key
1 D 2 C 3 C 4 A
Listening 2 - Tapescript
j The interview with Kathy you heard in Listening 1
: continues.
Interviewer So, Kathy, which system do you think is
better?
Kathy Oh, I couldn't say one was better than the other.
They both have their pros and cons. For me, coming
from my background, the main drawback here is the
lack of privacy. Not just in the physical sense of
people popping in and out all day - that's nice
sometimes because you never feel lonely, but it can
be annoying when you're trying to get on with
something and you keep being interrupted. For me,
what's far worse is the lack of mental and emotional
privacy - everyone in the family k n o w s all your
problems a n d difficulties, a n d of course

everyone has his or her opinion about what
I you should do. I've been used to making my
\ o w n decisions since I left home and started
: my first job at eighteen and I resent other
; people getting involved in my business unless
I specifically ask for help and advice. But the
other side of the coin is that if you need practical
; help, it's always available.
: Interviewer Such as ... ?
I Kathy Well, I work part-time as a hotel receptionist and
', my schedule changes every week, which would
make finding a childminder virtually
" impossible if I lived in Britain. But here, if
Dimitris is at work too, I just take our son
upstairs to his grandmother or across the hall
to his aunt, and they're happy to babysit until
o n e of us gets home. I really appreciate that. I
think the system works well for old people, too.
: Dimitris' brother's mother-in-law moved in with them
I several years ago when her husband died. She's quite
old, well over eighty, and she suffers a lot of pain
: from arthritis, but she still cooks lunch for them all
every day. I was a bit shocked at that when I first
' came here. I thought, you know, that they were
: exploiting her, but now I think that's actually
what keeps her going. She feels she's doing
"something usetul for the~farn~flv. that she's
really needed and that gives her the will to
; _ live. Sometimes I think about my own grandmother,
: who spent the last five years of her life in a nursing
; home. All she ever wanted to do was go back home
; again, but that wasn't possible as she was too ill to
; cope alone. Mum and Dad were at work all day and
: I was at school, so we couldn't have her at our
] house. At the time I thought the situation was
I perfectly normal, but now, when I see the way things
I are here, I feel really sad to remember that.
Listening 3, page 13
Answer key
1 Penny 2 Neither 3 Alec 4 Alec 5 Penny 6 Both
7 Penny 8 Neither 9 Alec
Listening 3 - Tapescript
". You will hear a radio programme in which a couple discuss
; their unusual relationship.
'. Presenter And now for our weekly spot on relationships.
; In the studio today we have Alec and Penny Stewart.
Penny is a marketing manager with a
; computer company and Alec, a former bank
; clerk, is what w e might call a 'househusband'.
* I'll be asking them about their relationship then, as
t usual, there'll be time for you to phone in with your
questions for the couple at the end of the
* programme. Let's start with you, Alec. I hope you
; didn't mind me referring to you as a 'househusband'.
'. Alec Not at all. It's the best word I know to describe my
; role in our family. I cook, I clean, I do the shopping,
collect our daughter from nursery school and so on -
" all the things a traditional housewife does, so why
not call me a househusband?
; Presenter Fine. So how did it come about that Penny
* became the breadwinner and you took on the
> household duties ? '
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
Alec Well, it's not something that we planned,
; you know. We didn't sit d o w n one day and
say, 'Let's try a spot of role reversal!'. Right
from the start of our marriage eight years ago, it was
clear that Penny was the ambitious one - she was
the one w h o did overtime if there was work
', still to be done, while Tw^s strirtly p niqe to
I five guy. And she took special marketing classes and
exams in her spare time in order to work her way up
: the company ladder, while I wanted to keep my
I spare time for my friends, and our daughter
' once she was born. Then I was made redundant
; three years ago. I spent six months slogging around
lookingJQr_a new job and getting more and more
I "oppressed until one day Penny pointed out that
; we didn't actually need two salaries, so why
didn't I take over running the home. The very
: next day we paid off the cleaning lady and gave
notice to the childmindex_and I've never looked back
since.
Presenter So, you enjoy what you're doing?
; Alec Enormously, yes! OK, vacuum-cleaning's not a lot
of fun, but I get great pleasure out of planning and
', cooking our meals - I've always been a bit of an
; amateur chef - and going shopping in a leisurely
fashion instead of racing round a supermarket in the
' after-work rush. But the best thing is the chance to
; spend more time with my daughter - she's just
I turned four, and she's very good company, so we
i have lots of fun together.
Presenter Penny, how about you? H o w has having
: Alec at home affected your life?
Penny Very positively. As Alec said, we used to pay
; for a cleaning lady and a childminder and they did
their jobs well enough, but it wasn't the same.
Nowadays, if I have to stay late at work or go
away on a business trip, I do so in the
complete confidence that our daughter and
our house are in safe hands.
5 Presenter What about the thorny issue of money? Does
; that present any problems?
Penny Well, I pay the mortgage and the bills, like
: the phone and electricity, then I leave a float
: of cash for Alec for the shopping, petrol and
so on. I make sure he's always got plenty to
: hand, so he doesn't have to come and ask me,
which might be embarrassing for him.
; Presenter And you, Alec? Did you find it difficult to get
I used to the idea of Penny as the breadwinner?
; Alec Not really. You see, she's always earned
more than me, so I got over any male pride
'. about money and earning power a long time
; ago. But it does rile me a bit when friends
make jokes about me being ^pkept manpAfter
; all, it's not as if I sat around doing nothing all day, or
um...
: Penny ... or painting his toenails and waiting for me to
come home! Yes, it's true that other men seem to feel
threatened by how we live, while most women think
; it's great. In fact, my female colleagues are jealous of
me - they're run off their feet trying to manage a
I career, a home and a family.
Presenter One more question from me, then we're going
C to open up the phone lines. Penny, what do you
think... (fade)
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teaca*Er8)ftaJif
Speaking A
Passages
Answer key
a colourful descriptions etc/literary/uxtract from n
novel or short story
personal opinions are avoided etc/neutral,
impersonal/extract from a newspaper article or
scientific report
personal opinions are expressed etc/informal,
personal/extract from an interview or discussion
b literary (text 3) - the sunset glow of the fire/like
a halo/gurgles of joy/had lit up her life/it bunted
like the flame of a candle
neutral, impersonal (text 2) - the most striking
fact emerging from the survey/this dichotomy
surfaces/the number one attribute chosen by
males
informal, personal (text 1) - personal pronouns
I and we used/Looking back/scrub the dirt
off/There was no discrimination in my family
c text 1 - source: extract from an interview (could
be spoken or written)
style: informal, personal
text 2 - source: extract from a newspaper article
style: neutral, impersonal
text 3 source: extract from a novel or short
story
style: literary
Background information
The 1960s 'melting pot' ideology refers to the fact that
social workers in Britain in the 1960s encouraged mixed-race
and inter-racial adoptions. Nowadays the trend has changed
and social workers consider it undesirable for parents to
adopt children from different ethnic backgrounds.
Exam tip
Ask the learners which of the texts might originally have
been a spoken passage.
Listening B
Before you listen
Answer key
1 A conservation area is an area of land thai has
been set aside for the protection and preservation
of wildlife.
An animal's natural habitat is the environment
in which it normally lives.
2 A poacher is a person who hunts illegally on
other people's property or hunts animals which
are protected by laws against hunting.
A hunter is a person who hunts animals for food
or sport.
A predator is an animal which hunts other
animals for food.
Arnteto
An animal living in the wild is living in its
natural habitat.
An animal living in captivity is a wild animal
kept in a zoo or circus or as a pet.
An embryo is an unborn mammal in the early
stages of its development.
A nucleus is the central part of a cell.
An egg cell is a cell which, when fertilised, will
grow into an embryo.
Listening 1, page 16
Answer key
I F 2T 3 T 4 F ST 6 F 7 T 8T
Background information
A mink is a small animal whose fur is used to make coats.
Theplural form can be minhr mink^
Listening 1 - Tapescript
: You will hear a conversation between two flatmates. They
I are discussing an article in the morning newspaper.
: Derek Hey, Mike. Have you seen this article about the
; mink that have been freed?
; Mike No, I haven't looked at the paper yet. What are you
talking about?
; Derek Well, do you remember that there's a mink farm
; near my parents' house ?
; Mike Oh, yes, I remember all right. When we went to
visit your parents you wanted to d r a g m e off to
: join some dreary protest that w a s going o n at
; the farm.
I Derek Well, apparently the Animal Liberation Front have
; made a raid on it. It says here that animal rights
activists released up to 6,000 mink in a night-time
: raid on the farm.
", Mike Good Lord! What a stupid thing to do!
Derek What are you talking about? I ' m all for w h a t
they've done. Fur-farming is an utterly disgusting
: practice and the owner of that place has already been
I had up on charges of cruelty to the animals. As for
:
;
the people w h o actually w a n t t o strut a r o u n d
with dead animals o n their b a c k s , well...
: Mike Yes, yes. I k n o w your views, Derek; I've heard
them a h u n d r e d times before. But since you're
I such an animal lover, have you thought about this? ,
;
They'll attack anything small that moves - birds,
0
Mink are predators, and very vicious ones at that. V V o>Sv
". squirrels, pet dogs and cats, even young children.
; And the area where the farm is located is, or
\ p e r h a p s n o w I should say, was, o n e of the
: most important wildlife conservation areas in
; England - b u t your precious m i n k will create
\ havoc with the wildlife there.
Derek Umm... I hadn't thought of that. But you've
- got to agree that it's n o t right t o keep
; animals p e n n e d u p in cages just t o make fur
coats for rich w o m e n .
; Mike Yes, of course I agree w i t h y o u there, Derek.
It's the activists' methods I object to. You say the
: owner is already facing trial on charges of cruelty -

very well then, he should go on trial. But it's not
for other people to take the law into their own
hands, like this MLF, or whatever you call them.
Derek It's ALF - Animal Liberation Front.
Mike Right. And this latest episode shows just how hare-
brained they are - they call themselves animal
lovers, but most of those newly-liberated mink will
get shot by farmers protecting their own animals,
and those that aren't shot will kill off a few hundred
other innocent animals into the bargain. It's
madness!
Derek Well, when you put it that way, I suppose you've
got a point... Oh, look, it's nearly nine already. I'd
better go or I'll be late for football practice. Will you
be coming down the pub?...
Listening 2, page 16
Answer key
1 F 2T 3T 4F 5F 6T
Listening 2 - Tapescript
: You will hear a radio news bulletin about dogs.
Presenter And now over to Marie Leblanc in Paris for a
'. story on the latest supermodels.
Marie Leblanc Thank you. Well the big news here is
", that top models nowadays have four legs! No, Eva
; Herzigova has not had transplants; I'm talking about
dogs. The big stars of advertising campaigns and
; fashion shoots are dogs in all shapes and sizes -
tall, leggy greyhounds to accompany tall,
' leggy ladies in miniskirts, and cute little
; miniature dogs, like poodles or pekinese to
complement photos of ladies in long evening
; gowns. As the ultimate fashion accessory, dogs can
; be chosen to harmonise with the colours of the
clothes in a fashion shoot and be dressed up or
: down to match the styles on show. You think I'm
joking? Not at all. Hair and beauty parlours for
', dogs are big business in Paris these days, as
: are dog modelling agencies. The director of one
such agency here in Paris says that demand for
; canine models has rocketed in the last few
; years, boosted by the box-office success of
j Disney's '101 Dalmatians'. But don't imagine
: that you might be able to earn a little money on the
side by popping over to Paris with your pet. The
l dogs on his books are all professionals and
: veterans of dog shows, who are used to working
with photographers and flashlights. Could this only
1 happen in France? Perhaps. Although it is the
; British who have an international reputation
- for being ardent animal lovers, it is in fact
; the French w h o are dog-mad. The French have
more dogs per household than any other country in
" Europe and the fact that you live in a tiny flat in the
: centre of a city is not considered a bar to dog-
owning. Only time will tell if the latest fashion for
: canine chic will catch on across the Channel.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Boofc
Listening 3, page 17
Answer key
1 1000 2 their mothers sit on them (or their
mothers squash them or they are squashed)
3 their natural habitat 4 poaching 5 an egg cell
6 an adult tell 7 a host mother 8 a different
species 9 276 attempts 10 restoring the panda's
natural habitat
Background information
Dolly the Sheep: the first mammal to be successfully cloned
_frpjTi_an adult cell in 1997 by Ian Wilmut and his colleagues
of the. Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh.
Listening 3 - Tapescript
: You will hear a radio programme about the giant panda.
Presenter Today's wildlife programme is about one of
: the world's best-loved but least successful species -
the giant panda. It is estimated that there are now
only about one thousand pandas left in the
; wild, most of those in the Chinese provinces of
Sichuan and Gansu. In the studio today we have
: Pauline O'Grady, a zoologist and expert on the giant
; panda. Pauline, how is it that the panda has become
a threatened species?
; Pauline O'Grady There are two factors here - as usual
J with threatened species, environmental factors play
an enormous role; then the panda itself is somewhat
; ill-equipped for survival.
: Presenter Really? What exactly do you mean?
.* Pauline O'Grady Well, basically, pandas are far more
: interested in eating than in mating. Only about ten
; percent of females are fertile and then only once a
year for a period of seventy-two hours. If, despite the
odds against it, a panda does successfully conceive
*. and bear a cub, the problems are far from over. A
I new-born panda cub is tiny - they weigh only about
; 100 grams - while an adult panda weighs about 100
'* kilos and is a rather clumsy animal, so it's not
; uncommon for a mother to sit on her cub
and squash it to death by accident. And if a
: panda gives birth to twins, she will usually abandon
: one of them.
: Presenter Oh dear! So nature has certainly not made
things easy for them!
", Pauline O'Grady Absolutely not.
Presenter What about the environmental factors that
: you mentioned before?
" Pauline O'Grady The most crucial is the
destruction of the animal's natural habitat -
- since 1949^melhlrd of the forests in Sichuan have
" been cut down, d^sjio^hig^thjejbamboo that the
: pandas live off. Poaching is also a problem, as
panda skins are very highly prized.
; Presenter What is being done, then, to protect pandas
I and increase their numbers?
Pauline O'Grady Well, naturally the Chinese have been
at the forefront of most of the initiatives, as they're
; very well aware of international interest in pandas.
They began breeding programs in zoos a long time
ago but unfortunately they have not been very
; successful - only 24- pandas have given birth in
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
captivity since 1953. The latest research project is to
attempt the trans-species cloning of pandas.
Presenter Like the cloning of Dolly the Sheep?
Pauline O'Grady No, a far more complicated process.
To put it in very simple terms, cloning involves three
main steps - first the nucleus is removed from
a n egg cell; then it is replaced w i t h t h e
nucleus from a n adult cell, and thirdly the
resulting embryo is implanted in a host
mother. In the case of Dolly, all three of these stages
involved sheep or cells and nuclei from sheep. But
because pandas are so rare and it's difficult to take
eggs from living females, the Chinese plan t o use
the egg of a different species of m a m m a l ,
perhaps another species of bear; the nucleus from an
adult panda cell, a n d a host mother of the
species that provided the egg cell.
Presenter It sounds like science fiction! Do you think
this is really possible?
: Pauline O'Grady The idea works in theory, but whether
it will work in practice remains to be seen. It took
276 attempts before Dolly was successfully
cloned...
Presenter Really?
; Pauline O'Grady .. .so the success rate is very low. And,
' as I explained before, cloning a panda would be even
more complex. If it does succeed, it will of course
bring tremendous scientific prestige to China and I
; suspect that's why they favour high-tech solutions to
; the panda problem.
: Presenter Are you yourself not in favour of high-tech
; solutions?
; Pauline O'Grady Not entirely. You see, a research
project like this is enormously expensive a n d
I will divert financial resources which m a n y
; people believe w o u l d b e better spent o n
restoring the p a n d a ' s natural habitat.
Speaking B a p.jw-flstti $ , T *
Photographs
Suggested answers
c photograph 1: man as hunter and animal as prey
photograph 2: animal as helper and guinea pig
photograph 3: animal as helper and beast of
burden
Common errors
The pronunciation of laboratory: the stress is on the second
syllable.
Discussion points
Suggested answers
tribal cultures: mainly a source of food, sport and
clothing (hunting); may be a source of income (eg
poaching skins, tusks etc for sale)
agricultural societies: mainly a source of food and
income (raising farm animals); may also be beasts of
burden or a means of transport (donkeys, oxen);
possibly a source of sport and entertainment
(hunting, riding, exhibiting at or attending
agricultural fairs)
urban, technologically advanced societies:
mainly a source of company and comfort (domestic
pets); may be a source of sport and entertainment
(horse-racing, zoos, circuses); often used as guinea
pigs (pharmaceuticals and cosmetics testing); are a
Communicative activities
2 Selecting
Background information
Factory farming is a term describing the process of farming
by keeping animals in confined spaces indoors and feeding
them special food so that they grow faster or produce higher
than normal quantities of milk or eggs.
Young people in society
Listening A
Before you listen
Answer key
Attributes of educated people
nouns - creativity, intellect, knowledge, literacy
adjectives - articulate, coherent
Qualifications: A-levels, degree, GCSEs
Staff and students
at school - form teacher, pupils
at university - lecturer, professor, undergraduates
Background information
GCSEs is an abbreviation for General Certificate of
Secondary Education, exams which are taken in Britain by
fifteen and sixteen year-old pupils.
A-levels are exams which are taken in England by
seventeen and eighteen year-old pupils. Passes in these
exams usually form part of the entrance requirements for
university.
In British secondary schools, a form teacher is responsible
for a pupil's general academic progress, as opposed to a
subject teacher, who is responsible for the pupil's
performance in one subject area only.
Passes in GCSEs and A-levels, like the UCLES Proficiency
exam, are awarded grades (A, B, C) rather than numerical
points.
Listening 1, page 20
Note
In this section of the unit there are two listening passages,

and the first one is exploited three times. This is because this
is the first listening passage in the book to deal with rather
abstract and complex issues and so the learners are led more
gradually towards the final exam-style task.
Answer key
a 1 Anne. Quentin 2 Quentin, Phil 3 Anne
4 Anne 5 Quentin, Phil 6 Phil
b 7 the aims of education 8 exams and
qualifications 9 literacy
c 10 B 11 A 12 D 13 C 14 D
Listening 1 - Tapescript
J You will hear a radio debate on education.
Presenter Good evening and welcome to our weekly
I debate. Our topic this evening is 'Education Today'
; and we have three guests with us - Anne Tanner, a
I former secondary school teacher w h o returned to
; university as an undergraduate last year; Phil
J North, a disillusioned university lecturer; and
I Quentin Lewis, a psychologist specialising in children
: with learning difficulties. Anne, you've seen education
from both sides of the fence, as it were, so let's start
: with you. What do you see as the main problems in
: education in Britain today?
; Anne Well, as everyone knows, there's been a lot of
discussion in recent years about the
curriculum, discipline in schools and so on.
: But, in my view, that's putting the cart before the
I horse and concentrating on details instead of dealing
with the key, underlying problem, which is
: that we no longer have an ideal model of
; what an educated person should be and
therefore of what our education system
should be aiming to achieve.
I Presenter Mmm... perhaps you could elaborate on that
idea a little.
: Anne Well, up until about the end of the 1960s everyone
; was fairly clear about what it meant to be well-
' educated: not only did an educated person
I k n o w his or her subject thoroughly and have
an understanding of method and a desire to
", seek knowledge for its o w n sake, but he or
: she was also articulate, tolerant and well-
" mannered. Now this concept was swept away as
: being elitist after the student revolution of 1968.
I Presenter Right.
; Anne But nothing has really appeared to fill the gap; the
J current emphasis in Britain on education being a
means of developing skills is too narrow and
commercially-based - it implies that a qualified
plumber is as well educated as a university professor.
: In fact, nowadays people bend over backwards to
avoid being seen as 'too' educated.
: Presenter Right, now, Quentin, what do you feel about
I the current emphasis on skills development?
I Quentin Well, like Anne, I feel that the aim of
I education in Britain is too narrow nowadays.
: I also think that there's far too much focus on
r passing exams and gaining qualifications. In
: fact, exams do nothing but test a candidate's ability
; to please the examiner - intellect and knowledge
have nothing to do with the process. What we
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
should be doing in our schools and
universities is to encourage inventiveness,
creativity and original thinking - these are the
traits that will be needed to cope with life in the
twenty-first century. At the moment all we're
doing is churning out obedient conformists
who've succeeded in getting bits of paper.
Presenter Phil, you look as if you wanted to comment
on something Quentin just said.
Phil Yes, indeed. I agree that creativity and
originality are important, but not at the expense r /
of basic skills, such as literacy. I am aghast at the
low standard of literacy displayed by many
students at the university where I lecture.
About a third of my students have to attend remedial
classes because they can't spell properly or construct
a grammatically correct sentence. Frequently their
writing skills are so bad that they are incapable of
producing an essay - instead they present a list of
bulleted points and hope to get away with it. And,
no matter how creative and original the ideas
might be, if a student is unable to put those . f,
ideas across coherently, in speech or in i k0[k)/>/3rfi)hr/()
writing, then he or she" does not deserve to be
described as a well-educated person.
', Anne Hear, hear!
* Phil Nor do I agree with Quentin's contention that we
focus too much on qualifications nowadays. In fact,
university entrance requirements are much
" more lenient than they used to be - some
university courses are prepared to accept
* students without any A-levels at all; that would
have been unthinkable twenty years ago.
Presenter Well, perhaps we could go back to the point
: that Anne made earlier about... (fade)
Listening 2, page 21
Answer key
IT 2 F 3 T 4 F 5 T
6T7T8T9F10T
Listening 2 - Tapescript
: You will hear a conversation between two women, Elaine
\ and Jane. They are discussing the school that Jane's
: daughter, Patricia, goes to.
; Elaine How's Patricia getting on at her new school,
: Jane? Are you pleased with the choice you made?
Jane I'm absolutely delighted. They use something
they call a 'personal review scheme' there -
it's like the appraisal schemes they use in
j management nowadays. Do you know the type
; of thing I mean?
: Elaine Well, being self-employed, I haven't experienced a
scheme like that, but my husband has an appraisal at
work every year - he sets targets with his boss, they
discuss achievements over the last year, that sort of
thing.
Jane Yes, that's exactly the kind of thing they do at
Patricia's school too, but in their case it's twice a
year. Each pupil gets a report and then has an
individual consultation with her form teacher
in which they talk about her strengths and
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Tsacher'a Book
her weaknesses in each subject, h o w she
feels a b o u t the report, a n d w h a t factors
cause her to d o well or not. And then she's
asked to set five realistic targets for herself
to achieve by the end of term or the end of the
year - things like improvements in school work,
behaviour, attitude and so on.
Elaine Right.
Jane And what really surprised me is that even for the
ones as young as Patricia - she's just turned
thirteen - they discuss potential career
choices during the reviews.
Elaine That sounds really sensible. I remember w h e n I
was at school careers were never mentioned.
It was a school with high educational standards, so
there was a sort of assumption that most of us
would go on to university, but there was never any
guidance as to what you might do after that.
Jane Well, you were luckier than me, Elaine! At my
school - it was a mixed one - they assumed that
most of the girls would get married after school, so
w a w e r e n ' t encouraged to study very much,
far less to think in career terms. Incredible,
really - I'm talking twenty-thirty years ago,
not the nineteenth century! So, anyway, I'm
really delighted that Patricia's getting so much
support.
Elaine And what does she think about it?
Jane Oh, she's really enthusiastic. She says the scheme
encourages a team spirit which didn't exist at
the school she was at before w e moved here.
The pupils revise together and encourage
each other a n d really w a n t to d o well. And it
seems to work - the school's GCSE results
last year were the best in Britain for a state
school - over eighty percent passed with As!
Elaine Very impressive!
Jane They've got some other interesting ideas at the
school too. They teach them time management
techniques to help them study more efficiently and
they have sessions on relaxation, yoga a n d
aromatherapy so that the pupils don't suffer
from stress!
Elaine Wow! It makes me wish I could go back to
school and start all over again! I don't think they'd
even invented the concept of stress in my day,
certainly not for schoolchildren! I think perhaps
sports lessons were intended to help us relax as well
as keep fit, but I was completely useless at sports.
They had the opposite effect on me. I used to wake
up with a horrid feeling of dread on days when we
had those lessons, knowing I'd make a complete fool
of myself trying to chase a ball round a hockey pitch.
Jane Oh, I quite liked hockey myself. What I didn't like
was doing cross-country running in winter - we had
to wear these tiny little skirts and our legs were
usually blue with cold. A nice spot of yoga indoors
would have suited me much better!
ScsakingA
Photographs
Suggested answers
a They all depict classrooms/methods of teaching
and learning/aspects of education.
b Photographs 1 and 2 both show tfl^U^ttb.
^ ^ H f l t . but in the first photograph the
teacher iaoHiMivAMBBMiHmi MtaMMNBlJM!>*
ES, while in the second picture-
some pupils appear to be paying attention to the
icachcr whereas others are either doing group
work or may merely be chatting together.
In photograph 3, no teacher is in evidence and
the pupils seem to be performing some kind of
experiment.
In contrast to photograph 1. where they appear
rather passive, and photograph 2, in which not
all the pupils" attention has been captured, in the
third picture the pupils look enthusiastic and
absorbed in what they're doing.
Common errors
The use of the verbs give or write with the noun exams.
The correct verbs are sit or take.
7
Listening B
Before you listen
Answer key
1 c 2d 3e 4f Sa 6 b
Listening 1, page 24
Answer key
1 2X 3 ^ 4 V 5^
6X 7 ^ 8X 9 i /
Listening 1 - Tapescript
*, You will hear an interview between a researcher doing a
: public opinion survey and three passers-by. The researcher
\ is interested in their opinions about giving the vote to
: sixteen and seventeen-year-olds in local elections.
Interviewer Excuse me. I'm conducting a public opinion
survey and I wondered if you'd mind answering a few
questions.
B o y l OK. That sounds fun.
: Girl Yes.
Interviewer Fine. Can I just check your ages first?
; Boy 1 I'm seventeen.
I Interviewer Yes, and you?
\ Girl Sixteen.
Boy 2 I'm sixteen too.

Interviewer Perfect. So, I don't know if you've heard,
but one state in Germany has granted sixteen and
seventeen-year-olds the right to vote in local elections.
Boy 1 Oh no, I hadn't heard that. It's brilliant!
Interviewer So, what we'd like to know is if you think
that's a good idea, and if it should be introduced
here too.
Boy 1 I think it's great. I mean, there are loads of
decisions that are taken at municipal level
that affect young people - things like banning or
allowing open-air concerts in parks, creating
pedestrian areas in town centres and so on, so it's
absolutely right that we should have a say in who
gets on to the town council to make those decisions.
Interviewer OK. And you?
Girl I don't know really. My Mum and Dad argue
about politics all the time but the topic leaves
m e pretty cold - it's all about taxes and boring
things like that. There's time enough to think
about those sorts of things when you're
older.
Boy 2 I don't agree at all. You're never too young to
take an interest in politics. After all, it's our
future that's at stake, isn't it?
Interviewer Right. So my next question is: Would you
exercise your vote if you had a chance to do so now
in local elections?
Boy 2 Definitely.
Girl I might do. But I wouldn't really know which was
the best candidate to vote for.
Boy 1 Oh, come off it! Don't you watch television or
listen to the radio? There's no excuse nowadays
for ignorance - there are hundreds of youth
programmes that discuss important political
issues, at national and local level. Or maybe
you just follow the pop music and fashion
programmes.
; Girl How dare you! Anyway, it's one thing to get your
opinions pre-packaged from a radio or TV
programme, and quite another to develop them
based on your own experience. I don't feel I've
been out on my o w n in the world enough yet
; to have strong opinions about lots of issues,
and I'm sure plenty of my friends would feel
the same.
Interviewer Ehm, coming back to my question of would
: you vote... what about you?
J Boy 1 Yes, definitely. And the sooner the better.
; Interviewer OK. Thank you all for your participation.
Listening 2, page 24
Answer key
1 15 to 16 year-olds 2 nearly 72 3 just over 60
4 4 2 S slightly less than 6 6 20 7 1991 8 1996
Listening 2 - Tapescript
: You will hear part of a lecture about substance abuse
among high school students in America.
; Speaker Although it is drug abuse that generally causes
most concern to parents, alcohol and cigarettes are in
fact far more frequently used by American high
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's fRaofe
I school students. For example, the latest statistics
: show that nearly 72 percent of tenth-graders
; (that's 15 and 16-year-olds) have tried alcohol
j at least once in their lives and just over 60
; percent have smoked tobacco, compared to only
; 42 percent who've tried marijuana and slightly
I less than 6 percent who've ever taken Ecstasy.
; Accordingly, the programme we've
implemented in our schools over the las^twp -
%JD
; decades covers not only illicit drugs, but also the
; use of alcohol and tobacco. During that period,
: we've identified which strategies work and which are
; largely ineffective. Nowadays we've developed a six-
^ point curriculum which seems to be getting positive
: results, at least as far as drug abuse is concerned - in
; 1997 the use of illicit drugs leveled off; this
was the first year that didn't show a rise since
I 1991.
Listening 3, page 25
Answer key
I T 2T 3T 4 I- 5 I- 6T 7T 8F 9T
Listening 3 - Tapescript
: The lecture you heard in Listening 2 continues. During
; this extract the speaker uses the term ATOD to refer
collectively to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
; Speaker So, the six-point programme covers these areas.
I First, normative education - in other words, by
; means of student surveys and opinion polls we help
students realise that substance abuse is not the norm
", among teenagers. Students generally over-
: estimate the numbers of their peers w h o are
using alcohol, tobacco or other drugs - ATOD
I for short - and so it's easy for them to be pressured
into doing so themselves by thejnyth that everyone /
does it. Next w^belrvl em developyocial and
communication skills - this is especially important for'
yW h
younger teenagers. Around the time of puberty,
they face big changes in their social
interactions, both with peers and with adults,
and this can lead to communication
problems. Another very important area is learning
to recognise social influences - for example the
ways that advertising, role models and peer
group attitudes can promote ATOD use. Next,
what we call perceived risk of harm. In other words,
if young people believe that by using a
certain drug or substance they risk harming
themselves, the chances of them taking it
decrease. And so this part of the programme
focuses on explaining the short-term and long-term
consequences of ATOD use; it is important here
that the information comes from a credible
source and does not use over-dramatic scare
tactics, a strategy which was used in earlier
ATOD programmes but proved to be
ineffective. The fifth area is that of protective
factors; in other words, supporting young people by
helping them to realise their potential in life, to set
goals, and to make friendships with positive peers -
anything that builds up self-esteem and a~
positive view of life. Finally, we teach them refusal
skills - the art of saying 'no' when offered
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
drugs or alcohol without losing friends. Over
the years we have also found out by trial and error
which teaching methods work best. Talks a n d
lectures to large groups of students were n o t
very successful, so nowadays we use interactive
techniques, such as role-plays, simulations, class
discussions, brainstorming and so on. Video and
multimedia are useful tools for stimulating
discussions, and literature, movies, pop songs or
current events that portray substance abuse can be
used to help students understand social pressures and
the personal consequences of ATOD use.
Speaking B
Passages
Suggested answers
1 Both passages deal with the role of laws/the
law/legislation in the life of minors/young
people.
2 The first passage discusses the way that laws
may protect young people from doing stupid
or dangerous things.
1 n contrast, the second looks at the topic from the
point of view of the ways in which laws
restrict young people's freedom.
3 I would say (he first is fairly informal, lor
example, it uses personal pronouns and direct
speech.
The second seems to be more formal. A number
tSTpassive veTRTorms are used, such as can be
set/is "used to and the vocabulary is _quiie_
complex. For example, the word "counties^ is
used instead of a lot of.
4 I would imagine the first passage was spoken or
written by a child psychologist/a social
worker and is aimed at parents, as it mem ions
'your teenage child'.
However, the second one may have been written
by a tccnager/minor and is intended to be read
by members of the government/government
bodies, as can be seen from the lasi line where ii
says 'we ask that states ... work to smooth
the transition to legal adulthood.'
Background information
Passage 1 comes from a handbook of advice for parents,
which is written by a psychologist.
Passage 2 comes from a declaration made by a pressure
group known as 'Americans for a Society Free From Age
Restrictions'.
Work and play
Listening A
Before you listen
Answer key
1b 2c 3 e 4 d 5a
Listening 1, page 28
Answer key
1 A 2 B 3 D 4 C 5 B
Listening 1 - Tapescript
: You will hear a radio programme on new working patterns.
Presenter In this evening's programme about new
I working patterns we'll be discussing job-sharing and
talking to people who've given up their old nine-to-
" five existence. In fact, job-sharing is an option that
; hasn't proved very popular in Britain so far - at
; present less than four percent of part-time jobs are
I done on a job-sharing basis. I'll be speaking to Gaye
; Fyfe and John Summers who share a job at a small
[ London-based advertising agency. Gaye, why do you
: think so few employees have opted for job-shares so
: far?
Gaye I think p e r h a p s because part-time w o r k
still has a bit of a stigma attached to it. And of
course, traditionally, part-time jobs do pay less and
have less security. But that's where the beauty of job-
sharing lies - you can cut your working hours
without any drop in status and though your salary is
of course lower because you work fewer hours, pro-
rata you don't earn any less.
: Presenter John, do you think another reason for the low
incidence of job-sharing is a general reluctance on the
". part of employers to explore alternative working
; patterns?
: John Without a doubt, yes. When I approached my
: previous employer with the suggestion, I came up
against a brick wall. The workplace culture there
: Uemanded that you stayed till all hours in the office
and his attitude was that job-sharing was for
J slackers. The reason I wanted to work fewer hours
; was that I was studying in my spare time and at my
own expense for a business degree which would
: ultimately benefit his company, but that argumenUMt.
; no ice at all.
; Presenter SojTow^idjt^cxaiie^abxiuLthatLyou and Gaye
; teamed up?
: John Gaye and I had been friends at school and we'd
kept in touch off and on since then. We were chatting
I on the phone one day and I told her I was feeling fed
up. She... well, I'll let her tell her side of the story.
I Gaye OK. Well, as it happens, at the same time I was
; also feeling frustrated, but for different reasons. I used

I to finish work pretty late too and my husband and
; children were getting more and more upset about it,
so I thought something had to change. John and I
.putijur headjsjogether and decided we could share
; my job between us. Luckily I had a boss who was
much more flexible than John's and, after some
I initial reservations, he was keen on the idea
; of two happy employees rather than one
irascible over-worked one.
Presenter How do you divide your working hours
between you?
| Gaye I do mornings, we overlap for about half an hour
for liaison, then John takes over from me after lunch.
I The liaison period is not paid for, but we both accept
that's a small price to pay for a better quality of life.
; Presenter What practical difficulties have you had to
; overcome?
; John I think communication was the biggest problem. At
the start we'd forget to pass on important information
t at hand-over time, then waste half our time phoning
; each other up at home to check on details. We've
ironed most of those difficulties out now, though, and
: job-sharing actually makes you more, rather
than less, efficient: I'll deal with tasks I don't
i enjoy and would otherwise have put off
; rather than face the embarrassment of telling
Gaye I still haven't done them yet!
; Gaye I think for me the main difficulties have been
psychological rather than practical. You have to
I trust each other completely and back up each
other's judgements. It's no use John going into a
meeting with a client one day and my reversing all
; the decisions they've made the next morning. Even if
it's not exactly the decision I would have made, I
have to stand by it, and vice-versa of course.
Presenter Any regrets?
; Gaye None at all.
", John Only when my pay cheque comes in! No, seriously,
; it's been a good move for me, though I will have to
have a re-think once I've finished my degree course.
Listening 2, page 29
Answer key
1 C 2 D 3 office area (or open plan offices)
4 showroom and library 5 post room 6 -
7 atrium (or central atrium) 8 cafe 9 office area (or
open plan offices) 10 fitness centre 11 office area
(or open plan offices)
Listening 2 - Tapescript
; You will hear an architect describing his initial plans for a
* revolutionary new office building to the clients who
: commissioned him to design it.
* Architect This then is the site plan. As you can see, the
* building is long and narrow and is aligned
: along a north-south axis, with a narrow side
facing south. This means that it presents the
* smallest area to the midday sun, which helps to keep
* temperatures down in summer time. In accordance
: with your request for natural ventilation, all outside
I windows will be able to be opened. The unusual
: features that we plan to incorporate are that there
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
will also be internal windows opening onto
the central atrium, as illustrated in this cross-
section drawing here. When the windows are
opened on both sides, a natural cooling
breeze will flow across the working areas. In
addition, for very hot and sultry days, we
plan to incorporate large vents in the atrium
roof which can be opened to allow hot air to
escape.
Now let's look at the ground floor plan. The
shaded areas on the plan represent office
areas - as you requested these will be open plan
working spaces equipped with individual work
stations for employees. The large area in the
north-east corner will house your showroom
and library. The enclosed rooms along the
east wall are, respectively, the post room, the
shop, and the fitness centre for the
employees. You will notice that the cafe opens ^ ,
directly onto the central atrium, The thinking ... . I -'
behind this is that employees, clients and visitors can
take their refreshments with them and move out into
the atrium for informal chats and meetings.
Speaking A
Discussion points
Suggested answers
b 1 International communication is faster and
easier.
Information can be more efficiently stored and
retrieved.
It is possible to work from home.
2 People are under pressure to deal with
problems or questions more rapidly.
It can make work more complicated for people
who are not technically-minded.
Jobs have been lost because many tasks are
now performed by computers or robots.
3 Perhaps they have a deadline to meet.
It might be a means of appearing keen and
impressing the boss.
They may be workaholics.
Communicative activities
2 Discussion
Suggested answer
a We work to live means that work is a means of
earning money and thus buying the essential
things that we need; if someone lives to work, all
his time, enthusiasm and energy is spent on work.
ListeningB
Before you listen
Note
Learners could do this exercise in pairs and use English-
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Bgpk
English dictionaries to help them if necessary. Alternatively, if
not all the items are familiar to them, use the technique
suggested in the Introduction under Dealing with
unfamiliar vocabulary.
Answer key
danger or risk: dice with death, scared out of your
wits, your heart in your mouth
b o r e d o m or lack of interest: a jaded appetite,
blase, mope around, time on your hands, turn your
nose up at
enthusiasm or happiness: in si-u-nih heaven, it
went down well, passionnii' iilmui
Listening 1, page 32
Answer key
1 Father 2 Neither 3 Father 4 Neither
5 Both 6 Neither 7 Sarah 8 Sarah
Common errors
The word athletics in English refers only to track and field
sports, such as running, jumping, javelin-throwing etc. It is
not used as a general term to describe all sports.
Listening 1 - Tapescript
: You will hear a man and his daughter having a
conversation. They are discussing her children, Timothy and
I Rebecca.
Father What on earth is the matter with Timothy? It's
| n o t healthy for a young lad like that tO_be.
; m o p i n g a r o u n d i n d o o r s all day.
' Sarah I don't know what you're talking about, Dad.
; There's nothing the matter with him at all, and he's
certainly not moping - he's got lots of interests.
; Father Such as?
Sarah Well, sports for one. He's crazy about football.
Father Bah! W h e n I was a boy if you said you
: were keen o n sports that m e a n t you went o u t
a n d played them. It didn't m e a n you sat
a r o u n d and watched t h e m o n TV.
; Sarah Yes, well, they hadn't invented TV in your day,
: Dad.
Father Come on, I'm not that ancient. But seriously,
< Sarah, I'm worried about him. I m e a n his sister's
: not like that - she was at tennis last night
; and she told m e she's going off camping with
some friends at the weekend. That's the sort
; of thing he should b e doing.
| Sarah Honestly, I don't think there's anything to worry
; about. H e does athletics at school, so it's not
as if h e doesn't get any exercise. He was in the
: football team for a while, but they kicked him out
; because he wasn't very talented. A pity, when he's so
I passionate about it.
; Father You see, that's the modern world for you. It's
I not enough to have some fun kicking a ball
: around, but you've got to b e trained a n d
coached a n d bullied into being the best.
; Sarah That's true. Rebecca's got this schoolfriend
who's a really good swimmer - she's won all sorts of
medals. But for the past three years she's been getting
: up at six to go to the pool for training before school,
and she's back there for another two hours after
school. Mind you, it's her own choice. Her mother's
; not too happy about it as her schoolwork's suffering,
but the girl's dead set on making the national team.
Would you rather Timothy was like t h a t ?
: Father Absolutely n o t . I'd just like to see him taking an
: interest in something.
Sarah Like I told you, he's got plenty of hobbies - he's a
bit of a computer wizard, too. Any time I need
I to d o a bit of research for o n e of my articles, I
' get Timothy o n t o it a n d he finds m e the
: information o n the Internet in next to n o
time.
; Father Hmm.
" Sarah Look, Dad, two generations a n d a world of
: new technology separate the p a i r of you.
Could you just take my word for it that everything's
: OK?
I Father Well, if you say so, Sarah. I guess I am a bit out of
; touch.
Listening 2, page 33
Answer key
I T 2 T 3 T 4 F 5F<
6F 7T 8T 9T 10F
Background information
The Victorian era refers to the period in the middle and late
nineteenth century (1837-1901) when Queen Victoria was on
the British throne.
Listening 2 - Tapescript
You will hear a radio interview with the author of a new
i book on leisure time and activities.
: Interviewer My guest this evening on the book
I programme is Mary Greenaway, author of the best-
j selling handbook 'FreeTime, Free Fun'. Mary, what
: prompted you to write the book?
" Mary G Well, personally, I've never suffered from
: boredom, but I began to notice t h a t there were
a lot of people a r o u n d w i t h time o n their
: hands w h o didn't k n o w h o w t o fill it. At the
; same time the press was full of advertisements
for n e w h o m e entertainment technology,
; holiday packages to suit all tastes, s u p e r b
; sports a n d fitness centres a n d so on, a n d I
started to w o n d e r what was going wrong.
Interviewer You mentioned the people around you
: started you thinking. Can you give me some
; examples?
; Mary G Well, my kids for a start - every time the
summer holidays came a r o u n d they'd b e in
: seventh heaven for two weeks, t h e n spend the
rest of the time whining a b o u t b e i n g b o r e d .
Then a friend of mine was made redundant and
: panicked about money. She immediately gave u p
; all the glamorous things she used to d o like
"- dining out, going to fancy health clubs, taking
: holidays in the Seychelles. Then, apart from going

out job-hunting, she fell into a cycle of doing nothing
but watching television all day. Not long after that
my uncle died within a year of retiring - he'd been a
man who lived for his work, and he just couldn't
stand the strain of all those unstructured
hours in front of him when he woke up every
day. And I realised all these people lacked resources
- either the financial resources to get access
to the fantastic leisure opportunities that are
available nowadays, or the personal resources
to amuse themselves.
: Interviewer And, in fact, that's the two-part structure
; you've built the book on, isn't it?
; Mary G That's right. Part one is basically a listings
section of leisure activities that you can do free, or
; almost free, and there is still a host of those available,
; from museums to public lectures, open air conceits in
I parks, and so on. The second, and to my mind, far
; more interesting part, concerns personal
resources - motivating yourself, creating your
: o w n entertainment, setting up leisure projects
: and so on, all of course with the criterion of costing
nothing, or next to nothing.
; Interviewer Where do you think you yourself got your
resources from?
; Mary G Ah, that's a good question. Maybe because I
was an only child and that certainly forces
; you to learn to amuse yourself. Then,
; unusually for the period, my parents were
anti-television, so I grew up without one, and
; that also encouraged me to create my o w n
entertainment.
; Interviewer Wouldn't you say that some of the
ideas and values expressed in the book are
". rather old-fashioned?
Mary G Oh, absolutely. I mean lots of people would turn
I their noses up at the idea of using a public library
nowadays. And things like creating your own board
games and party games go right back to the Victorian
; era. That's why no-one was more surprised
than me when the book turned out to be such
a success. I hadn't expected it to go down quite so
: well in a world full of off-the-peg entertainment.
Listening 3, page 33
Answer key
1 A 2C. 3 C 4 C 5 D 6 11
Background information
Uncool is an informal word meaning unfashionable.
Samoa is a group of islands and islets in the south-central
Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand.
Machu Picchu is an ancient fortress city of the Incas in the
Andes Mountains of Peru.
Canyoning is an adventure sport based on rock-climbing,
which is carried out over waterfalls.
Listening 3 - Tapescript
'. You will hear a radio programme on holidays.
Presenter Travel companies and tour operators are
; falling over themselves to find new holidays to whet
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's kloofe
our jaded appetites. For quite a while now it's
been very uncool to spend your summer
holiday lying on a beach, even if it's in an
exotic location. Even travel to far-flung places no
longer inspires jealousy or reluctant admiration at
dinner parties. With round-the-world flights available
from around 800, most people nowadays are quite
< blast; about walking on the Great Wall of China,
"sleeping on the beach in Samoa or seeing the sun
come up in Macchu Picchu. To stay ahead of the
game you now have to go abroad to learn
something new or indulge(ln)unusual
activities, preferably dangerous or unpleasant
ones. For the next five weeks in the holiday
programme we'll be reporting on the latest in activity
holidays and short breaks. So first a report from Don
Blunt, who went to Lake Geneva in search of
adventure.
D o n Blunt Yes, you heard it right. Lake Geneva
may sound to most people like the ideal
destination for old ladies with a penchant for
blue rinses, pink gin and elegant hotels, but
hidden in the mountains above the peaceful shoreline
of the lake is the wild side of the Swiss Riviera.
Ballooning and paragliding are two of the adventure
sports/<5rLbffer here, but I decided those were too
tame for me and opted/~f5r~fcanyoning instead. The
following day, as I stood dressed in a wetsuit at the
top of a waterfall, I began to regret my decision.
Canyoning is an adventure sport pioneered by the
Swiss; for most people, climbing down a sheer rock
face on the end of a rope would be adventure
enough, but they have added the refinement of ,
doing it over ice-cold alpine waterfalls. 'Don'|_3^ hainl
worry, it's only a twenty-metre drop' said the
guide, as I looked down with my heart in my
mouth. I shut my eyes and jumped into the
waterfall. 'Don't forget tc^ho]d2232-i ne r o P e ' he
shouted as I leapt. If my moutti hadn't been full of
spray, I would have pointed out that the last thing on
earth I was likely to do was to let go of the rope.
Having safely negotiated the waterfall, the next
challenge was to jump off a tiny ledge of rock into a
pool of freezing water while avoiding any protruding
rocks that you might collide with on the way down.
This done, sliding on my back down areas of smooth
rock was easy in comparison. At the end of my first
day of canyoning I was stiff, aching and very, very
cold, but as we celebrated our survival with a bottle
of Swiss wine cooled in canyon waters I had to
admit that, despite being scared out of my wits most
of the time, I felt exhilarated by the experience.
Presenter So, your overall judgement, Don?
; D o n Blunt Definitely not for the faint-hearted, but a
great weekend break for those who Jike to dice with
', death.
Speaking B
Photographs
Common errors
Sights are places of interest frequently visited by tourists.
They include places of natural beauty (eg lakes, gorges) as
well as places of historical or architectural interest.
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's BoQk
Sightseeing relates to the activity of visiting sights, not the
sights themselves. It can also be used as an adjective - eg a
sightseeing tour/holiday.
The word sites (pronounced the same as sights) is used to
refer to places where something specific happened or was
built. It is frequently preceded by the adjectives historical or
archaeological.
Passages
Answer key
a 1 It deals with... : It appears to be about... ;
The speaker/writer mentions...
2 It must be a written/spoken passage
because... : The style is fairly... ; It's rather...
in style.: The use of lots of... makes it seem
rather... ; It could be either a written or a
spoken text because...
3 It might well be from... : It probably comes
from... : I would imagine this is an extract
from...
Background information
The Maasai are an African tribe.
Text 3 is a review for the film Jumanji released on the new
technology of DVD (digital video disc). The learners should
be able to pick up on the fact that the version referred to is
for home entertainment, even if they are not familiar with the
technology in question.
Answer key
b Answer key
Text 1 It appears to be about a country house
which you can rent for a luxury weekend
party. The use of lots of personal pronouns
and imperative verbs, makes it seem rather
'minimal. I would imagine this is an extract
from an advertisement for the country house
in question and that the ad_niuiU--have.
appeared in a paper or mnpnzin^with a")
'"wealthy readership. -
Text 2 It deals with rhe effect tourists have on local
culture. The writer mentions that the locals
don't dance the same way for themselves as
they do for tourists, and so the tourists see a
parody of their culture. However, this
doesn't really matter as the tourists don't
want to understand the local culture anyway.
The style is fairly informal and I think it
might well be from a newspaper or
magazine article or perhaps from a spoken
lecture.
Text 3 It appears to be about a film made by or
starring Robin Williams. It must be a written
passage because several of the sentences are
rather long and complex. However, the
vocabulary is quite informal in style, for
example it says 'break out the popcorn". It
probably comes from a review pfjlilms
released pn)video/for home entertainment/
'TnT
Man and the environment
iwiF liiiftff iiTfiiiiiffiMiHii'fiiJii|l i P'ljp ! il * W W W W *-""?-'
Before you listen
Answer key
1 e 2 d 3 a 4 c 5f 6 b 7
Listening 1, page 36
Answer key
a 3 No. The meaning could change depending on
the speaker's intonation,
b 1 b 2e 3d 4 a 5c
c I d 2a 3e 4c 5 b
Listening 1 - Tapescript
A twenty minute consultation per patient is the norm.
Background information
The word drugs is used in British English to refer to
medicines as well as to narcotics.
Listening 2, page 37
IC2D JC4A
Listening 2 - Tapescript
; You will hear part of a conversation between a general
; practitioner who has just returned from an international
: medical conference, and his wife.
Wife How was the conference then?
: GP A bit of a mixed bag, really. Some interesting talks,
'- some unintelligible ones, the usual sort of thing. But
the best thing I got out of it was the chance
to talk to GPs from other countries. It's quite
fascinating to see how culture influences illness and
treatment.
Wife How do you mean?
GP Well, it seems that any time the Germans feel a
bit down, they go to the doctor's complaining
of 'heart insufficiency' or 'circulation
collapse' and...
Wife What on earth are those?
GP Blood pressure problems, as far as I can
make out. They're certainly not terms we
would use. So the doctor obligingly
prescribes heart tablets. Not that it seems to
make much difference - apparently the
Germans consume six times as many heart
tablets as the Dutch do, but the death rate
from heart disease is exactly the same in the
Netherlands and Germany!
Wife Which implies that the drugs don't do much good.

: GP Exactly. But the Germans have another, rather
? nifty^idea; apparently many health insurance
I schemes pay^for^people to take a two-week
: rest cure in a spa once a year.
; Wife Really!
', GP The idea is that by getting the chance to
; unwind they will avoid stress-related illnesses
\ which might cost the insurance company
: much more in the long run.
Wife That's a great idea! I can't see the National Health
; Service going for it, though, can you?
" GP I doubt it. Too expensive for a state-run healthcare
: system.
: Wife So what else?
' GP Well, the French worry constantly about their livers,
I so they're given tonics and vitamins ^y^he bucketful.
Wife Yes, I've noticed that when we've been sitting in
: cafes on holiday in France. You see people
" disappearing into the chemist's shop looking anxious
and emerging ten minutes later with a carrier bag full
of medicines and a satisfied smile on their faces.
: GP That's right. It seems that French patients feel
they haven't got their money's worth if they
leave the surgery without a prescription,
whereas we British are relieved if we don't. 'If
the doctor hasn't prescribed anything, then it
i can't be that serious' is our way of thinking.
My French counterparts spend much longer
:; o n consultations too - apparently twenty
; minutes per patient is the norm! They said
; their patients would have a fit if they were
; fobbed off with the classic British six-minute
", consultation.
Wife Thank goodness we don't live in France, then. You'd
never get home from work!
Listening 3, page 37
Answer key -^
1 doubled 2 tease and bully them 3 rejects them
4 stay that way 5 eating habits 6 sedentary
7 30 minutes
Listening 3 - Tapescript
You will hear an interview with a consultant on the subject
;: of obesity in children.
; Presenter J n recent years, there's been a lot of media,
: coverage of eating disorders such as anorexia and
bulimia in teenagers and young adults. What we hear
much less about, however, is the other side of the
story - the burgeoning problem of obesity in
: children. Dr Janet Stein, a consultant at the European
I Institute of Child Health, has been studying this
problem. Dr Stein, how widespread is this problem
; and how much of a health risk does it really pose?
; Dr Stein Well, to answer your first question, the
incidence of childhood obesity is increasing
: dramatically in Europe - in France and Greece
for example, there are twice as many fat
t children nowadays as ten years ago. If this
trend continues, Europe risks going the way of the
; US, where one in four children are overweight. Now,
: in the short term, fat children face psychological
problems - teasing and bullying from
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
classmates, rejection by members of the
opposite sex when they reach their teen years and
so on. But the risks for their long-term physical health
are much more disturbing. The longer a child
remains fat, the greater the statistical chance
of suffering from heart disease, diabetes or
high blood pressure later in life. And the really
bad news is that if a child is fat at seven years old, he
or she is likely to stay that way.
Presenter So how has this^ome about?_j '/-
Dr Stein The reasons are two-fold. The most obvious is
eating habits, of course. Children today eat
too much fatty food and not enough fruit and
vegetables. Ten years ago a take-away hamburger
might have been a once a week treat; now it's/ff staple,
of many children's diet. Many consume excessive
quantities of protein as well, which can
contribute to obesity. This might not be so
harmful, however, if the other factor didn't come into
play, which is that many European kids have an
alarmingly sedentary lifestyle. An interesting
piece of research done at Exeter University set out to
discover how many children in the five to sixteen age
range were getting at least three twenty-minute
bouts of activity per day that raised their heart
rate above 140 beats a minute - that's the rate needed
to produce health benefits. Almost none did, so they
dropped the criterion to three ten-minute
bouts, but very few children in the study were getting
even that much exercise. This is very, very worrying.
Speaking A
Photographs
Common errors
Exercise (uncountable noun) refers to any form of vigorous
physicalactivity. It is used with the verbs get or take. It is
usually confused with an exercise (countable noun).
An exercise is a specific movement, which is repeated
several times in order to strengthen specific parts of the
body, e.g stomach muscles. It is used with the verb do.
Passages
Answer key
a Nutrients found in food and/or in diet supplements.
b medical or scientific terms are largely avoided:
informal, chatty/extract from a report in a
magazine aimed at teenagers or young women
medical and scientific terms are used: factual,
neutral/extract from a news report in a serious
newspaper or magazine
some medical and scientific terms are used: factual
but personal/extract from an advertisement
c factual, neutral (text 2) - toxic/amino-acids/in
easily assimilable form/is being described
factual but personal (text 1) - the exact
recommended level of 400 meg of folic acid/you
need a supplement you can trust/we launched
it/to help you safeguard your requirements
informal, chatty (text 3) - Great news/post-pub
chip'n'burger binges/Get squeezing!
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Tsacher'B Bpek
Listening B
Note
The medical issues dealt with in Listening B and Speaking
B of this unit all raise questions of an ethical nature and may
provoke strong emotions and responses in learners. It would
probably be wise, therefore, to use these sections only with
learners whom you know well and with whom you have
developed a good rapport.
Before you listen
Answer key
1 administered; lethal 2 alleviated 3 limbs
4 severed 5 dexterity 6 eradicated: vaccinations
7 degenerative 8 immune system 9 side effects
Listening 1, page 40
Answer key
1 carpenter 2 dexterity 3 stamina 4 ten 5 France
6 physical rejection 7 emotional rejection
8 psychological rejection 9 suppress ihe immune
svstem 10 infections and cancer
Listening 1 - Tapescript
: You will hear a news bulletin about microsurgery.
I Announcer Twenty-five years ago a pioneering operation
; was carried out at Zurich University Hospital - the
first in Europe in which a surgeon successfully
; reconstructed the blood vessels, tendons,
muscles and skin of a carpenter's accidentally
severed hand. Inspired by this success, the surgeon,
Viktor Meyer, opened a centre for replantation and
reconstructive microsurgery. He recruited a team of
", specialists and set up a practice laboratory, because
; intensive training is required for a surgeon to
develop and maintain the dexterity and
; stamina required to carry out lengthy
; operations of this type. A good microsurgeon can
I sew together a blood vessel half a millimetre wide, a
; feat requiring incredible manual precision. Nowadays
microsurgery to replace severed limbs is quite
commonly performed and the success rates are high:
; in seventy percent of cases the patient can
return to a near normal life after the
: operation; a further twenty percent regain
restricted use of their restored body part.
: Now anodier first has been recorded in Europe - a
team of surgeons from four different countries have
'. performed an operation in a hospital in Lyons,
: France, to attach the hand of a dead Frenchman
to the body of a living New Zealander using
: microsurgery techniques. While organ transplants are
; now almost commonplace, the idea of transplanting
limbs has remained in the realms of fiction up till
: now. The doctors performing the operation
acknowledge that the hand is part of the personality
: and so this transplant risks emotional and
; psychological rejection, as well as physical
I rejection, which may occur with any
transplant. Other ethical issues are raised by the
fact that, in order to avoid physical rejection of any
: transplant, the patient has to take powerful
; drugs to suppress the immune system. These
drugs have serious side effects in that they
; increase the risk of the patient developing
\ infections or even cancer. When an organ is
transplanted, the potential side effects can be justified
by the fact that the transplant may save the patient's
I life; this is not the case with a hand as not having a
; hand could never be seen as a life-threatening
condition.
Listening 2, page 41
Answer key
1 N 2 Y 3Y 4Y S N 6Y 7 N 8 N
Listening 2 - Tapescript
You will hear a conversation between two women. They are
: discussing a television programme on surrogate mothers.
". Jane Did you watch that programme(amsurrogate
; mothersJast night, Louise?
; Louise Yes, I did. I found it rather interesting.
fane Me too. I hadn't actually realised before that
it was illegal here in Britain to set up an
; agency to supply surrogate mothers or even to
accept payment for acting as a surrogate.
; Louise Nor had I. Mind you, I thought the arguments
I that professor put across to support the ban on
: payment were pretty spurious.
Jane Really? I rather agreed with what he said.
: Personally, I find the idea of paying a stranger
to have a child for you rather distasteful But
- there was one woman who quite impressed me, ehm,
; Sandy I think it was, you know, the woman who
helped her best friend by acting as a surrogate
", mother for her.
Louise Oh, I wasn't sure about her at all. I mean she
claimed she did it because she felt sorry for
her friend and wanted to help her after all
those miscarriages, but I rather got the
I impression she had ulterior motives.
I Jane What do you mean? t-
; Louise Well, it all seemed too perfect. She was going to
" have the baby and hand it over to her friend and the
: husband when it was born, she'd become the kid's
godmother and everyone would live happily ever
" after.
: Jane And why not?
: Louise Well, she seemed to me to be a rather lonely
woman - she said she'd like to have children of her
". own, but she didn't approve of single-parent families
; and she didn't have a partner at the moment. So I
\ have my doubts about what'll happen when the child
; is actually born - I think she might refuse to
; hand it over as agreed; that's not unheard of.
If not that, and she remains in close contacF
: with the family, maybe she'll try to interfere
(Withjthe child's upbringing because she's the
", Diological mother.
Jane Well, I would never have believed you're such a

I cynic, Louise. So you preferred the other surrogate,
I the one who admitted that she took money for
having the baby?
: Louise It's not a question of preferring one or the other.
I mean, I don't know either of them personally, do I?
But I thought she was more honest.
Jane Well...
; Louise She did it because she needed the money and, as
far as I could see, she treated it like any other
: kind of job - she signed a contract, adhered
; to the terms of it, including all, um, you
know, going for all the necessary health
checks, giving up drink and cigarettes, eating
: healthily and so on, and at the end of the
contractual period she delivered the goods, took her
payment and left. What's wrong with that?
Jane Well, it all seems a bit clinical to me, you know.
I And like the professor said at the beginning of the
programme it's usually poor women having the
babies for wealthy couples, so it's a form of
: exploitation really.
' Louise That's absolute nonsense! If the women don't get
I paid for their services, then that's exploitation. Why
on earth should anyone give up nine months of her
I life in exchange just for travelling expenses and a bit
; of cash to pay for any extra medicines she needs?
", Jane Well, out of human kindness and the pleasure of
; helping someone.
", Louise Well, human kindness doesn't pay the bills, Jane.
; You wouldn't expect the doctor w h o helps to
I deliver the baby not to get paid, would you?
; Jane No, I suppose not.
Louise So why shouldn't the person who's bringing
: so much happiness to a couple by providing
them with a longed-for child not get paid too?
; Jane Mmm... well... perhaps you're right.
Listening 3, page 41
Answer key
1 C 2D 3 A 4 C 5 D 6 C
Background information
Passive euthanasia a doctor allows death to happen by
withdrawing help that is keeping a terminally ill patient alive
artificially (legal in Britain and many other countries)
Voluntary euthanasia - a terminally ill patient chooses to
die (legal, in certain legally prescribed circumstances only, in
the Netherlands and the American state of Oregon)
Active euthanasia - a form of voluntary euthanasia in
which a doctor administers the means of death
Assisted suicide - a form of voluntary euthanasia in which
a doctor prescribes the means of death but the patient
administers it
Listening 3 - Tapescript
: You will hear a doctor talking about euthanasia.
Interviewer Dr Grange, a lot of different terms are used
' in the media when talking about euthanasia. I've
heard people talk about 'active', 'passive' or
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
'voluntary' euthanasia, and also 'assisted suicide'. I
think it would be helpful.if you could start off by
clarifying these terms for us, and the current legal
position as far as each is concerned.
Dr Grange Certainly. First of all, let me make it
absolutely clear that in all the situations I will
describe I am talking about voluntary euthanasia
- that means it is the patient w h o makes the
choice to die. I am not talking about issuing
doctors with a 'licence to kill' at their own discretion.
At present the practices known as active
euthanasia and assisted suicide are against the
law here in Britain. The difference between
them is whether a doctor or nurse
administers the drugs or lethal injection, or
whether the doctor prescribes the means of
death and it's the patient w h o administers it.
Although suicide has not been considered as a crime
in the UK since 1961, assisting in a suicide is illegal.-.
Consequently, a doctor either administering or
prescribing lethal injections or drugs is guilty of a
criminal act. The anomaly is that passive euthanasia
is not against the law. This means that a doctor who
allows death to happen is not committing a crime.
Interviewer Could you clarify what you mean by
'allowing death to happen'?
D r Grange For example, with the patient's or the
family's consent, it is not against the law to
withdraw mechanical life support to a
terminally ill person when it is merely
prolonging the process of dying. Nor is it
illegal to give such high doses of pain relief
that death is hastened. This, of course, has
exactly the same moral and practical result as actively
giving a lethal injection on request.
Interviewer What are the main arguments in favour of
de-criminalising euthanasia?
D r Grange I think these could be divided into legal
arguments and moral arguments. A survey done in
1994 showed that ten percent of British doctors have
helped patients die, despite the risk of prosecution,
and nearly half of all the doctors surveyed said they
would give active help in dying if it were legal. By
legalising voluntary euthanasia, strict and rigorous,
guidelines for carrying out euthanasia could be laid
down. This would be infinitely preferable to
having it going on furtively,- as now, in
situations where it is impossible to
determine whether it really was the patient's
o w n decision. The moral arguments are more
complicated. Of course, a doctor's primary purpose
is to sustain life, cure illness and, when that can no
longer be done, reduce a patient's suffering as far as
possible. Most physical pain in terminal illness can
be alleviated, if not completely eliminated, by means
of drugs. However, there are cases where a
terminally ill patient is suffering unbearably
and a compassionate doctor would want to
agree to the request for a quick end. The other
main argument is that if a patient feels their body
has been so destroyed by disease that life is no
longer worth living, then that is an intensely personal
decision which should not be thwarted.
F
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book

B Listening 1, page 44
Answer key
Photographs 1 competitive 2 make money (or a profit) 3 the
best Internet account (or the best Internet Service
Answer key Provider) 4 know and trust 5 more profitable
6 brand name 7 special offers 8 new products
b They all show ways in which human beings use
medical science in order to improve upon nature
(1 - cosmetic surgery; 2 - monitoring or Background information
diagnosis of disease; 3 - a surrogate mother and
client). Electronic shopping is a new method of shopping in which
shoppers order goods over the Internet. The goods are
usually paid for by credit card and are delivered to the
customer's home.
Communicative activities Web store - a shop or supermarket's site on the Internet
1 Discussion where goods can be ordered.
Background information
BSE> stands for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better Listening 1 - Tapescript
known as 'mad cow disease' ". You will hear a radio programme about British supermarket
Rickets - an illness in children whose diet lacks vitamin D. It : chains becoming Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
lih' inhibitsjhe growth and hardening of bones. : Presenter For over a year, shoppers in some parts of
Scurvy - an illness in people whose diet lacks vitamin C. It Britain have been able to buy their groceries over the
causes stiffness of joints, bleeding under the skin, slow Internet. Now some supermarket chains have
wound healing and ajTaernia. ^ ' f t i ' /I2) launched their own Internet services. I spoke to Peter
Frankley, a consultant to retail businesses and an
expert on electronic shopping, about this new trend.
2 Discussion
Peter, I understand that there are already more than
a hundred Internet Service Providers in the UK, so
Answer key why should supermarkets want to get
1 F 2F 3 A 4F 5A 6A 7F 8A involved in what is already a very
competitive business?
: Peter Frankley As you say, there is already a lot of
Note competition among Internet Service Providers -
Both communicative activities in this section provide extensive : even well-established ISPs find it difficult to
support on the student's page. This is because young ; make money out of dial-up Internet access. I
learners frequentlyjack both theJspowledqe and the think it is clear, therefore, that retailers are not
vocabulary to talk about topics.^ofajriedicaljTature. entering the market primarily because they want to
sell Internet accounts. The main reason is that this is
the most powerful way of encouraging on-line
shopping - up till n o w a customer w h o was
interestedin having tne convenience of
choosing and ordering groceries on-line
would have had to shop around to find the
best Internet account before he or she could
The consumer society visit the Web store.
Presenter So, in other words, it's easier for people,
especially perhaosjhose who are not very
kiio^vJbd^eabk(abouKconiputers and the
ListeoMgA Internet, to sign up foflnternet access when they
happen to be in their favourite supermarket.
Peter Frankley Exactly. Or they might pick up a leaflet
Before you listen about it one day when they're in the shop, read it at
Answer key home, and sign up for the service the next time they
visit the store.
1 chains 2 economies of scale 3 merchandise
4 retailers 5 basic necessities 6 groceries 7 brand Presenter Right.
Peter Frankley It makes it very simple for customers. It
also means they're using a company that they
already know and trust, rather than having to
Background! information choose an Internet Service Provider that they may
Economies of scale is a business term which means that a never have heard of before.
company can sell or produce goods more cheaply when
Presenter I can see the benefits to the customer, but I
dealing with large quantities.
still don't see what the supermarkets stand to gain
out of doing this.

^^^V^(^^^^^P

Peter Frankley Well, it's basically a question of
I expanding their market for on-line shopping.
Electronic shopping is not very profitable for
", retailers as yet, but if more people can be
; encouraged to shop this way, economies of
scale will come into play. Another benefit for the
: supermarket chains is that, from a marketing point of
I view, 'owning' a customer's Internet account is very
'. powerful. Customers may pass their favourite
; supermarket only once a week, but if they use the
supermarket's Internet service, they will see
; the brand name every time they access the
Internet.
: Presenter I see.
'. Peter Frankley In addition, retailers will be able to
; use their Internet services to inform
customers about special offers or n e w
1 products, and to build up information about
people's shopping patterns.
Listening 2, page 45
Answer key
1 F 2 F 3T 4T 5 F 6T 7F
Background information
The idea of fair trade is dealt with in Listening 2 and
Speaking A - text 3, though the term itself is not used. Fair
trade involves paying a fair price for produce or raw materials
to the suppliers or growers, and avoiding sources which
exploit workers or farmers.
Listening 2 - Tapescript
: You will hear an appeal from a charity.
Speaker Nowadays, we have an incredible range of fresh
; fruit and vegetables available to us all the year round.
: But have you ever thought about what's involved in
getting those products to our supermarket shelves?
; Perhaps that fruit wouldn't taste so sweet if you knew
how bitter life was for the people who harvested it.
: Let's take fifteen-year old Benedicto as an
example. He lives on a banana plantation in the
Philippines. For the last three years, he's worked
: before and after school every day, and for eleven
hours every Saturday tying up banana trees. The pay
; is so bad that an hour's work would earn him
enough to buy one can of cola in the
I plantation shop. But Benedicto doesn't work
: to buy luxuries like soft drinks. Without his
contribution, his family wouldn't be able to
: afford to send him and his three brothers to
; school at all.
; Unfortunately, Benedicto's situation is far from
; unique. Throughout Asia, Latin America and Africa,
the use of child labour in food production for the
: export market is commonplace. Frequently, employers
prefer to take on children rather than adults, because
I children will work as many hours as they're
asked to and do not get involved in labour
I disputes.
: In many cases, children as young as five work
I and, unlike Benedicto, some never get the chance to
: go to school at all.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
* If, as consumers, you find this sort of
; exploitation unacceptable, is there anything you can
do about it? Indeed there is. In response to
consumer pressure, many supermarkets in the
; UK are n o w supporting fair trade practices.
This means they adopt codes of conduct which
* ensure that the goods they import are produced in
safe conditions, and the prices they pay for those
: goods represent a fair return for the labour put into
their production. As a result, working adults
should be able to support their families
without their children having to work too.
: To find out if your favourite supermarket
supports fair trade, and what to do if it
; doesn't, call us n o w for a free information
pack.
Listening 3, page 45
Answer key
1 B 2 B 3 D 4 A S C 6 D
Listening 3 - Tapescript
; You will hear an interview with a compulsive shopper.
Interviewer Today, in our series on addictions, I'll be
: speaking to a lady whom I will refer to as Shelley,
: since she would prefer to remain anonymous. Shelley,
you're f5c^n2nuJ^e_shDppJj!', aren't you?
Shelley That's right. Though I'm happy to say that,
: thanks to professional counselling and a
: support group, I've nowi got my compulsion-
\under control.,
; Interviewer What are the typical symptoms of
\ [Compulsive shopping?
Shelley The most obvious one is that you shop
when you're feeling down, you know, a bit
depressed or anxious, and then when you've
bought something you feel really good, like
t youiye got a sense of euphoriaJ h e problem is
: that the feeling wears off .pretty fast, so then
you've got to go out and buy something else
in order to feel good again.
Interviewer Is it important what you buy and who you
buy it for?
- Shelley Well, typically compulsive shoppers will buy
: something for themselves when they're g_hit down.
like clothes or jewelry or make-up. But it isn't
: exclusively things for yourself - 1 used to really go
; over the top at Christmas time buying gifts for
everyone I knew.
:; Interviewer You mentioned jewelry and make-up. Is
> this a^typically female addiction, then?
; Shelley Not necessarily, though it tends jojbe
more common in women. And it]s more
widespread than you might imagine. I don't know
"- any exact figures, but in the support group they've
: told us that somewhere between five and ten percent
I of the population indulge in out-of-control shopping.
1 Interviewer What are the main problems that
: compulsive shopping causes?
: Shelley Well, obviously,^f you shop till you drop,, you get
through an awful lot of money. Most compulsive
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's-Booh
shoppers(gnd up heavily in debtand this can also
have a^fisjisJrousjrffatjD^
relationships. Take me, for example. I used to have
two credit cards of my own, and one that I
shared with my husband that was supposed
to pay for household goods, food and so on.
At one stage, all three cards were drawn right
up to the limit - in other words I was nearly
twelve thousand pounds in debt! I used to hide the
credit card bills from my husband when they came in
and say that I'd deal with paying them. It all came
out into the open when I was away for a week
vliitin^lriylnotEer and the bill for our joint credit
card arrived -my husband JiitJhejBQf when he
saw what I'd spent.
Interviewer What happened then?
Shelley I was very lucky, in that once he'd got over his
initial rage, he saw that I had a problem and insisted
that I should go for counselling. But one of my
friends from the support group didn't get off so
lightly - she shopped her way through ten
thousand pounds of savings her husband had
put aside as a deposit on a new house, and he
^kal_fOTjjliyjorce_when he found out.
Interviewer W^niavf^w^iTsejling jmri the support
group done for you?
Shelley Well, at the beginning, the counselling
helped me a lot to examine the underlying
causes of my compulsion - issues like low self-
esteem and image problems. There^s a big pressure in
society to use material goods as an expression of. _
youTTaSStyTTiEelook' at "me, Tve got the right
'desfgner dress and the most expensive perfume on
the market, so I'm a really, together person'. Thanks
to counselling, I no longer associate who I am with
what I wear or possess. Then, I also got a lot of
practical help in budgetingand slowly paying
off all my debts. I now draw a line between things
I need, like a new pair of shoes for work because the
old ones are falling apart, and things I want but
don't need like a fashionable and very expensive pair
; of evening shoes. I joined the support group after I
I finished professional counselling because every so
often I still getthe urge to go out and buy
something entirely frivolous, so it's good to
; talk to other people who've been in the same
; situation as me. We help each other to keep
our compulsion under control.
Speaking A
JUiuiM*W" l U | il'Mp>ipipiiTOWiiM^^
Photographs
Common errors
The worcVnipermarket should be pronounced with the
stress on the first syllable.
Before you speak
Answer key
a 1 b Za 3 b
b l b 2 2a 1 3b 4
Discussion points
Suggested answers
3 teenagers: might enjoy it, as many Internet users
are teenagers. However, they will not have their
own credit cards to pay for goods ordered. Also,
for many teenagers, especially girls, going round
the shops is a leisure activity.
mothers with young children: would benefit, as
going out to the shops can be stressful with
young children and it would avoid them having
to carry large bags of shopping while managing
praxos, pushchairs etc. However, they Tnigh^he on
tight budgets and so could not afford the extra
costs tor delivery.
workers with busy schedules: the most likely
group to benefit, as they have the least time to
spend shopping and arqjthe most likely to be able
to affordjL_
people on low incomes: unlikely to benefit as they
would not be able to afford the hardware, the
Internet account fees and the extra costs for
delivery of goods.
Passages
Suggested answers
1 theme: describes how, in consumer societies,
people buy goods not to satisfy needs, but to
make a statement about themselves and their
place and role in society
style: formal, neutral - formal vocabulary (eg
purchasing, goods are consumed, functional
benefits, symbolic signifiers); some passive verbs;
no personal pronouns used or personal opinions
expressed
source: extract from an academic journal/paper
(actual); extract from an article in a serious
newspaper or magazine (possible)
2 theme: compares different shopping and selling
styles in Britain and America
style: informal - personal pronouns we and you
frequently used; informal vocabulary (eg haggle,
we take all this with us)
source: extract from a humorous book on cultural
differences (actual); extract from a light-hearted
magazine article or from a talk (possible)
3 theme: explains that the raw materials used in a
beauty product have been bought at a fair price
from the farmers who produced them
style: informal, but informative: personal
pronouns we and your used; factual information
included
source: advertisement (actual - for Cocoa Butter
Hand & Body Lotion from The Body Shop);
product information leaflet (possible)

Listening B __._
Before you listen
Answer key
1 livery 2 utility 3 logos 4 impulse purchlases
Listening 1, page 48
Answer key
1 Women 2 Men 3 Women 4 Men 5 Neither
6 Men 7 Women 8 Women 9 Men 10 Neither
Listening 1 - Tapescript
; You will hear part of a lecture given to first-year university
students on a marketing course.
: Lecturer Today I shall be giving you a brief overview of
J gender differences in purchasing patterns and
; advertising approaches. Reading lists and individual
assignments will be distributed at the end of the
". lecture.
; There isfa considerable body of evidence^from
: research in social psychology that men and women
relate differently to their possessions. Several studies
found that, comparatively speaking, women tend to
value possessions because of how they make
; them feel, while men value items which are
:
useful or work well. Thus a woman might cherish
: an old piece of jewelry that she associates with happy
memories, while a man might rank his top-of-the
range CD player as one of his favourite possessions
because of the excellent sound quality. In addition,
; women also say that they value possessions
J which belonged to people they loved or were
; given to them by loved ones. In contrast, men
value possessions which enable them to do
something, such as play sports or carry out
; hobbies such as DIY or gardening and so on.
: It's reasonable to assume that^rmlar_gender-
based distinctions will also affect what goods people
L
buy and why they choose to buy them and, indeed,
; recent research into buying considerations in impulse
; purchases supports this hypothesis. The most
favoured impulse purchases by women were clothes,
: jewelry and cosmetics, while men tended to go more
; for electronic and sports equipment. The buying
J considerations most frequently cited by
; women for selecting the goods they did were
the responses 'It gives me enjoyment' or 'It
I cheers me up' while men's most usual buying
: considerations were 'It expresses what is
unique about me' and 'It is useful and
", practical'.
Listening 2, page 48
Answer key
1 Yi-s 2 No 3 No 4Yis 5 No 6 Yes 7 Yes 8 Yes
9 \\> IOYI-S
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
Listening 2 - Tapescript
I The lecture you heard in Listening 1 continues.
' Lecturer So, up to now we have seen gender-based
differences with regard to favourite possessions and
; favourite purchases, with men's preferences tending
towards functional and activity-related products that
; reflect their identity, and women's tending towards
goods that give them enjoyment or have emotional
significance. Does this dichotomy also affect
: advertising, both in terms of the type of
:
products advertised and the type of approach
: taken? Indeed it does. Flick through the pages of
any men's special interest magazine and you will
" notice that the types of products advertised are
: largely functional and activity-related - watches,
trainers, electric razors, sports equipment, and of
; course, cars. If you skim a comparable magazine for
women, you will find a higher proportion of
advertisements for cosmetics and body care products,
clothes, and jewelry. (I'm not giving you any
statistics here, by the way, as one of your
assignments will be to carry out your o w n
analysis of the frequency of advertisements
for different categories of products.) In the
past decade or so, however, there has been a
notable rise in the number of advertisements
for men's clothing and beauty products,
reflecting an increasing preoccupation with
personal appearance. I will come back to this
point later in the lecture.
Now let's look at the approaches taken in
advertisements aimed at men or at women. Although
real men and women do not usually look or behave
". like those who appear in advertisements, the power
of advertising is that it offers idealised models
and identities for consumers. Typically,
advertisements aimed at women are based on
narcissism and passivity. The feminine model in
advertising encourages a woman to please herself,
: but the implication is that by pleasing herself,
: she will also attract male attention, and that
l she will be chosen. The masculine model,
: however, emphasises that it is men who do the
choosing, whether the object of his choice be a car, a
; watch or a woman. Let's look at two examples of
these modes. (First slide, please.) Here we have a
I fairly typical car advertisement from a men's
magazine. Note two features: firstly, the
emphasis on precision engineering and on
performance - the words precision,
performance and power are typically
; masculine terms which crop up time and
time again in advertisements for men.
Secondly, the headline 'It stands out from the crowd'
- the implication of course being that the
qualities of the car will reflect the qualities of
the owner. We can see here a strong link with
; the previous research I mentioned on buying
; considerations, which showed that men base
their decisions on considerations of utility and
: personal identity. (Next slide, please.) Here we
have an ad for perfume from a women's magazine.
I The woman is pictured close-up and alone, as
: is very often the case, and the mere nine words of
text include the word 'feeling' twice, reflecting the
feminine predilection for goods that bring enjoyment
and allow her to please herself. We will be looking at
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
these features in greater detail later, but now let me
; return to a point I made earlier in the lecture - the
". fact that there has been a higher incidence of
: advertisements for men's body care products in
recent years. Interestingly, many of these, like this
; example, (Slide, please.) turn the old roles upside-
J down. Here the advertisement is implying that the
; correct choice of hair product will make the man
: irresistibly attractive to women. The main difference
J from women's ads for similar products is that the
: m a n is usually pictured in close contact with
an admiring female.
Listening 3, page 49
Answer key
1T2T JF4T ST 6 F 7 T 8 T
Listening 3 - Tapescript
I You will hear a radio programme about sponsorship in
: Formula 1 racing.
I Presenter In this evening's programme in the series 'Has
; sport become too commercial?' we'll be discussing
Grand Prix racing. My guest this evening is Graham
: Swift, a sports journalist who specialises in Formula
1 coverage. Graham, I may be showing my age here,
- but I remember the days when Formula 1 cars
lined u p on the track in their o w n team
livery, not the livery of a tobacco company
and a patchwork of logos. Is all this
advertising really necessary?
: G r a h a m Swift It certainly is. It costs over 4 0 million
dollars to put a team of only two cars and
their drivers o n the track for one season.
N o b o d y can raise that kind of money without
sponsorship.
: Presenter I see. But don't you think that this has a
b a d effect o n young people? I mean, for
example, boys a n d young men w h o are very
attracted by the glamour of m o t o r racing may
I feel that some of that glamour will r u b off o n
them if they smoke the cigarettes that are
; advertised o n the cars.
I Graham Swift Well, of course, that's exactly why
: tobacco companies sponsor motor sports - they're
not giving away money for the fun of it. This was
illustrated very clearly by the split between Marlboro
cigarettes and the McLaren team in 1996. After the
; golden years between 1988 and 1991 w h e n
; Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna became world
; champions in McLaren cars, the team lost its
d o m i n a n t position in the sport. Marlboro
: made it clear they were not happy with what was
going on and that they wanted to renegotiate the
'. terms of the deal - they were sponsoring
McLaren to the t u n e of 32 million dollars per
year, so they wanted good media coverage in
return. Soon after that the partnership b r o k e
; u p a n d Marlboro switched its sponsorship to
Ferrari.
Presenter I see. Is it n o t possible for teams to
t raise money from other sources?
G r a h a m Swift Of course tobacco companies are
the really big spenders, b u t you must
remember they're not the only players in the
t sponsorship game. A lot of the logos you see on
the cars are from firms in related industries - many
; sponsors provide free tyres, engines, fuel or
lubricants instead of, o r as well as, cash. And
t nowadays companies from fields as varied as dairy
; products, computers and air travel put money into
the sport.
Presenter Now, moving on to the question ... (fade)
Speaking B
Photographs
Answer key
a They all show methods of advertising products,
services or shops.
Common errors
The word advertising should be pronounced with the stress
on the first syllable, while the word advertisement is
pronounced with the stress on the second syllable.
Communicative activities
1 Discussion
You may want to check that your students are using
appropriate phrases, such as:
I would imagine that...
Judging from ... I would assume that ...
1 should think it's probably ...
It might/could be aimed at/promoting ...
Note
This communicative activity has been included here as:
it recycles ideas about advertising presented in Listening
B, Listening 2
it allows for useful practice in the language of speculation
it provides practice in dealing with some of the more
enigmatic photographs which sometimes appear in
Proficiency interviews
Answer key
b Advertisement 1 - headline c - a women's
perfume named Soulful
Advertisement 2 - headline b - a line of men's
all-purpose clothing
Advertisement 3 - headline a - an anti-dandruff
shampoo for men
2 Selecting
Background information
The word brand is used for smallish products which are
supplied in packages and which you throw away when they
have been used - e.g. cat food, toothpaste, shampoo etc.
The word make isjjsed for consumer durables^ products
which you use for a long time before they wear out - e.g.
trainers, radios, cars etc.

Crime and punishment
Listening A
Before you listen
Answer key
1 c 2 g 3 f 4 c 5 b 6 a 7 h 8 e 9 i 10 d
Note
The words and phrases need to be matched to make word
combinations which are grammatically correct as well as
semantically possible.
Listening 1, page 52
Answer key
1 alleged to have com mined: mother and son
2 convicted of: son
3 convicted of. son
4 convicted of: mother
5 alleged to have committed: mother and son
6 alleged to have committed: mother and son
7 alleged to have committed: mother and son and
convicted of: mother
Note
Check comprehension of the crimes listed before doing the
listening exercise.
Listening 1 - Tapescript
: You will hear a news bulletin about a mother and son who
are both criminals.
; A n n o u n c e r Police in New York have picked up a
I m o t h e r a n d son team w h o are alleged to have
taken p a r t in a two-year spree of fraud,
: m u r d e r a n d arson. The pair were arrested at the
j New York Hilton accused of drawing a cheque on a
frozen bank account in Las Vegas. It was only after
the suspects had been detained that the police
discovered that thev(were in possession of a passport^
belonging to an elderly woman who had gone
missing the day before. The limousine the
suspects h a d b e e n driving t u r n e d out to b e
: stolen and contained $25,000 in cash, a pistol and
J documents containing the names of people the
couplejire alleged to have defrauded. Pour of the
people mentioned in the documents are either
; missing or dead. It turned out that the mother and
:; sonfhad gone on the run earlier in the year as they
"; were being sought by the police for questioning in
: connection with a suspected insurance fraud in which
a house in Las Vegas was burnt to the ground. They
were traced in Utah, Louisiana and Florida but had
always managed to keep one step ahead of the police
until they reached New York. The mother, who calls
Proficiency Listening and SpeaKing Teacher's Book
herself 'The Dragon Lady', was once married to a
wealthy property owner, but has a history of petty
crimes going back to 1961. In 1985 she was
convicted of stealing a m i n k coat from a piano
bar. Soon after, she was arrested again for
enslaving two Mexican maids, a crime for
which she served a five-ygar sentence. H e r
scmTT^Ia_r^orgrTnTFlorida for burglary a n d
assaulting a policeman.
Listening 2, page 53
Answer key
1 A 2 D 3 C 4 A 5 C
Background information
1984 was a novel written by the British author George
Orwell and published in 1948. It describes a society, led by a
dictator known as 'Big Brother', in which everyone has a
screen installed in their house. By means of the screen the
authorities can monitor what every member of society is
doing at any time of the day or night.
Listening 2 - Tapescript
: You will hear a radio programme about the use of closed
circuit televisions (CCTVs).
: Reporter George Orwell's post-war novel '1984'
postulated a society in which the authorities,
: ultimately represented by the figure known as 'Big
; Brother', watch your every move. It seems that we
are n o t too far from that nightmare scenario
nowadays. In a recent stroll through the centre of
London I spottedjio fewer than 126 locations
including shops, underground stations and public
squares, where closed circuit televisions were
operating. Those were only the ones that I was aware
of; they were probably plenty of other hidden
cameras in action too. Alarmed by this state of
affairs, I asked Norman Clark, a crime prevention
specialist, whether all this monitoring was really
necessary, or effective.
N o r m a n Clark I think it would be fair to say that the
claims m a d e for the effectiveness of CCTV in
crime prevention a n d detection are very
exaggerated. An interesting piece of research done
recently at Hull University came to the conclusion
that the cameras are usually watching the wrong
people in the wrong places. In 592 h o u r s of
taping carried out during the research
project, only 12 arrests w e r e m a d e . Another
study done in Scotland noted that crimes of passion,
offences involving drugs and alcohol and crimes
committed by professional criminals are not
prevented by the use of cameras.
Reporter So, in fact, the presence of ajsalJiw_rjolice
constable or patrgLcar would probably be a more
effective deterrent? ~
N o r m a n Clark > It seems logical to assume so.
Reporter Thank you. So, if the ubiguitous presence of all
these cameras is not in fact effectively protecting the
public, w h a t are they doing there other t h a n
serving as a cost-cutting m e a s u r e for over-
stretched police forces? Worrying questions
can also b e raised a b o u t the potential misuse
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher1* Book
of our images caught on security videotapes.
Imagine, for example, that you are filmed crossing a
public square in the company of someone to whom
you are not married. Since there are no laws to
protect our visual data from misuse, the videotape
could be used as evidence in future divorce
proceedings. Be very careful what you do in
public - Big Brother really is watching you!
Listening 3, page 53
Answer key
I T 2T 3T 4 F 5F 6F 7T
Listening 3 - Tapescript
: You will hear a news item about the use of CS spray by the
British police.
: Announcer It's a time-honoured tradition that, unlike
; most other law enforcement officers worldwide, the
British police do not routinely carry guns. For
: well over a century the British police constable's only
means of defence was the truncheon - that familiar
I short, thick stick that's as much a part of a police
; officer's uniform as his helmet. Since 1996, however,
more than 100,000 officers on the beat have been
issued with^anistersjaf a spray Jknown as CS,
gressiyesuspects. It
which is usecT to quell aggresgiye_suspects.
was introduced as a weapon foruse only in
extreme circumstances, but now appears to
be replacing the truncheon as an officer's first
line of defence. In the light of mounting criticism
by judges, civil rights groups and health
experts of its use, an independent panel is to
conduct a review into the safety of CS spray.
The Association of Police Officers said it supported
the government's decision to review the safety of the
spray, but a spokesman for their Self Defence
Arrest and Restraint Committee stated that he was
convinced that there were people alive today
who would have died if CS had not been
available as an alternative method of restraint
to truncheons or firearms.
Speaking A
Photographs
Answer key
C The first shows the scene where a crime has taken
place, the second shows a crime being committed
while the third shows a suspect being taken into
custody.
Discussion points
Suggested answers
1 increasing urban poverty
increasing unemployment
breakdown of traditional family structure and
parental and educational discipline
decline in respect lor religion and murals
rise in materialism (it the more consumer
goods you own, the happier you wiii be;
increase in use of illicit drugs
racial tensions caused by rise in immigration
insufficiently harsh penalties for criminals
Background information
A policeman on the beat patrols an area on foot in order to
prevent crimes or to spot them early on.
Neighbourhood watch schemes are set up and run by
residents of an area. They aim to prevent or cut down crime
in the area by reporting any suspicious-looking strangers or
activities rapidly to the police.
Passages
Suggested answers
1 theme: describes how a policeman risked his life
lo save a suspect from death, then arrested him.
style: neutral, factual - no personal pronouns
used or personal opinions expressed, but some
informal vocabulary used (cops, grabbed hold of)
source: short news item from a newspaper
(actual); short radio news item (possible)
2 theme: describes a new international database
that can track down stolen cars
style: formal - personal pronouns are avoided;
passive verbs are used (can be moved/re-
reyislered/cluimed): formal vocabulary (border
restrictions, apprehended)
source: extract from an article in a serious
newspaper or magazine (actual)
3 theme: describes aspects of a police officer's work
for potential recruits to the service
style: informal, but informative: personal
pronouns you used; informal vocabulary (brawls,
and that's not to mention, nobody ever said)
source: recruitment advertisement for the police
force placed in a newspaper (actual): voice-over
for a TV police recruitment ad (possible)
Listening B
Before you listen
Answer key
1 beyond redemption 2 bail... on remand
3 genocide ... perpetrators ... face prosecution
4 ratify
Listening 1, page 56
Answer key
f No 2 No 3 No 4Yes 5 Yes 6Yes 7 Yes 8 No

Background information
A^paroTe boardjs a group of people (prison officers, case
workers, psychiatrists) who meet to decide if it is appropriate
to release a prisoner before the end of his/her sentence.
Listening 1 - Tapescript
: You will hear a conversation between two friends, Tom and
: Kate, who are discussing how murderers should be dealt
with.
Tom Did you read that article about life sentences for
murderers today?
; Kate No, I haven't had a chance to look at the paper yet.
] What did it say?
; Tom Well, you know that the H o m e Secretary has
I ruled that for some m u r d e r e r s a life sentence
I should mean life?
J Kate Yes, I'm not completely ignorant, you know.
Tom Well, now Lord Bingham, the most senior judge in
England and Wales, has said that he disagrees. H e
\believes it's not for anyone to decide that a
p e r s o n is beyond redemption^ and saideftthat he
X.
""would rather gmpo^e_a_s^ntencejif 35 to 40 years
than^a w h d e j ^ e n t e n c e ^ . *l Tl '< Ullp%(p)l/~J
'. Kate There you are then. You're always saying that
; judges are reactionary, b u t he's proved to b e
; m o r e liberal t h a n the H o m e Secretary.
Tom That's true. But, you know, in this case I think the
I judge is actually being t o o liberal.
Kate What? You astonish me, Tom. I clearly remember
you telling me that you thought prison sentences
;; were a waste of time and public money.
' Tom Yes, in general I do believe that. Prison doesn't
I teach criminals the error of their ways or
I h o w to behave better in society, itjnerely
punishes them. But in cases of violent a n d
: repeated crimes, ybuliaveTOTpin^pTffblic safety
fifsinryoulreleasg a mulSpTehiuFderer after 3if
; "years, for example, you put the public at risk of him
or her striking again. J d o n ' t think that's
" acceptable - they have to b e kept beEInd
: .bars. " ~ """'
I Kate But surely convicted m u r d e r e r s must have
: to undergo a whole battery of psychological
tests before they're released - that's what
parole b o a r d s are for, isn't it?
Tom I p r e s u m e so. But even then, there's no guarantee
: that they won't commit the same crime again. It's not
; unHeard of. ' rights abuses. For example, if a current head of state
: Kate Well, it seems to me that your thinking's a bit
muddled. jOnjh.one_hand you think that most
; criminals are redeemable but that prison js_an
: inappropriate methodToT redeeming them, but on the
other youlRmk that certain categories of criminals
'. are totally beyond redemption and therefore should
: be~prmishecfuntil they die.
: Tom It's not so much that I feel they should be punished,
more that they're very sick and dangerous people and
need to be prevented from causing more harm.
Kate In that case, the logical o u t c o m e of your
" argument w o u l d b e that we should reinstate
: the death penalty - that way we could protect the
; public absolutely and totally, and save a lot of public
': money into the bargain.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
Listening 2, page 57
Answer key
1 30 states (or government Ministers from 30 states)
2 60 3 China and the United States
4 genocide 5 war crimes 6 crimes against humanity
7 the United Nations Security Council
8 approves the prosecution
9 the crimes (or alleged crimes) were committed
Listening 2 - Tapescript
You will hear a radio programme about the proposed
establishment of an International Criminal Court.
: Presenter Last summer government ministers from
30 states gathered to sign a treaty that could
'. .alter the lives of despots, tyrants and torturers. It
: means that one day they could be taken tc{aj2ourt in
The Hague, put on trial for their actions and
I imprisoned tor theTest of their lives. After five weeks
; of negotiation, the signatories agreed to a new
permanent global court to try crimes of
genocide, w a r crimes a n d crimes against
humanity. But the International Criminal Court
faces a very uncertain future. It can c o m e into
: existence only when sixty countries have
ratified the treaty and two of the world's most
: powerful and populous nations - C h i n a a n d the
United States - have refused to sign it. Even if
; the court does get up and running, doubts hang over
; its operation. In the studio I have Paul Rankin of the
; human rights organisation Freedom International.
J Paul, this seems a great step forward and yet you say
: you are concerned about whether the proposed new
court will actually be able to achieve anything. Can
'. you explain what your concerns are?
Paul R a n k i n Of course. The main problem is that, in
' order to reach agreement on the establishment of the
: court at all, compromises had to be made on the
extent of its jurisdiction. The final decision was that
the court can act only w h e n the United
; N a t i o n s Security Council refers the
prosecution to them, or w h e n either the
: country from which jthe'alleged criminal
comes or the country i n which the alleged
crimes were committed approves t h e
prosecution. Clearly this allows a lot of loopholes
lor dictators~to continue getting away with human
: were accused of genocide in his country of origin,
; the only way he could be brought to trial at the
I International Criminal Court would be if the UN
; Security Council agreed to the prosecution.
I Presenter So what do you think about...? (fade)
Listening 3, page 57
Answer key
1 F 2F 3T 4T 5F 6T 7F 8T 9F
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
Listening 3 - Tapescript
; You will hear a radio programme cautioning travellers to
Thailand on the risks of breaking the law there.
; Presenter With the wide availability of budget-price
I flights and the recent economic problems in South-
; East Asia, Thailand is ^an increasingly popular and
cheap destination for British holidavmakers. Most
I go for the idyllic beaches a n d islands in the
; south; morejntregcLtravellers go trekking in the
mountains of the north and others will visit, if only
". for curiosity's sake, .the go-go bars of Bangkok.
; Unfortunately, increasing n u m b e r s also seek
* jlocal colour in the form of d a b b l i n g with
drugs. At present 23 British nationals are in
* prison in Thailand, the majority of them
',. serving sentences between 25 years .and life.
: Most of these are young men convicte^of drug
> offences. Drug laws in Thailanffiarejgrfffirnely strict
: and anvone_caiiglU(xn^ossessioni3000
; grams or m o r e of heroin with intejit J o
distribute the drug is punished by a
m a n d a t o r y death sentence. In the case of
; western foreigners the sentence is c o m m u t e d
i to life imprisoninent, but life in this caselneans
; 100 years. For lesser drug offences the prospects are
* still grim. In theory, suspects can only h e held
for three m o n t h s before being formally
* cTyugedJiut, in practice, a n d especially in
narcotics cases, this can take m u c h longer.
: Q}aif)s almost never given but, if it is, is set so high
:
mat few people can afford it. By pleadingguiltv
: o n arrest, during the police investigation a n d
; at the first cgurLappearancfi, a suspect can
speed u p the court proceedings and improve
: vthe chances of a reduced sentence. A private
J lawyer costs thousands of pounds^ESTfifja suspect -
"; cannot afford one, he or she will have to rely on the
services of rtheicourt lawyer who will probably speak
; {Kx^o_jig_Englis^ and have little interest in the case
I as there isi no financialflncmtjyeT'ilf, however, a
suspect pleads n o t guilty, the time sjjent_on
r e m a n d will b e longer, the trial may last two
: or three years and, if he~or s h e i s finally
convicted!.the sentence is likely to b e harsher.
; Prison conditions, especially for men, are generally
very poor, with prisoners sleeping on the floor
I without proper bedding. Everyday necessities, such as
: folankets, towels and .toiletries are not provided by the
prison authorities. Thai prisoners survive thanks
to relatives w h o bring these items in for
them, as well as extra food a n d money for
medical and dental care. Without this
network of family and friends o n h a n d to
help them, life is exceedingly h a r d for foreign
prisoners. The combination of poor diet, hot and
humid weather and very basic sanitation means that
many of them suffer from sores that won't
heal or infections that won't clear u p . Thanks
to a transfer treaty, British prisoners do now have the
possibility, to apply for a transfer to a British jail.,
Nevertheless, they wilTstiH have to serve between four
and eight years in Thailand first and the original
sentence of 25 years or m o r e will still stand.
TravellerJjej^miedJ Think twice before you try to
subsidise your holiday with a spot of drug dealing or
smuggling; for foreigners in Thailand, crime definitely
doesn't pay.
Speaking B
Discussion points
Suggested answers
2 in jail -\ bullying/violence from guards and other
inmates, isolation, depression, humiliation, drug
abuse is widespread, boredom, lack of exercise,
inadequate nutrition, contact with more
^experienced and^ hardened criminals can make the
prisoner more likely to commit future crimes on
release
after release - ostracism from relatives, former
friends, colleagues etc
| the stigma of having "p^p in pris^p, ran make it
hard to find jobs and housing
; difficulties in adjusting to life in society again
i may slip back into their old ways as it is hard to
earn a living
3 reasons - may be political (eg Basque separatists,
Kurds etc)
may form part of a code of honour (eg in the
Mafia or other secret societies)
may be a chain of events caused by a blood feud
or vendetta (eg in Crete, Sicily, Sardinia)
may be to avenge a crime or death
people may feel the law has failed them or justice
has not been done (eg when someone has been
killed by a drunk driver and the driver gets an
insufficiently harsh sentence)
Communicative activities
1 Matching
Background! information
Community service is a form of punishment in which a
person convicted of a crime does a specified number of
hours of unpaid work for the community, instead of being ,,
sent to prison or paying a fine. U^C^-i-OCtl-M-'1 Jl^Oc-0-^
A person on bail is at liberty while awaiting trial, having paid
money to the court as a guarantee that they will turn up for
^he court case. fhOti ?yO,,'Wi-
Ax)eson on remand is held in prison while awaiting trials
A person tin parole has been released from prison early on
the promise of committing no further crimes and has to
report regularly to a parole officer whosupervises their
behaviour ^0t/lC^of- uC-$-&
A person on probation has committed a crime but, instead
of being sent to prison, agrees to obey the law and is
supervised by a probation officer who monitors their
behaviour during a specified period of time.
,,-(; r- , v ,, f" . C-<<X.
H^'

Art and heritage
Think about the topic
Answer key
3 Heritage refers lo the customs, traditions, an
forms and works of art, philosophical ami social
systems etc which a nation or ethnic group
inherits from its ancestors.
An inheritance is money or property, which is
passed on to a person when someone, frequently
a relative, dies.
Before you listen
Answer key
1 c 2f 3e 4 a 5d 6g 7b
Listening 1, page 60
Answer key
1 No 2 Yes 3 Yes 4 Yes 5 No
6 No 7 No 8 Yes 9 No
Background information
Post-Impressionist refers to a late 19th century style of
painting in which paintings have got strong colour and a
strong plan. This style grew out of the innovations of
Impressionist painting. Among the most famous post-
Impressionist artists are Van Gogh and Matisse.
Expressionist refers to a style of late nineteenth and early
twentieth century painting in which colours or shapes are
exaggerated in order to express emotions with more intensity.
Listening 1 - Tapescript
; You will hear an interview with the director of a private art
school.
; Interviewer What kind of courses do you run and for
whom?
; Director In the mornings we have classes on specific
subjects, such as life drawing, landscape painting and
: portraiture. These are attended mainly byjjraclising,
: a m a t e u r artists., often retired people, w h o want to
rmprove their technique. In the evenings we have
: our beginners' art class, mainly attended by working
people, and at weekends and during school holidays
". we run occasional art workshops for school children.
Interviewer How do you go about teaching drawing and
I painting to complete beginners?
Director Well, the first thing we have to do is to teach
". them to see. In daily life people are bombarded by
: such a profusion of images in newspapers and
> magazines, on advertising hoardings and on TV that
: very few people really look properly at simple
; things any more. We will take an object such as a
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
black billiard ball, place it on a sheet of white paper
and ask our students to really look at it, to observe
how and where the light strikes it, which areas are
darker and which lighter and to notice what minute
differences the eye picks up that make the object
appear spherical. Once you have really observed
an object, it is much easier t o d r a w it and we
can then show them some techniques to reproduce
the same effect on paper. But seeing must always
come first.
Interviewer It sounds a very unusual approach. How do
most people react?
Director A lot of people don't have t h e patience
for it - they've come t o t h e class t o learn a set
of drawing a n d painting 'recipes', as it were,
a n d they think we're wasting their time a n d
money. Other students respond really well and make
rapid progress in observing details and consequently
learn to draw faster and better. And some students
have even remarked that the exercise is very
therapeutic and h a s a n effect similar t o that of
meditation - we insist that the observation stage of
every lesson be conducted in silence, and this quiet
; concentration on a simple object has the effect of
stilling the mind, especially for people who've just
I come from a busy work environment.
: Interviewer And when do students move on to using
: colour?
; Director Once they've mastered the basics of
I representing solid forms o n p a p e r w e start t o
teach them the principles of tone a n d colour
and h o w to mix colours. One method we use
: here is to ask them to copy reproductions of
landscape or still life paintings by other artists and try
f to match the exact tones and colours. Again, this is
: an exercise in observation.
Interviewer What styles of painting would you use as
; models in this case?
Director Usually Post-Impressionist or Expressionist
paintings, as colour tends to d o m i n a t e form in
these, a n d a w i d e palette is used.
; Interviewer How long does it take to teach someone to
; draw and paint well?
Director H o w long is a piece of string? And h o w
d o you define 'well'? There are some who would
; say that many modern painters don't paint 'well' in
: the sense of representing clearly identifiable objects,
I yet they are nevertheless good artists.
: Interviewer Yes, I take your point. A different question,
then. H a s anyone you've trained from
beginner's level reached a standard which
m o s t people w o u l d r e g a r d as professional?
: Director A few, t h o u g h n o n e of t h e m earn their
m a i n income that way. However, a former student
of mine has just had a very successful show at a
gallery in Bristol in which only five out of the forty
paintings on show remained unsold.
Listening 2, page 61
Answer key
1 crucifix 2 globe 3 April 1 1 , 1 5 3 3 4 4.00 pm
5 Good Friday 6 (turbulent) religion and politics
(ofthe day) 7 27 8 the sun above (or over) London
9 distorted skull
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Taachefa Btfok
Background information
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) was a German
painter who spent much of his working life in England and
became the court painter to King Henry VIII. He was
renowned for the compelling realism of his portraits.
Listening 2 - Tapescript
: You will hear a lecturer talking about a painting known as
The Ambassadors' by the German painter Hans Holbein
the Younger.
: Lecturer Holbein's double portrait known as 'The
Ambassadors' has delighted and puzzled academics
: and the general public alike for more than 400 years.
; Now Professor John North, a British expert in
, medieval philosophy and astrology, thinks he may
: ' have ^racked its cor|e.)Scnolars have found many
; hidden meanings among the astronomical and other
instruments which lie on the shelves between the two
: men, such as the broken string on the lute
\ symbolising the turbulent religion and
politics of the day. However, they have overlooked
many clues which Professor North believes point
; towards the Crucifixion of Christ. The first clue that
ha pinpointedjs the time and date represented
on the cylindrical wayfarer's dial which sits
on the top shelf - April 1 1 , 1 5 3 3 , which was
Good Friday that year. The time is 4.00 p.m.,
; ^^P- Christ is supposed to have died. Professor
t North then addressed himself to the most striking
; mystery of the painting - the distorted_skull^fn)
,the foregrounds It is widely accepted that this
image is restored if it is viewed from a point off to
: the centre-right of the picture. He found that, from
': this position, a line could be drawn through the left
: ambassador's left eye up to an almost hidden
: crucifix in the top left corner of the painting.
The same line passes through the northern point on
'. the horizon of the celestial globe behind the
; ambassador's arm. Both this line, and the line
I along which the skull can be seen as a skull,
: are at 27 degrees to the horizontal. This is the
angle that the sun would have been above
'. London at 4.00 p.m. on Good Friday in 1533.
North also found that the shape of a ... (fade)
Listening 3, page 61
Answer key
1 A I C I D 4 B S D
Background information
Memento mori is a Latin term which means 'reminder of
death'.
Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was a Portuguese
navigator and explorer who accomplished the first round the
world voyage in 1519-1521.
Listening 3 - Tapescript
: You will now hear a different lecturer talking about the
; same painting as in Listening 2.
", Lecturer What distinguishes oil painting from any
other form of painting is its special ability to
I convey the tangibility of what it depicts. It
: defines the real as that which you can put
your hands on. Although its painted images are
two-dimensional, its potential to create an illusion is
; far greater than that of sculpture, for it can suggest
objects possessing colour, texture and temperature.
; Holbein's 1533 painting of 'The Ambassadors'
" stands at the beginning of this tradition. It is painted
: with great skill to create the illusion in the spectator
that he or she is looking at real objects and materials.
", The eye moves from fur to silk to metal to wood to
; velvet to marble to paper, and everything that the
eye perceives appeals to the sense of touch.
: Except for the faces and the hands, there is not a
I surface in this picture which has not been elaborately
> worked over - by weavers, embroiderers, carpet-
: makers, goldsmiths, furriers, tailors, jewellers. And,
finally, the resulting richness of each surface has been
worked over and reproduced by Holbein the painter.
Works of art in earlier traditions had celebrated
' wealth. But wealth was then a symbol of a fixed
: social or divine order. When merchants grew rich and
- a new middle class came into being, painting
celebrated a new kind of wealth - one which revelled
in the supreme buying power of money. Thus
painting itself had to be able to demonstrate
the desirability of what money could buy.
r~) And, as the desirability of what can be bought lies in
; ' its tangibility, oil painting was the perfect medium to
illustrate tRTs.
; In the foreground of Holbein's Ambassadors
; there is a mysterious, slanting, oval form. This
J represents a highly distorted skull. There are several
; theories about how and why it was painted, but all
agree that it was a kind of memento mori: a
". play on the medieval idea of using a skull as a
; continual reminder of the presence of death.
J What is significant is that the skull is painted in a
: quite different optic from everything else in the
picture. If the skull had been painted like the rest, its
I metaphysical implication would have
; disappeared; it would have become an object like
everything else, a mere part of a mere skeleton of a
; man who happened to be dead.
Let us now look at the ambassadors themselves.
; The two men are confident and formal, as between
each other they are relaxed. But how do they look at
". the painter - or at us? Their gaze is both aloof and
I wary. They wish the image of their presence to
impress others with their vigilance and their distance.
: The presence of kings and emperors had once
; impressed in a similar way, but their images had been
" impersonal. What is new and disconcerting here is
: the desire to show individuality while still
maintaining a distance from the spectator.

Speaking A ".iywm-jBS .** M"*'""
Photographs
Answer key
c The first picture shows a work of art which exists
in a public place, rather than a gallery, and which
has been embellished by a member of the public.
The second picture shows art as something which
can be created by ordinary people, and the third
depicts the role of art as an investment for the rich
and connoisseurs.
Passages
Suggested answers
1 style: neutral t the use of one instead of uou is a
_ formal usage, but the vocabulary isjslatiszejj
informal and non^spedajist
theme: discusses how the reproduction of art works
has altered the significance of originals
source: extract from a book(8n)trt history or art
appreciation (actual); extractfrom an article in a
serious magazine or newspaper (possible)
2 style!]neutral and informative. - some semi-
specialist language used (a commission, a
Madonna, illustrator), but otherwise the style is
'quite straightforward i
theme: describes how. when the practice of
commissioning works of art declined, artists were
faced with the choice of producing paintings of
subjects which would sell easily or of choosing
subjects which allowed them to experiment with
their chosen art form, but which might not attract
KlM'fH'C
source: extract from a book on art history or art
appreciation (actual); extract from an article in a
serious magazine or newspaper (possible)
3 style: informal and descriptive - a lot of phrasal
verbs used (scattered around, stand out from,
tucked away in); ^rsn n a 1 r r " " " ' " ' J used; semi-
literary descriptions (bj,end into local life with a
quieTmystery; sprawling green octopus; is a magnet
for children)
theme: describes some of Monaco's outdoor
sculptures and people's reactions to them
source: extract from a magazine article on
sculptures in Monado (actual); extract from a radio
programme on sculpture and/or Monaco (possible)
Background information
Until the end of the eighteenth century, the majority of
artists' output was through commissions - ie they were
asked to paint a specific subject for which they would be
paid by a church or wealthy patron. This practice declined in
the nineteenth century, and ceased almost completely after
the advent of photography. As a result, artists no longer had
a reliable source of income and were faced with the dilemma
described in the second passage.
A sculpture trail is a series of outdoor sculptures laid out
along a route which visitors can follow, usually with the aid of
a map or signposts.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher^ jook
Listening B ^(i^BfBa.^BT *
Before you listen
Answer key
1 d 2c 3b 4a
Listening 1, page 64
Answer key
1Yes 2 Yes 3 Yes 4 No 5 No 6 Yes
! 7 Yes 8 Yes 9 No 10 No
Background information
Licensing laws_control the hours that pub_s._rnay.siay open
and_resJtajjriu3iij_Tay serve alcoholic.drinks -with, meals, in
Britain. The hours vary somewhat from region to region.
Until the late 1980s,_pjjjbs^ck_sed in the afternoon, opened
again around five pm and served the Last drinks at ten thirty.
Nowadays many pubs in Britain close at eleven p.m., but in
parts of Scotland the licensing laws are more lenient.
A greasy spoon is a small, inexpensive restaurant. The
name derives from the fact that they serve a lot of fried
dishes, such as bacon, sausages and eggs.
A transport cafe is a similar establishment, often on the
outskirts of a town. The name derives from the fact that they
are patronised by lorry drivers.
Listening 1 - Tapescript
You will hear a radio programme in which a person gives
his or her personal opinions on a topic. The speaker on this
broadcast is talking about changes in British life.
Presenter In this evening's edition of 'Soapbox', Jessica
Fry talks about life in Britain.
Jessica Fry Britain used to b e k n o w n as the land of
soggy fish a n d chips, overcooked vegetables
a n d tea with everything. Foreigners laughed at
our habit of forming patient queues in banks and
post offices, our ludicrous licensing laws, which
forced people into the streets and back to bed at
eleven p.m., and our penchant for long conversations
about the weather. Our red telephone kiosks were
quaint and picturesque, even if they didn't work most
of the time, and service in shops was friendly,
albeit frequently slow a n d inefficient.
All that has changed. Walk a r o u n d the
centre of any medium-sized British t o w n a n d
you will find yourself in a gastronome's
paradise - Thai restaurants nestle cheek by
jowl with French bistros, Italian trattorias
a n d delicatessens offering treats from the
four corners of the world. O u r supermarkets
I carry what is probably the b r o a d e s t a n d m o s t
cosmopolitan range of food products in
" Europe a n d even the least sophisticated
a m o n g u s drink w i n e w i t h o u r meals, if only
o n special occasions.
; Thanks to a u t o m a t i o n , queues in b a n k s
are largely things of the past, a n d o n visits to
the post office your progress to the counter is
: speeded u p by the issue of little tickets w i t h
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's B60fc
numbers on them. In clothing shops you are
pounced uponiby assistants eager to, fulfil,
j o u r every wisfTand w h o centreat you to
'have a nice day' as youjstagger out laden
with garments their zeal has persuaded you
to buy. Pubs no longer throw you out in the
afternoon and in some parts of Britain even
stay open until louche post-midnight hours.
Public telephone booths are n o w
functionally modern and unremarkable, but
; they work.
: There is no doubt about the fact that life in
Britain has become easier and, in some ways,
nicer. But it has also become rather sanitised
and characterless. While I wouldn't Bketo see the
' return ofboilecTcabbage and stodgy puddings,
; neither would I want all our traditional transport
cafes and greasy spoons to be replaced by slick
; burger bars. Nor do I want to see corner shops
where you can have a chat with the
proprietor while a queue builds up behind
; you entirely pushed out of the market by
large, efficient, impersonal chains. These things
: are aspects of Britain's heritage, quite as much as
; Shakespeare, the Tower of London, unarmed
policemen and strawberries and cream on warmish
summer days. At least for the moment, however, one
thing won't change - our perpetual fascination with
I the weather. '
Listening 2, page 65
Answer key
1 T 2F 3T 4F 5F 6F 7T 8F 9F
Background information
Parthenon was the chief temple of the Greek goddess
Athena on the hill of the Acropolis in Athens. Work began in
447 BC and was completed by 438 BC
Pheidias was the Athenian sculptor responsible for
supervising the decoration of the Parthenon.
Listening 2 - Tapescript
: You will hear part of a radio programme about the
sculptures from the Parthenon which are known in Britain
'.as the Elgin Marbles. They are now in the British Museum.
Presenter In answer to the question 'If there were a
: referendum on whether or not the Elgin Marbles
; should be returned to Greece, how would you
; vote?', a recent opinion poll showed that 39
percent of Britons would vote in favour of a
returning them, compared to only 15 percent
" who would vote for them to be kept in
; Britain. However, the poll also showed substantial
apathy about the issue - 18 percent of the people
: polled would not vote at all, and a further 28
percent were undecided. In the light of the fact that
" the don't-knows and the don't-cares
represent nearly half of the respondents, it is
perhaps timely to re-examine the history of the Elgin
' Marbles and the arguments on both sides of the
I case. My guest is the art critic and historian Colin
I Forsyth. Colin, could you refresh our memories on
I how such a vast body of sculptures from the
Parthenon came to end up in the British Museum?
; Colin Forsyth Certainly. The process began in 1801
when the seventh Earl of Elgin, w h o was the
British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire,
obtained authority from the Sultan to remove
sculptures and inscriptions from the
; Parthenon, which was, at that time, largely
ruined as the result of an explosion during a
; siege by the Venetians more than a century
previously. Even at that time, there seem to have
: been doubts about Elgin's motives - some
; supported his claim that he was a lover of the
arts w h o wanted to preserve Pheidias's
I sculptures from destruction and to make his
; fellow-countrymen more aware of the beauties of
I Greek art. Others deplored his actions, the most
; famous of these being Lord Byron who described
Elgin's removal of the sculptures as 'the last poor
plunder from a bleeding land'. The French consul
; fin Athens at that time protested against the
removal of the marbles and was consequently
; imprisoned by the Turks, so there seems little
; doubt that the plunder was indeed sanctioned by the
I Turkish authorities.
Presenter So did Elgin in fact buy the marbles
from the Turks?
Colin Forsyth There is no evidence that that is
the case, though many people claim that he bribed
; Turkish officials heavily in order to obtain the
permission to remove them.
; Presenter What happened thereafter?
: Colin Forsyth The marbles were transported by ship to
; Britain and Lord Elgin sold the entire
collection to the British government in 1816
; for the sum of 35,000. The government in turn
entrusted the collection to the British Museum, where
it has remained ever since.
Listening 3, page 65
Answer key
1 B 2 D 3 D 4 D 5 A 6 C
Listening 3 - Tapescript
". The radio programme you heard in Listening 2 continues.
Presenter So, what are the main arguments on both
I sides of the case?
Colin Forsyth Well, the Greek argument, and it is a very
'. powerful one, is that the sculptures belong back on
: the Acropolis, where they came from, and that they
were in fact stolen from Greece.
: Presenter Surely, there's no arguing with that?
I Colin Forsyth Morally, no. But legally, it is a question
of whether the papers Elgin obtained from
I the Sultan should be considered legitimate or
not. The Greek position is that the Turks were an
occupying power and that it is not right for an
occupying country to give away the national treasures
of the occupied country. The British Museum's
argument is that, at the time, Greece had been part
: of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 350 years and that
the papers Elgin obtained were legitimate in that they
: were issued by the government of the period. The

other legal complication is that the British Museum
is governed by a statute set up in 1753, which
prohibits them from disposing of any items in their
collection and it is thus impossible for them to
return the Marbles without the British government
passing a new law allowing them to do so. So, as
you can see, the position is rather more complicated
than it first appears.
Presenter Indeed. Apart from the legal and moral
arguments, what other issues are involved?
Colin Forsyth Well, there's been a lot of ammunition
fired on both sides concerning the question of
preservation of the sculptures. One of the British
Museum's other arguments against returning
the marbles is that, by staying in London, they
have been preserved from potential decay caused by
pollution. This is true to the extent that the West
frieze of_the Parthenon*, which remainedin place,
until J5931 was so badly damaged by pollution that
modern casts could not be made from it.
Consequently, a Greek restorer came to London to
make new casts deriving from casts in the
possession of the British Museum taken from
^moulds made bxElginy On the other hand, a
recent book has unveiled a horrible error,
which took place in the British Museum in
the 1930s. Were you aware that classical statues
were in fact brightly coloured?
Presenter No, I tend to associate ancient Greek art
with a kind of chalky whiteness.
Colin Forsyth You're by no means alone in that, but
nowadays most scholars accept that the marble was
in fact painted. Unfortunately, this fact was not
known to the millionaire art dealer Lord
Duveen, who was paying for a new gallery in the
museum to house the Elgin Marbles. He took
exception to the honey-coloured patina that
the marbles had and ordered them to be
scrubbed to whiteness. It was only when the
director of the museum happened to take a walk
through the workshops in the basements that he
discovered what was going on and put a stop to it
immediately. Unfortunately, by that time, some
of the sculptures had been irreparably
damaged. So, to coin a ghastly pun, one could
say that neither side has a whiter than white
image where preservation is concerned.
Presenter The plot thickens. In the light of what you've
told us tonight, I think I would actually find it harder
now to make a reasoned choice about the fate of the
marbles. Where do your sympathies lie?
Colin Forsyth Well, I tend to think there is not much
point now in arguing about whether Elgin's actions
really did preserve the sculptures from neglect at the
hands of the Turks or whether they represented theft.
Since then the tide of history and public opinion has
changed. For example, the Stone of Scone, where the
ancient kings of Scotland were crowned, has recently
been returned to Scotland following a long sojourn
in Westminster Abbey after being stolen by the
English . ^ s a j c o j l I welcomed and approved of the
Stone's return. I therefore have to accept the
moral argument where the Elgin Marbles are
concerned. After all, nigh on two hundred
years' possession of a large chunk of another
country's heritage is a fair crack of the whip.
We should give up gracefully now.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
Presenter Won't that set a precedent for returning
almost all of the other exhibits in the British
Museum and other museums around the world too?
Colin Forsyth It could indeed. We're certainly not the
only ones with other people's art treasures in our
possession. If it does set a precedent, it could
become a landslide and completely alter the
content and concept of museums as we know them
now. At the moment the appeal of world-class
museums like the B_ritish Museum and the Louvre is
That they transcend nationalJx>undaries and present
opliorUanitiestSL study and compare the development
of different cultures throughout the ages all under "
one roof. If all art treasures are restored to their
country of origin, those opportunities will be lost.
However, new methods and technologies might
replace them - greater use of casts and replicas, for
example, and virtual reality reconstructions of
ancient sites and monuments.
Presenter Well, a fascinating insight into ... (fade)
Speaking B
Photographs
Answer key
c The first picture illustrates both the artistic
heritage of classical Greece, which has influenced
art throughout Europe, and the philosophical ideal
of 'a healthy mind in a healthy body' which has
inspired many cultures. The second illustrates
musical heritage and also shows how traditional
costume and customs survive and thrive from
generation to generation. The last photograph
depicts the political heritage of democracy, again
inherited from the ancient Greeks.
Common errors
The words ancestors and predecessors are frequently
used interchangeably, but are not in fact synonyms.
Ancestors are the people from whom you, or your nation,
are descended. Predecessors are people who performed
the same job as you before you.
Discussion points
/ Suggested answers
1 yjt shaprfi rmnmptionfi nhnnt wha* i g ' nf>TT nal' in
society - eg attitudes to the role of the family,
the role of women in society, the amount of
freedom given to children etc
vit affects attitudes to foreigners.- eg historical
enemies
|it affects political and philosophical ideas
about civic freedom and ngnts, power
structures, voting systems etc
\ it affects everyday customs, behaviour,
celebrations etc
fit_can foster either patriotism or chauvinism.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher'* Batik
3 when the art treasures in question were illegally
removed from their country of origin
when the original setting from which they were
taken still exists (as in the case of the Parthenon)
when they will be properly preserved if returned
lo their country of origin
when they will still be displayed and available
/^orjinternational study if returned to their
^-country of origin
in all circumstances, no matter how or why they
were removed in the first place
Body and mind
Listening A
Listening 1, page 68
Answer key
I T 2F 3F 4T 5F 6T 7T 8F 9T
Listening 1 - Tapescript
; You will hear an interview with a woman who has written a
* book about sumo wrestling.
: Interviewer My guest on the book programme this
evening is Stephanie Brown, the author of a book
* about sumo wrestlers which will be published next
; week. Stephanie, sumo wrestling seems an odd topic
for a British woman to write about. How did you
; first get interested in the subject?
I Stephanie B Well, I've been fascinated by all aspects of
: Japanese culture since I went to live and work there
as an English teacher 12 years ago. Sumo
particularly interested me as it combines all
; the trappings of late twentieth-century sports
superstardom with a thousand-year bid
: philosophical tradition whose roots are in
; the Japanese Shinto religion. We've got nothing
I - with that kind of pedigree here in Britain - our
: superstars are mainly footballers, but football is a
relatively young sport, with no religious or
* philosophical roots.
I Interviewer Indeed not. Judging by some of the
; behaviour one sees on the pitch and among the
supporters, a little religion or philosophy might not
go amiss! Stephanie, at the risk of being
: unimaginative, let me ask you the question I suppose
everyone asks you: how do sumo wrestlers get so
: fat?
Stephanie B You're right. Everyone wants to know
that; it seems we're all obsessed with size
; and physical image these days. In fact, it's all
done very systematically. Novices - teenage boys
: who are training to be wrestlers - live in the school
and train seven days a week. Typically, they
", get up at 5.00 and do five hours of training
and mock wrestling bouts - all this on no
breakfast, mind you! They might then have an
hour of lessons before helping to cook their own
lunch, which consists of rice and a nutritious stew
known as chanko-nabe. So, by the time they are
finally fed, they are absolutely ravenous and wolf
down several enormous helpings of food,
accompanied by great quantities of beer. This is
followed by five hours of sleep - according to
sumo lore this is the real heart of the
fattening process - sleep on top of a vast
intake of body-building food.
Interviewer Ah, I must remember that next time
I'm tempted to have a nap after over-
indulging at Sunday lunch! What are the
rewards for those who become top sumo
champions?
Stephanie B Well, as I mentioned before, they are
superstars in Japan, with incomes matching or
more likely outstripping those of top football
stars in the UK. They usually attract glamorous
and beautiful wives, despite their enormous size, and
can look forward to lucrative careers in
advertising, TV or catering once they've
retired from the ring.
Interviewer I've heard it said that sumo wrestlers tend
to die young. Is that true?
Stephanie B Well, a generation ago that was the case,
but nowadays they tend to get better medical care
and so their lifespan is onlyomarginallv/
shorter than that of the average Japanese
male. Most retired wrestlers now try to diet and take
up alternative forms of exercise, such as golf or
; jogging. But obesity causes other problems - bone
and nerve disorders are common side effects, and
: something like a knee injury which would
normally heal easily is greatly exacerbated
when you're carrying a body weight of 200
kilos or more.
Interviewer I'm sure it must be. And what about the
novices who ... (fade)
Listening 2, page 69
Answer key
1 the half-marathon 2 disabled athletes
3 running 1,000 miles 4 13 days
5 unpleasant environments 6 heavily polluted
7 1,120 miles 8 sleep
9 pushing his body too far
10 cycling across Australia
Background information
A marathon run covers a distance of 26 miles (about 42
kilometres).
A triathlon is an athletics event in which participants have to
swim, cycle and take part in a marathon run.
An Ironman'contest is a triathlon which usually involves a
2.4 mile (nearly 4 kilometer) swim, a 112 mile (180
kilometre) cycle ride and a marathon run. (Other triathlons
are also possible.)

Listening 2 - Tapescript
; You will hear a radio programme about endurance sports.
: Presenter In this evening's programme we report on the
; \ growing popularity of endurance sports-Once seen
I as a hobby for eccentrics or obsessives. more and
; more people are taking part in half-marathons,
marathons, triathlons and Ironman contests. Last
'. week a record 30,000 people in the north of England
: turned up for a run which was a half-marathon,
the first rung on the ladder of endurance
: sports. The recent Hawaii Ironman Triathlon,
; which involves a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile cycle ride
and a marathon run, attracted hundreds of
: contestants, some of whom were disabled
athletes. Nor is it only men who are attracted by
" these sports - one of Britain's foremost endurance
; athletes is Eleanor Robinson, a 50-year old woman
| who in March 1998 set a world record for
'. running 1,000 miles by keeping going round
: a track for 13 days, 1 hour, 54 minutes and 2
seconds.
; Quite apart from the staggering distances that
' have to be covered, many contests of this type
; are carried out in what most of us would find
unpleasant environments, even for a quiet
". stroll, such as the Sahara Desert or Death Valley. The
; world's toughest race, the Deca Ironman, is held
I in Monterrey, Mexico, one of the world's
'. most heavily polluted cities. This contest is
; actually ten Ironmans in one - a 24-mile swim, a
1,120 mile ride and a 262 mile run. British athlete
: Bob Brown, w h o completed the contest last
year, reported that he was hallucinating badly
", towards the end because of eight days of
; sleep deprivation. A medical check-up on his
return from Mexico showed that he was suffering
I from breathlessness and he has n o w developed
li. ', "- asthma, possibly as a result of pushing his
body too far. This has not discouraged Brown,
; however. He is now in training for a new challenge
< next year - cycling across Australia,
' swimming the Channel, then running from
; John O'Groats to Land's End. So what is it that
motivates people to keep pushing their body to the
limit, even when they know it could harm their
health in the long run? I spoke to Dan Blewitt, who
has taken part in three ... (fade)
Listening 3, page 69
Answer key
I D 2B 3 D 4 B 5A
Background information
Pat Delahaye is a fictitious character. All other athletes
mentioned in this section of the unit are real people.
Listening 3 - Tapescript
l You will hear a radio interview about the use of
; performance-enhancing drugs in Olympic sports.
I Presenter (The Olympic spirit is meant to embody the
highest ideal of sport and the ancient philosophyof a
healthy mind in a healthy body. All too_ofteri '
; 'unfortunately, this spint~has been Iietraye((^by
Proficiency Listening and Speaking "teacher's Book
scandals involving the use of performance-enhancing
.dnigs Last year saw the tragically early death of an
American Olympic runner who had been suspected
of drug use in the 1980s and the suspension(pf ~~)
the former gold medal-winning swimmer Pat
Delahaye for deliberately providing an
improper urine saniple^lnjthe_casej)f Pat
"Delahaye, the drug test did not involve a specific
banned substance, but a test is nowadays
considered a failure if there is evidence that a
sample has been tampered with. In the studio I
have Dennis Waterman, a coach for the British
Olympic swimming team. Dennis, what effect do yon
think drug scandals have on the mdrale of young
a
athlete's?
Dennis W Well, naturally, Olympic champions are
heroes and role-models for^young athletes, so
it's very demoralising to find out they've
cheated. It goes against the ethos of everything
we're trying to teach them. What's the point of
undergoing years of rigorous training, and devoting
your life to a sport if, in the end, your chance of a
medal will be snatched from you by someone who's
been using performance-enhancing drugs?
Presenter Is it not possibletbjat theexposing of drug
^scandals might act as a aetetTentin some cases?
Dennis W Yes, I think it can Jiave a salutary effect when
young people see the humiliation that athletes face
when they are caught. Unlike Ben Johnson, who was
publicly stripped of the gold medal he won at Seoul^
T?aTDelahaye will not have to hand back his
Olympic medals as they were w o n long
before the drug test in question. Nevertheless,
they might as well be pieces of tin in the eyes
of his fans now. As~yoirpTT^aTJry~&now, rumours
that he was using drugs date from a couple
of years before his success in the last
Olympics. Though nothing was ever proved, the
improvement in his performance at that time was so
extraordinary and so sudden that it was difficult to
attribute it to training alone. Now that he's been
found guilty of tampering with a sample taken
outside the competition season, no-one's going to
believe that he really deserved those gold medals.
Presenter How widespread is the use of drugs in sports
like swimming nowadays?
Dennis W It's impossible to tell, really. New drugs are
being developed all the time, but at the same time
5plTtestsye getting better and the procedures for
mnistering those tests are stricter. Obviously,
'however, thefe~are still ajot'cffibopholesyo be
plugged^as this case illustrates.
Presenter And what are the long-term risks of
taking performance-enhancing drugs?
Dennis W The jury's still out on that one. Doctors
have been saying for decades that they can cause
death, but there's no hard evidence to prove it. The
recent death of the American runner, Florence
Griffith-Joyner, has fuelled the debate. She was
suspected of using steroids in the 1980s and was
only 38 when she died suddenly in her sleep, but
again there's no proof. It's fairly widely accepted that
scores of East German Olympic athletes^used steroids v
in the 1980s and at least one of these, the swimmer
Petra Schneider, is now suing doctors and her former
coach for liver damage, presumably as a result of
taking drugs.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Booh
Speaking A
Photographs
Answer key
c All the photographs illustrate the triumph of mind
over matter. The first two show how, in extreme
circumstances, such as a race, people will use their
willpower to help them struggle ^m)regard1ess fit
physical handicaps or extreme pain or exhaustion.
The third photograph shows how, over a period of
time, a determination to improve,^ nature can
allow a person to completely alter the shape of
their body.
Discussion points
Suggested answers
2 they enjoy setting themselves challenges,
they are motivated by a desire to win or to
break records
they are seeking fame
they want an escape from daily life and routine
they believe that others may suffer harm, but
they will not
they want to test the limits of their own
strength, willpower and endurance
3 that willpower can overcome natural handicaps
that you should never give up in the face of
difficulties
that disabled people can be as successful as
athletes as non-disabled people
4 professional athletes: very, as their future careers,
team membership, sponsorship deals etc may
depend on winning
amateur athletes: it depends; many take part in
sports mainly for social and health reasons;
others may be strongly motivated by winning in
order to set records or meet personal challenges
children learning sports at school: it depends;
winning may be very important to those who do
not excel in academic subjects; winning can make
junior athletes popular among fellow students
and more attractive to the opposite sex; in some
countries, students who do well at sports at
school may win scholarships to universities;
others enjoy sports mainly for social reasons
people who do sports mainly as a way of keeping
fit: generally winning would be a^onajS, not the
main purpose of doing the sport; health benefits
are more important to them
Passages
Answer key
a to be borne out by (the word landmine offers
extra information about how Chris Moon came to
have only one arm and one leg, but does not
affect an understanding of the whole passage)
Suggested answers
b
1 theme: describes the wider implications for female
athletes of a tennis match which took place
twenty-five years ago
source: extract from an article in a serious
magazine or newspaper (actual); extract from a
radio or TV programme on the tennis player Billie
Jean King and/or women athletes
aimed at: the general public or people interested
in women in sport
2 theme: describes the determination of a disabled
endurance athlete to complete a run
source: extract from an article in a magazine or
newspaper (actual)
aimed at: the general public or athletes
3 theme: describes how, despite the known health ^,,
risks, many athletes would take potentiallyJsthoLL 1
drugs in order to help them win a race
source: extract from an article in a serious
magazine or newspaper (actual); extract from a
radio or TV programme on the use of drugs in
sport (possible)
aimed at: the general public or athletes
Background information
Billie Jean King and all the other athletes mentioned in this
section of the unit are real people.
Communicative activities
Discussion
Background information
The bombings at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics refer to the
planting of a bomb in the Centennial Olympic Park in
Atlanta, Georgia, during the Olympic Games on Saturday
27th July. Following the explosion, there was one fatality and
more than one hundred casualties.
The bribery scandal associated with corrupt Olympic
officials came to light in late 1998 to early 1999, when it was
discovered that top members of the Olympic committee had,
on many occasions, accepted expensive gifts from cities
which were bidding to host the Olympic Games.
Listening B ,_.. _
Listening 1, page 72
Answer key
1 No 2Yes 3 No 4Yes 5Yes
6 No 7 No 8 Yes 9 No
Background information
The nature versus nurture controversy is also known as
tthe heredity versus environment controversy. Jhe arguments
concern which has a greater influence on a person's character

and abilities - heredity (nature) or upbringing and
environment (nurture).
Politically correct is a term that describes people who make
deliberate efforts to avoid any kind of discrimination in their
language and behaviour e.g. to avoid any potential sexism,
racial discrimination, discrimination against old people,
discrimination against minority groups of any kind etc.
Listening 1 - Tapescript
I You will hear a radio programme in which a person gives
his or her personal opinions on a topic. The speaker in this
broadcast is talking about the)'nature versus nurture'.
: controversy, with regard to talent and intelligence.
Presenter In this evening's edition of 'Soapbox' Amanda
: Johnson talks about the nature versus nurture debate.
A m a n d a J It seems that the old Nature versus Nurture
; dispute just won't go away. For most of the second
half of the twentieth century, the nurturists held
I sway, with the belief that providing a better
; environment leads to the development of
better people. This h a s led, at least in the western
: world, to important, a n d essential, reforms in
the fields of education a n d social services. It
has not, however, delivered a society in which
everyone is equally talented.
In 1979 the Minnesota Centre for Twin and
; Adoption research began to contact more than 100
I sets of identical twins who had been separated at
: birth and reared apart. Each pair of twins was
subjected to t h o r o u g h p s y c h o l o g c a l M i J
I physiological tests. If twins are identical, any
; differences between them are due to the environment
they were reared in, and so various features can be
". put down to heredity. The study concluded that
; a b o u t seventy percent of I Q is inherited. In
addition, it found that in areas such as
: personal interests a n d social attitudes,
identical twins reared separately are about as
J similar as identical twins reared together. In
other words, heredity plays a m u c h larger p a r t
in individual make-up and character than
"sociologists would have us believe. Of course,
this information came as n o surprise to
parents, w h o k n o w full well that, despite their
: best efforts at providing early encouragement
- or training in all areas of endeavour, one of
their children may turn out to b e musical but
: clumsy, while the other is a c h a m p i o n o n the
football field b u t totally tone-deaf'
; Thanks to DNA research, the role of genes has
*_ now been linked to the development of diseases such
; as diabetes, heart disease, asthma and the
: degenerative brain disease known as Alzheimer's.
These discoveries have n o t provoked outraged
: cries of 'discrimination' from politically
correct academics or the general public. Why,
I then, should the idea that genes also play a n
; important role in intelligence a n d talent b e so
t a b o o ? Last week, the psychology department
; of a British university a n n o u n c e d that there is
no such thing as an instinctive, in-built ability to do
I anything, but that all h u m a n achievement can
: b e attributed to 'opportunities, training,
motivation, self-confidence and, most of all,
: practice'. The sentiments are laudable but, in my
: view, neither scientific research nor common sense
bear them out.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
Listening 2, page 72
Answer key
1 space 2 users communicate with the machine (or
the computer or computers)
3 directly from the brain 4 controls movement
5 grow inside the cones 6 phrases on a screen
7 the cursor 8 controlling our thoughts
9 disabled people
Listening 2 - Tapescript
" You will hear a lecture about new developments in
: computing.
; Lecturer It is common knowledge that since the first
: mainframe computers were developed in the 1940s,
> the trend has been towards ever more powerful,
: cheaper and smaller machines. C o m p u t e r s which
; once took u p whole r o o m s can n o w fit in a
jacket pocket. C o m p u t e r s any smaller than
: that, however, are h a r d e r to achieve. This is not
because scientists are unable to shrink the electronics,
but because of the way users c o m m u n i c a t e
with the machine. To work with a human, a
computer needs a screen and some kind of keyboard,
" mouse or pen for putting in and manipulating
: information. These devices take up space. A
c o m p u t e r which could take signals directly
from the brain w o u l d b e truly miniature. It
would also be far faster and easier to use. Mental,
J not physical dexterity would be all that is required.
This s o u n d s like science fiction, b u t may
in fact s o o n become reality. Researchers in
I neurology in the United States have developed tiny
implants that can be put in disabled patients' brains.
The implants are small glass cones w i t h
; electrodes inside. They are placed in the
m o t o r cortex, the area of the b r a i n which
: controls movement. In time, the patients' o w n
; nerves grow inside the cones, encouraged by
chemicals which are extracted from the
knees. Once the nerves have grown, they connect to
I the electrodes inside the cones, allowing the
computer to detect brain signals via a small
transmitter located just inside the patient's skull. So
how does it work and what are the benefits? Well,
". one of the patients on whom the research team are
: piloting the cones is an almost totally paralysed
stroke victim. Thanks to the implant, h e is n o w
: able to use the system to control a computer
; cursor to select phrases o n a screen, a n d thus
communicate with the outside world. In
: order to d o this, he h a d to learn h o w to
control the cursor by thinking a b o u t moving
parts of his body. At the moment, the implant can
only detect thoughts to move the cursor up and
down or left and right, so the applications are
: limited. Nevertheless, the benefits are still substantial
; for a patient like this, who otherwise had no method
; of communicating at all.
Of course, the technique of implanting cones or
chips inside the brain raises considerable questions
: and doubts of an ethical nature. If it is now possible
for the power of thought to control a computer, is it
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher'* BooV
: not likely that a future development would be
for computers to be able to control our
thoughts? This is a prospect which rightfully fills
: most people with horror. However, many computing
experts believe that the potential benefits to
". disabled people of this technology are so
; great that public demand will eventually overcome
; squeamishness about integrating electronics in the
: human body. What will be needed, of course, is
careful monitoring of the ... (fade)
Listening 3, page 73
Answer key
1T 2T 3T 4F 5T 6T 7T 8T 9T
Background information
Dolly the Sheep and the topic of cloning were first raised
in Unit 2, Listening B of this book - see Tapescript -
Listening 3 on page 13.
The novel Brave New World was written by the British
author Aldous Huxley and published in 1932. It describes a
futuristic society in which there are five classes of people -
alphas, betas, gammas, deltas and epsilons. Gammas ,deltas
and epsilons have been genetically engineered to have low
intelligence and carry out menial tasks.
Listening 3 - Tapescript
; You will hear part of a radio programme about cloning.
Presenter Since the birth ofXtofly the Sheep, the
I question of the morality of cloning, and of human
; cloning in particular, has caused tremendous
controversy; In fact, Britain has banned human
cloning since 1990, and a further 18 European
nations have signed an anti:clpnijig treaty.
I Nevertheless, many scientists believe that the clock
; cannot be turned back and that certain forms of
human cloning are inevitable in .the future. My guest
: today is Angela Armstrong, a professor of molecular
; biology at Cambridge University. Professor
I Armstrong, for many people the prospect of
: human cloning ^onjures up images of a world
populated by multiple copies of Hitler, as in
; the film "The Boys from Brazil', or of a world
; with a rigid caste structure of superior
humans in positions of power and an under-
: class of genetically-engineered sub-beings , as
described in Aldous Huxley's novel 'Brave
New World'. How close is either of these scenarios
; to what may happen if research on human cloning is
> allowed to go ahead?
I Prof. A Let's deal with the fear of armies of power-crazed
despots first. For a start, pressure to use cloning to
: reproduce humans is most likely to come from the
private sector. It's people who want to have children,
; not governments. Even if government
; programmes were set up to clone multiple
copies of one person, they wouldn't all end
I up the same, as development is affected by
; chemical and hormonal changes in the womb,
which would be different in the case of each
; foetus, and by subsequent life experiences.
The second fear is perhaps more justified, though
I again developments are unlikely to be government-led
; - with the capacity nowadays to have many manual
and repetitive tasks carried out by robots and
automated processes, it wouldn't be in governments'
interests to create an underclass of slave labour which
would use up resources for food and jiousing.
However, in the futuref^infertile couples) w h o
are unable to reproduce any other way than
by cloning, are likely to want to choose the
best in terms of genes for their children. As
this will be expensive, only a few people will
be able to afford to do it. This is where w e
could see the artificial creation of a
genetically-enhanced upper class, rather than
a deliberately genetically-impoverished sub-
class as postulated in Huxley's novel.
Presenter Does this prospect not.aDrjgl you?
Prof. A The idea of genetic engineering is indeed morally
repellent to many people. However, there are a
number of vejxjjosjtivejand.humanitarian, uses to
which cloning and genetic engineering could be put -
for example, they could be used to eliminate inherited
diseases, _an application which would greatly improve
the human condition. But, in ethical terms, it is very
hard to know where to draw the line between what
constitutes a legitimate and useful genetic
improvement, as in this example, and what is
morally unpalatable, such as genetically
engineering in an attempt to enhance
intelligence or character. As a scientist, however, I
am not in favour of blanket legislation against
research into human cloning, as this could
hinder the development of many useful applications.
Presenter What other benefits do you see cloning having,
then?
Prof. A There is enormous potential in the cloning of
individual human cells. Let's take an example of a
patient requiring a kidney transplant: at
present some of these die before a donor can
be found. Even if a donor is found, there is a
risk of rejection and the patient has to take
powerful drugs to suppress the immune
system. If cloning were allowed, however, it's
possible in the future that a new kidney could
be grown from the patient's o w n healthy cells
and there would be no danger of rejection
: after transplantation. In cases like this, one could
say that it's unethical not to allow research into these
: potential applications of cloning.
B wmm^vw^^sw^^m^
Photographs
Model answer
1 The first photograph relates to the theme of body
and mind in that the two children are
demonstrating a skill, which requires the physical
qualities of dexterity and a good ear for music. At
such a young age, this also demonstrates talent,
which some people believe is an inherited
characteristic.
In the second photo, I would imagine that the
metal boxes attached to the wheelchairs are
computers and so this photograph illustrates how

technology allows people who have physical
disabilities to communicate their thoughts to the
outside world.
O r If I'm not mistaken, the man shown in the
second photograph is Stephen Hawking, and so
this image illustrates the fact that although people
may be severely physically disabled, they may
have brilliant minds.
The third photo is meant to bring out the idea of
character being linked to physical appearance; for
example, some people believe that you can judge
whether someone has criminal tendencies just
from looking at him/her.
Background information
Stephen Hawking is a British physicist and author of 'A
Brief History of Time', a best-selling book on the origins of
the universe. He suffers from multiple sclerosis, a
degenerative neuromuscular disease and uses a computer
and voice box to communicate.
Discussion points
Suggested answers
1
thai physically disabled people arc also menially
impaired
that you can judge someone's character from their
facial features
that people who wear glasses arc studious and
intelligent
that black people are good dancers
that people who have tattoos or body piercing are
mentally disturbed/drug users/unreliable etc
that people with long, thin hands are sensitive/
creative/ artistic
that fat people are greedy/self indulgent/
undisciplined
that people from a different ethnic group to your
own are inferior/untrustworthv/lazv
Passages
Suggested answers
1 Iheme: describes how you can improve your
thinking by learning how to use the whole of your
brain
style: informal - the personal pronouns you and
your frequently used; incomplete sentence (Your
brain...): informal, non-specialist vocabulary
source: extract from an article in a popular
magazine (actual); extract from an advertisement
for a seminar or training course on thinking skills
(possible)
2 theme: discusses to what extent criminality is
inherited or learned
style: formal - personal pronouns and personal
opinions are avoided; some formal vocabulary
(innate, homicide statistics)
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher'* Boob
source: extract from an article in a serious
newspaper or magazine article (actual); extract
from an academic paper or journal possible)
Media and communication
Listening A
Listening 1, page 76
Answer key
1 content and pacing 2 language capabilities
3 respond (rapidly) to danger
4 impulsive and inappropriate
5 developing rational thought 6 aggressively
7 desensitisation (or emotional numbness or
numbing of the emotions)
Listening 1 - Tapescript
: You will hear part of a radio debate on electronic media
; and their effects on young people.
; Presenter Good evening and welcome to our weekly
; debate. This evening's topic is 'Electronic Media and
Young People' and our guests tonight are Mike
; Marshall, a specialist in child development, Tom
Gates, an educational psychologist, and Ruth
Bowker, a concerned parent. Mike, to start off with,
; could you tell us something about the effects of
electronic media on a developing human brain?
; Mike Certainly. First of all, let me say that these are not
all bad. It depends very m u c h on_the content
I and pacing of the game, computer
p r o g r a m m e o r TV p r o g r a m m e in question. So
if t h e game o r p r o g r a m m e is relatively slow-
: paced a n d h a s a narrative form, it can
actually help t o develop a form of long-term
memoryjthat w e call declarative memory,
which is related t o language capabilities.
However, many p r o g r a m m e s a n d games are
: very frenetically-paced a n d contain violent o r
; bizarre elements which serve t o trigger the
'fight or flight^rgsponse, priming your
I reflexes to r e s p o n d rapidly t o danger. It is a
useful response in that it helps to enhance survival,
", but w h e n it is triggered in situations w h e r e n o
; real threat exists, it can cause us to act
impulsively a n d inappropriately. Too m u c h
", stimulation of this kind could inhibit t h e
; development of rational thougnTTn^Hildren.
: R u t h I'm glad you brought up the point about violence,
; because I think that's the main thing that worries
I parents. Research shows that regular e x p o s u r e t o
; violent scenes can trigger^ggretii>lve attitudes
"and behaviour In children. It can also lead t o
: desensitisation - in other words, it h a s a
; n u m b i n g effect o n the emotions, so that in the
end young people come to accept violence as a way
: of solving problems.
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
Listening 2, page 77
Answer key
1Yes 2 Yes 3 Yes 4 No 5 No 6 No
7 Yes 8 No 9 Yes 10 Yes
Listening 2 - Tapescript
' The debate you heard in Listening 1 continues.
Presenter Tom, I know this is an area that you're
: particularly interested in too. What are your views on
; the subject of violence in the media?
'. Tom Well, I agree entirely with what Mike said about the
pacing and content of programmes, and what Ruth
| ^ays^BoirriTesefiSitlsation is also true, but recent
; research in America shows that the context in which
violence is portrayed can be as important as the
" content. In some contexts, depictions of
; violent incidents on screen can actually
reduce aggressive behaviour in children.
; Presenter Really? Such as ...?
' Tom The researchers have noted that aggressive
; tendencies may be reduced if the violent act
shown on the screen seems to be unjustified^
: for example if a bank robber shoots one of
: the customers in a bank. The result is the same
- when the perpetrator of a violent act is seen to be
: punished. Aggressive behaviour in viewers is also
inhibited when the consequences of violence are
shown, such as pain, physical harm or long-term
; psychological damage to the victim. That's the good
I news. The bad news is that the same research showed
: that very few programmes actually do show
: perpetrators being punished - something in
the region of less than a quarter, as I recall.
And surprisingly few programmes in the
survey even showed the victim suffering pain
; - only about forty per cent, I think. However,
; the implication is clear - if producers feel television
I has to be peppered with violence in order to attract
; audiences, they could at least get their
scriptwriters working on scenes which will
I act as deterrents to violence in susceptible
; viewers.
" Ruth I'd rather see them cutting out violence completely
; in programmes which young people may watch. It's
unnecessary, and I'm sure you could get anti-
t violence messages over in another way that
; doesn't involve showing pain and suffering.
; Presenter Mike, what do you think about this?
Mike Well, TV and film companies are in the business to
: make money. Violence generates emotions,
emotions in turn generate attention to their
I products and thus they earn income. Therefore, I
; would tend to go along with Tom on this. I don't
think it would be easy to eradicate violence from our
". screens, but if more films and programmes were
: scripted so that the violent scenes actually tended to
I inhibit rather than encourage aggression, that would
; "belTveTy positive slep.
Presenter Obviously, one option for worried
; parents is banning their children from
watching certain programmes. But apart from
this, what can parents do?
*. Tom I think the best thing parents can do is
; communicate with their children. For example, by
5 watching videos or TV programmes together
" and encouraging children to evaluate what
: they have seen, they can help young people to
I realise that what happens on screen does not
; necessarily reflect what happens in real life.
; They can also discuss alternative methods of
solving problems and conflicts without
; resorting to violence.
J Mike Absolutely. A child w h o grows up in an
I environment where there is a lot of
; interaction with parents, teachers and other
adults in the way that Tom describes is
: unlikely to damage his or her memory or
; response systems through any of the risks
associated with electronic media. We should be
most concerned about the child whose involvement
with games or computers or TV outweighs the
amount of time spent in social interaction.
; Interviewer Yes, Mike, that brings me to a point I
'. wanted to raise ... (fade)
Listening 3, page 77
Answer key
1 B 2 K 3 B 4 K 5 J 6 K 7 B 8 B
Background information
TV licence fees - in Britain all TV owners must purchase
an annual licence. The income raised from TV licence fees
funds the two national BBC channels, which do not carry
advertising.
David Beckham is a player with the Manchester United
football team.
Listening 3 - Tapescript
: You will hear a conversation between three colleagues in a
pub after work. They are discussing sport on television.
; Kevin (fade in) ... Mmm ... I'm with you there. Can't
say it's ever really been one of my favourites. So what
about these takeovers of football clubs by TV
companies, then? What do you reckon, Bob?
Bob Well, really, I'm not too enthusiastic about it, Kevin.
I used to enjoy going along to support my local team
on a Saturday afternoon - I liked the spirit of
; camaraderie on the terraces and even knew a couple
; of lads in the team personally. But now that it's
become a supersport, I think the heart's gone
: out of the game. It's all about business and
profits nowadays. Oh, look, there's Jane. Hi, Jane
I - come and join us. Do you want a drink?
Jane No, thanks, I've got one at the bar. I'll bring it over.
; Kevin So, where were we? I can't say I really understand
your reservations, Bob. After all, it means they'll
", be able to buy better players and have more
; money to plough back into the game at
grassroots level.
Jane Uh-oh. You're not talking football are you? I think
I'll go back to the bar.
Kevin Well, yes and no. We were talking about various
' sports, and the huge amounts of money that have

been changing hands recently for TV companies to
; get the rights to show major sporting events...
I Bob ... and the fact that media companies are now
: buying up football teams. I think it's all just a
I marketing tactic to con us into subscribing to digital
; TV and paying to watch programmes. I mean, we
already pay TV licence fees, so why on earth
I should we have to pay again to watch sports
: on satellite or digital channels?
: Kevin Like I said, because the coverage will be
better, more and bigger events will be
shown, and all that money the TV channels
I make will go back into the sports and
; improve the standard of the games. What do
- you think, fane?
; Jane Quite frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about.
I I mean, you can only watch one channel at a
; time anyway, so why do we need more and
: more?
; Kevin It's about choice. Almost any top sporting event
in the world will be available for you to watch, right
: there in the comfort of your own living room.
Jane It sounds ghastly. I don't know why everyone's so
". obsessed with watching sports these days. D'you
; know even my daughter's got pictures of some
footballer plastered all over her bedroom. What's his
: name? David something. Buckingham, something
; like that.
I Bob David Beckham?
Jane That's the one. In my day it was film stars and pop
; stars.
; Kevin Yes, well David Beckham is a star. He's rumoured
'. to earn more in a year than Hugh Grant does for a
film, and Hugh Grant is Britain's highest-paid actor.
So that just goes to show what I'm saying -
: sport, and football in particular, is the global
; entertainment of the future.
; Jane Heaven forbid.
" Kevin And I'll tell you something else - did you know
; that two billion viewers worldwide watched the final
of the 1998 World Cup, but the Oscars ceremony in
I the same year attracted only one billion? Two billion
; people is nearly a third of the world's population -
you've got to admit you're outnumbered, Jane.
Bob What on earth do you do when you're not
I watching football on TV, Kevin - read the
: Guinness Book of Records and memorise the
statistics?
: Kevin No, I read it in the newspaper last week.
' Jane Oh, well, if that's the way it is, it looks like I'll just
; have to get a digital TV for Peter and the
kids. They can watch football to their heart's
" content in the kitchen and I'll curl up on the sofa
; with a glass of wine and watch films on our old
telly. I'd rather see Hugh Grant than David whatsit
'. any day of the week. Look, I've got half an hour till
: my train. Would anyone like another drink?
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Batik
Speaking A
Discussion points
Suggested answers
2 eyestrain, numbing of the emotions, over-
stimulation of the 'fight or flight' response
detachment from reality, loss of interest in/decline
in skills for social interaction
4 Positive - they can develop computer skills, they
can improve the speed of their reflexes
Negative - they might develop headaches or
eyestrain, they might become addicted to the thrill
of winning
Passages
Suggested answers
1 theme: describes how research carried out on St
Helena disproved common beliefs about the
effects of TV on children
style: neutral and factual; no personal opinions
expressed; specialist vocabulary not used
source: extract from an article in a serious
newspaper (actual)
2 theme: suggests a connection between the style of
game shows on TV and economic conditions
style: semi-humorous; rather mixed in style -
sonic informal idioms and vocabulary (nail-
Iritintjly serious: stuff the multress with cash, takes
off in the ratings) used, but also some rather
formal vocabulary (economic barometers, flourish,
recession)
source: extract from an article in a serious
newspaper or magazine (actual)
3 theme: describes how soap operas have developed
out of women's preferred style of conversation
style: formal; no personal opinions expressed;
formal vocabulary and expressions used (a pre-
existing domain of women's discourse, the modes
of relating to the audience)
source: extract from a university thesis or
academic paper (actual); extract from a spoken
lecture (possible)
Listening B
Listening 1, page 80
Answer key
1 F 2T 3T 4 F SF 6T 7F 8F 9T
Background information
If you have your mind in cyberspace, you are deeply
engrossed in exploring computer networks and data banks.
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher'-a Book
Surfing the Net involves seeking and finding information
on the Internet, often more for fun and entertainment than
with any specific purpose in mind.
Listening 1 - Tapescript
: You will hear a radio programme about women whose
partners are very keen on the Internet.
: Reporter Once upon a time women complained of
being Golf Widows, but now the age of technology
', has created a new kind of widowhood for women.
; Unlike golf, this one is not limited by dusk
falling at the eighteenth hole or by closing
; time in the club house bar. Tonight we report on
Net Widows - the growing legion of women whose
I boyfriends, fiances or husbands just can't resist the
: lure of the Internet. Shona Harrison from Coventry
has an all-too-typical tale to tell.
; Shona I met Steve three years ago in a club. He was
really good-looking and a fantastic dancer, so I
t couldn't believe my luck when he asked me to dance.
; We started going out together, and the first year and
I a half of our relationship was great fun. Then Steve
I bought a computer. Soon after that he started
showing up late for dates. I'd try to phone him up to
' find out what was going on and his line was
: always busy, so I assumed he was chatting to
another girl. But one evening when he showed up
I two hours late for dinner at my house - a special
: meal I'd spent all day cooking - I finally got the
message. He spent all night telling me in excruciating
t detail about how he'd been tracking down a guy in
the States who'd got a rare recording of some pop
". concert back in the seventies - Steve's a big seventies
; music fan - and didn't even realise h o w tedious
he was being. Two weeks later he forgot to show
' up for a date at all - 1 phoned him eight times at
; half-hour intervals and the line was always engaged,
I so I knew what was going on. I thought I'd give him
; one more chance, but when he took me out to dinner
to make up for it, he couldn't stop talking about
I all these so-called friends he'd made on the
: Internet and the apparently fascinating
conversations they'd had on-line, so I just
; picked up my handbag and walked out of the
; restaurant and out of his life.
: Reporter Shona got off lightly, but what if you're
married to a computer nerd? Mary from Manchester
is in despair.
Mary My husband used to work as a sales rep and I
J missed him when he was on the road, so when
: his office gave him a promotion and agreed
he could spend part of his hours tele-working
'. from home, I thought it would mean I'd see
; more of him. Little did I know that though he
might be here more often in body, his mind would be
I in cyberspace most of the time. On the days he's
working at home, he gets up extra early to get
\ the office work over and done with, then he
; spends the rest of the day surfing the Net. Yes,
I admit he comes up with interesting titbits of
'", information now and again, but I don't really
; need or want to know the number of UFO
sightings in Scotland this month, or that we
; could have got last year's house insurance for
17 less if we'd researched the market
\ properly. I've tried to limit the hours he spends
surfing, but to no avail. He's got n o concept of
time passing when he's on-line. Last night I
called him when I went to bed at midnight. 'I'll be
there in a minute,' he said - the usual response. I
: woke up at 4.00 a.m. for a glass of water, and he
was still hunched in front of the computer screen. If
", anyone out there's got any suggestions, let me know,
; because I'm at my wits' end.
Listening 2, page 80
Answer key
1 Yes 2 Yes 3 No 4 Yes 5 No
6 No 7 Yes 8 Yes 9 No
Background information
To beep someone means to call them on a pager, so that
they will call you back.
Listening 2 - Tapescript
: You will hear a radio phone-in programme on the subject
of mobile phones.
*. Presenter I'm going to open up the phone lines now.
Remember, the topic today is mobile phones, so no
t calls on any other subjects, please. Yes, we have our
; first caller. Your name, please?
". Mr Smith Smith, Rodney Smith.
Presenter Yes, Mr Smith. What did you want to say on
: the subject of mobile phones?
Mr Smith Absolutely ridiculous things, if you ask me.
: My daughter gave me one as a present last week for
my birthday, then got all hurt when I told her I'd
J given up playing with toys over fifty years
I ago. She said it was so I could keep in touch with
her when I went out, in case I had an accident or
: something.
Presenter Well, that seems very thoughtful of her.
; Mr Smith Humph! It's not as if I went anywhere
anyway, except down the pub sometimes for a pint at
; lunchtime with my friend Sid.
Presenter I take it you're not calling from your mobile
I phone now then, Mr Smith?
Mr Smith Certainly not! I'm a pensioner; I haven't got
: money to burn. And I'll tell you another thing. I
> was in the pub with Sid the other day and we saw
: this bloke talking to himself. We assumed he must
be a loony though he looked perfectly
I normal in every other way, you know, he had a
: suit on and all that. We felt sorry for him at first.
: Then it turns out he'd got a mobile phone with
earphones on! I mean why would someone want
to draw attention to himself in public like
that? He could use the public phone in the bar like
: anyone else.
Presenter Well, he may have been protecting his health,
: Mr Smith. As we heard earlier in the programme,
people are worried about possible links
between mobile phone use and brain
; tumours.
Mr Smith I still say it's just showing off.
Presenter Well thank you for sharing your opinions with
us, Mr Smith. Next caller, please.

' Karen Hello, this is Karen. I'm an Area Sales Manager
and I'm calling you from my car.
Presenter Hello, Karen. What did you want to talk
; about?
Karen What you were saying about the health risks of
: mobile phone use. I would certainly fall into a high
risk category as, because of the nature of my job, I'm
', frequently out of the office and I spend up to three
; hours a day on my mobile phone.
: Presenter Do you use earphones?
Karen In the car, yes, but not otherwise.
; Presenter Then use them all the time, and try to limit
| the amount of time you spend on the mobile. Get
". people to beep you and call them back from a
; standard phone instead.
: K a r e n OK. But - sorry, I missed the first part of the
; programme, so you may have said this already - 1
" thought mobile p h o n e s w e r e engineered to
: meet existing safety standards.
I Presenter They are, b u t the p r o b l e m is that those
: standards were set back in 1992 w h e n
mobiles were generally used for very short
: periods only. W h a t w e have nowadays is a
; pattern of frequent, quite long, conversations
o n mobiles. All the research d o n e so far o n
: the effects of being exposed to electro-
magnetic fields h a s b e e n carried out in
situations of high exposure for very short
; periods, n o t in situations of prolonged
exposure, as in your case.
; K a r e n I see. Well, thanks for the information - 1 must
say you've really scared me, though.
; Presenter It is scary. That's why w e need to press
for further research studies a n d u p d a t e d
t standards. Like I said, write a letter to your
; M P about it.
: K a r e n I will. Thanks.
Listening 3, page 81
Answer key
1A2B J D 4 C 5 B 6 C 7 D
Background information
Caroline Carey, Jason Wyatt and The People's Voice
are fictitious. All the other characters, facts and events
mentioned in this listening passage are real.
A tabloid newspaper is another term for a popular
newspaper (e.g. The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Daily Mirror).
The term derives from the size of the pages, which are
relatively small.
Listening 3 - Tapescript
; You will hear a radio programme about invasion of privacy.
". Presenter Good evening. Tonight we will be discussing
; the question of invasion of privacy and I have two
guests in the studio with me - Caroline Carey, star of
: the popular TV series 'Battersea Babes', and Jason
Wyatt, editor of the tabloid newspaper 'The People's
I Voice'. Caroline, I know you've h a d some
b r u s h e s with paparazzi recently, so perhaps
", you'd like to give the celebrity's point of view first.
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Molt
Caroline Thank you, though I'm not sure if I really
qualify as a celebrity. After some of the experiences
I've had with the press, I'm not sure I'd want to be
more famous - it must be awful being hounded 24
hours a day. That incident at my father's funeral was
traumatic enough. There you are in the middle of a
deeply personal, sad, and what should be private,
event when up pops some cretin and asks you to
pose for him. I mean, w o u l d n ' t you have been
tempted to use a four-letter w o r d in the
circumstances t o o ? And then the next day it's
splashed all over the tabloids that I've used foul
language during my father's funeral, as if I was the
one who was guilty of disrespect. There was a lot of
talk about curbing the press at the time of Princess
Diana's death, but I don't see any evidence that
things have improved since then. I'd like to see
Britain introduce a privacy law, such as America has.
Presenter Jason, what's your reaction to that?
Jason Firstly, any suggestion of introducing a law against
invasion of privacy comes dangerously close to
limiting the freedom of the press which, I think most
people would agree, is not acceptable in a
democratic country. Secondly, privacy laws are quite
difficult to enforce, especially for public figures.
Under American law that includes past and present
government officials, political candidates, sports
figures and entertainers such as yourself, Caroline.
They are considered to have voluntarily
exposed themselves to public scrutiny a n d
thus to have waived m u c h of their right of
privacy. And despite the existence of legislation,
there have been quite as many, if not more, scandals
caused by outraged celebrities protesting about
invasion of privacy as here in Britain. You no doubt
remember when Alec Baldwin hit a photographer
who...
Caroline Come off it! It's the photographers who cause
the scandals, not the celebrities - they're trying to
protect themselves. Isn't that just typical of a
n e w s p a p e r m a n to twist the facts r o u n d like
that!
: Presenter Please Caroline, let's not get personal. Jason,
; you were saying.
: Jason Basically, I was making the point that laws don't
really change anything. They may allow celebrities off
the hook when they are provoked to violence, as
Baldwin was. Or they m a y allow certain very
; aggressive p h o t o g r a p h e r ' s activities to b e
I curtailed, as in the case of Princess Diana,
; w h o successfully took o u t a court injunction
against a paparazzo ordering h i m to stay at
; least 300 metres away from her. But no law is
going to stop these activities completely because the
I paparazzi and the press are delivering what the
: public want - they want gossip and photos of stars.
I Caroline Oh, here we go again - the usual
; argument that you're just supplying what the
I m a r k e t wants. Certain people in the market
also want to b u y heroin or stolen cars, b u t
; that doesn't stop supplying those being
against the law.
Jason I'm afraid the facts speak for themselves, whatever
; you think personally. After the death of the Princess
: of Wales in September 1997 national newspapers
; sold an extra ten million copies. Big n a m e s a n d
\$tf>*
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
exclusive photos sell papers and without
them the papers wouldn't be able to stay in
business and bring other, more serious, news
to their readers. And what's more, many celebrities
are not above using the press for their own ends
when it suits them. I seem to recall, Caroline, that
'Battersea Babes' had been suffering from a slump in
the ratings not long before you went on a supposedly
secret holiday to St Lucia.
Caroline That's true.
Jason And that was the same holiday during which
photographs of you sunbathing topless were shot,
apparently without your knowledge, and later
published in several of the tabloids, including my
own?
Caroline Right again.
Jason Am I also correct in saying that the show's
ratings soared after the publication of the
photographs?
Caroline Yes.
Jason A happy coincidence, perhaps. Or maybe
you didn't keep that holiday quite as secret
from the paparazzi as you later claimed.
Caroline I...!
Presenter Hold on, please, Jason. This is a radio debate,
not a court of law. Can we bring the discussion back
to the point you were making before about... (fade)
Speaking B
Photographs
Answer key
C It is likely that the people portrayed in all three
photographs are using the different media as a
source of information, rather than for
entertainment. In addition, each of the people
shown appears to be deeply absorbed in what
they're doing, and oblivious to their surroundings.
Background information
A broadsheet newspaper is another term used to describe a
quality newspaper (e.g. The Times, The Financial Times, The
Independent etc). The term derives from the size of the
pages, which is double that of tabloid (or popular)
newspapers.
Discussion points
Suggested answers
2 Popularity
they are status symbols
they have become cheaper to buy in recent
years
they help children to keep in touch with
parents while they might not be confident
about using a public telephone
we live in a fast-paced environment, so it's
necessary to be always available/in touch
Functions
they allow you to keep tabs on someone's
whereabouts at all times
they allow you to be contacted even when not
at home/in the office
they are useful for rapid contact with people in
emergencies
they allow you to pretend to be somewhere
that you are not
you can call people from isolated places where
public phones are not available
3 Advantages
the Internet allows access to a vast amount of
information from all over the world
you don't need to store bulky reference
volumes
information is more easily accessible than in
encyclopaedias, etc
information is presented interactively and in a
variety of forms (sounds, video, animation, etc.)
Disadvantages
it is only accessible through the use of
appropriate computer skills
websites may be cluttered up with irrelevant
details
you can run up large phone bills
excessive use of the Internet can be addictive

Practice exam
Part one, page 84
Answer key
1 F 2 F 3 T 4 T 5 F 6 T 7 T 8 F 9 F
Part one - Tapescript
I You will hear a news item about a Spanish town called
Villena, the first in the world to have an on-line town hall.
I For questions 1 - 9 , decide which statements are true and
; which are false. Write T if you think the statement is true
and F if you think it is false. You now have 30 seconds to
". look through the questions for Part one.
Speaker At first glance, the small Spanish town of
: Villena in the region of Valencia would appear little
; different from other market towns in the
\ area. Its population of 30,000 is stable and
: demonstrates a strong sense of civic pride. Half an
hour away by motorway from the seasonal
' influx of tourism on the coast, the town has a
; balanced economy based on agriculture and
related businesses, light industry, services
; and the manufacture of children's shoes. But
;; two things make Villena different, and both are based
; in its town hall. The first is a collection of antique
: gold discovered by a local archaeologist in the
1950s. On his insistence and against all
" expectations, the priceless trove remained in
; "Villena instead of being sent to a museum in
Madrid. The town hall also houses the systems
; room with all the computer hardware which in 1997
; made Villena the first town in the world to have an
on-line town hall. Among other services, residents of
; the town can book an appointment at the health
clinic, apply for a building permit, or check school
I dates and exam results on the town's local
; net. On-line shopping, e-mail and access to the
Internet are also available.
: In order to help launch the scheme, the town's
residents were offered a desktop computer including
: connection, software, maintenance and training at
half what would normally be the retail price of the
: computer alone. The funding for the project
: came from the regional government in
partnership with private companies in the
: fields of computer software, hardware and
; telecommunications. In fact, the initiative in
" Villena is just the first step in an even more
: ambitious plan called Infoville, which aims to
I have the four million inhabitants of the Valencia
'. region on-line by 1999. The thinking behind the plan
; is not only to improve the quality of life for the
region's inhabitants, but also to improve the region's
: economy. Most companies in the region are
; small to medium-sized family businesses
I which are struggling to maintain their market
; share against larger competitors in essential
export markets. By helping these companies to go
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book
on-line, the regional government hopes new
markets will be opened up and local companies
will become more efficient at marketing and
distributing their products.
; If the example of Villena holds true, the Infoville
initiative is likely to be a success. After some initial
J scepticism among the inhabitants of Villena, the
idea of going on-line caught on rapidly. At
present, the most popular services are the virtual
; town hall and the Internet, but new ideas for local
:; applications are constantly suggested by the residents
' of Villena. An illustrated town guide featuring the
" gold collection has been completed and another
project is to put the sheet music of original tunes
composed by the town band on-line with an
: accompanying soundtrack. It's probably the town's
: local pride in its heritage which has proved such a
critical factor in the success of the computerisation
: project. In Villena people see no conflict
between tradition and modernity.
Part two, page 85
Answer key
10 (rapid) emergency medical relief
11 public health 12 immunisation programmes
13 human rights abuses
14 twenty-four hours 15 local staff
16 payment (or salaries or being paid)
17 private sources 18 administration
Background information
MSF is the world's largest independent medical aid agency
and is committed to two objectives: providing medical aid
wherever it is needed, regardless of race, religion, politics or
sex and raising awareness of the plight of the people they
help.
Part two - Tapescript
: You will hear an interview with a worker from the
; international medical relief organisation Medecins Sans
: Frontieres (MSB. For questions 10-18, complete the notes
: with one or two words or a short phrase. You now have 30
seconds to look through Part two.
; Interviewer What are the main objectives and activities
> of Medecins Sans Frontieres?
: MSF worker Our primary and most important
function is .to provide rapid emergency
; medical relief to victims of natural or man-made
: disasters or armed corrflict We are now the world's
I TargesTindependent medical relief agency, with over
2,000 volunteers working in more than 80 countries.
We have also helped to set up two
independent centres for research into public
health, one in France and one in Belgium. These
provide expert advice to us and other health
organisations, the United Nations and
: governments. Then w e also work in close
collaboration with the World Health
Organisation, Unicef and local medical
personnel on immunisation programmes to
I fight the spread of diseases such as diphtheria, polio
and tetanus. Finally, although we are not a human
Proficiency Listening and Speaking Taacher'rBMk

; rights organisation, when medical assistance is not Steve That's right. We're very concerned that often
j enough to save lives, our doctors will speak out l the infrastructure developed for tourism
: against human rights abuses. ; impoverishes communities instead of helping
Interviewer What action do you take when a crisis them. Quite frequently precious water supplies are
; strikes? : depleted to fill hotel swimming pools or water golf
; courses. Local people can lose their traditional
MSF worker We have developed a unique system of
I livelihoods by being moved off their agricultural land
" pre-packaged medical kits which allow us to supply
; or, in the case of fishermen, denied access to beaches.
: our medical teams rapidly with the equipment they
And frequently food prices become inflated,
need in the field. Thanks to these, and a
I thus causing hardship to local people. This
: sophisticated logistics organisation, we are usually
: ^ development usually takes place wirhour any
able to deploy in twenty-four hours or less.
consultation with the people whom it will most
" Once emergency medical aid has been provided, we
: affect. For example, in Zanzibar several British
: also help with providing clean water supplies and
: companies are involved in an enormous development
sanitation, organising immunisation programmes,
scheme, which will include 14 luxury hotels, a cruise-
I monitoring nutrition levels, and if necessary, setting
; ship harbour, three golf courses and a world trade
: up isolation units. We always recruit, train and
centre. The area where these are due to be sited is
work alongside local medical and
home to 20,000 people, but no local community
: administrative staff so that medical care can
; groups have been consulted about the project.
; be sustained once a crisis is over.
I Presenter I understood that several tour operators were
'. Interviewer Where does your funding come from and
now initiating programmes to minimise the negative
; how is it spent?
I impacts of tourism. Is this not in fact the case?
I MSF worker As I mentioned before, the majority of
: Steve On the environmental front, yes. Several tour
our medical staff, although all skilled and
operators have introduced schemes to review the
I experienced professionals, work as
; environmental policies of hotels they work with -
: volunteers. In order to maintain independence of
they audit areas like sewage treatment, water and
action and to retain direct control over the
". energy management and award seals of approval to
t management and delivery of aid, we try to raise at
; those that meet the required standards. A few also
: least half of our funding from private
consider the questions of fair trade - such as
sources. One common criticism aimed at
I are supplies being purchased from local people at fair
: charities is that much of the money they raise
; prices - and community relations, but there's
: is wasted on administration, but we're very
room for a lot of improvement. When it comes
proud of our record on that score. At least 80
; down to it, the most important issue is h o w
: percent of our income is spent directly on
local people are treated, not whether a hotel
operations in the field.
I has a sewage treatment plant. Some of the
: hotels that w i n awards may be
Part three, page 86 environmentally sound internally, but have
caused enormous problems when they were
Answer key ; built and may have infringed o n people's civil
19 No 20 No 21 Yes 22 No 23 Yes ; rights. The basic problem is h o w to reconcile
: sustainable and ethical tourism with
2 4 No 25 No 26 Yes 27 Yes
development, and when development actually
t means unfettered growth, as in the case of
; Zanzibar that I quoted before, I'm not sure
Part three - Tapescript that it can be done.
: You will hear a discussion about tourism and its effect on
countries which are tourist destinations. For questions 19 -
: 27, write YES next to those views that are expressed by Marking procedure
either of the speakers, and NO next to those which are not
expressed at all. You now have 30 seconds to look through 1 correct answer x 1 point = Total points
Part three. Total points / 27 = Scaled score
". Presenter According to the World Tourism Organisation Scaled score x 20 = Final mark
: about 550 million people cross international
I boundaries every year, and this figure is expected to
: double by 2010. Tourism is now the world's Marking procedure explained:
biggest industry, and it is growing fast. Award one point for each correct answer.
: Unfortunately, few of the profits made in (E.g. student A achieves 22 correct answers, i.e. 22 points.)
; tourism benefit local economies - the World Divide the total number of correct answers by 27.
I bank estimates that as little as ten per cent of every (Eg. 22 points/27 = 0.81)
: tourist pound or dollar spent actually reaches the
Then multiply by 20 to obtain a final score out of 20
pockets of local inhabitants. In the studio I have
marks.
: Steve Culley of the pressure group Action for
(Eg. 0.81 x 20 = 16.2)
; Responsible Tourism. Steve, I believe your group is
" working to inject fair trade principles into tourism,
; especially in developing countries.
 Proficiency Listening and Speaking TeacherTi Boolv

Speaking
('pw mm i iiiiiijii'iu IIIUJIIIII pjiiu wHHuiaiipiimpiiim

Photographs
Suggested answers
Aspects (if contrast that the photogrftphs.show:
Photographs I a and l b show ihcuontrast between
modern and traditional lift* in Mediterranean
societies.
Photograph 2 shows a contrast between tradiLinti.il
and modern styles git architecture.
Photograph 34depicts die culture dash between
tourists and local inhabitants of ihe countries
tourists visit.
Communicative activities
2 Discussion
Suggested answers
I low people become exceptionally wealthy;
hv inlioritini; wealth
by .'i uimbinaliiin of hard work and good lurk
through astute imeMinenis
by inventing something m> one else has thought of
bv exploiting the people who work for them
by hating a unique talent oi extreme beamy
a combination of somi- of the above
Marking
Mark each candidate on a scale of 1 to 5 points for each of
these areas:
fluency
grammatical accuracy
vocabulary resource
interactive communication
pronunciation of individual sounds
pronunciation of sentences
(see Preface, pages 2 - 5 for further details)
Remember that points should be awarded on the basis of
linguistic performance, not on the candidate's general
knowledge or informed opinions.
Add the total marks for all six areas.
(E.g. student A achieves the following marks:
fluency - 3; accuracy - 3; vocabulary - 3; interactive
communication - 4; pronunciation, individual sounds - 4 ;
pronunciation, sentences - 4; Total marks: 21)
Divide the total marks for all six areas by 3.
(Eg. 21 / 3 = 7)
Then multiply by 4 to obtain a final score out of 40 marks.
(Eg. 7 x 4 = 28)

What can or should be done to redistribute wraith

mow equally:
impose higher taw. mi the \er\ rich
nationalise private companies and property
use the money generated by ihc above measures to
create new jobs and provide social benefits for the
very poor
'cancel debts incurred by developing countries
apply principles <rf fair trade

IruiiaaVes which have been tried and their success

rates" "' 4
(he first three points in rhc list above" have been
tried, but with little success (the very rich move
their place of residence with less harsh taxation-,
state communism proved to be an economic
failure) *
. any benefits of canwliingoatiohal debrs are
usually enjoyed by the richer, rather than ihe
poorer, citizens of that country
fair trade does help the (taorei members of society
in developing countries, but so far not
substantial
 Mock exam - Interview

Theme: Role models

Photographs

Describe/compare: the people

the activities
the places

Talk about: how the people may be feeling

what is impressive about their
activities or achievements

Discuss: what kinds of people are

common role models for young
people
what kinds of people should be
role models for young people
how young people's behaviour is
influenced by the role models
they choose

Pearson Education Limited, 1999. Photocopiable

 Proficiency Listening and SpebMvl|kM|M)K8H

Passages
Comment on one of the passages, saying where you think the extract may have been taken from
and how it relates to the general theme of role models.

With help, encouragement and

care in the community, the
majority of young offenders
grow out of crime and become
mature, responsible and law-
abiding members of society.
However, even a short period in
custody, either on remand or
after sentencing, is likely to
confirm them in a career of
crime. They see themselves
labelled as criminals and
behave accordingly, frequently
acquiring new criminal skills
from more sophisticated adult
inmates.
C ampaigning groups have now
been set up to break the 'glass
ceiling', the invisible barrier
which prevents women from reaching
positions of power in business, but they
acknowledge that there are still very
few women in top jobs.
However, even one woman in the
boardroom can make a difference. The
chair of one campaigning group who is
also the managing director of a large
insurance company says her rise was
achieved with the help and advice of a
female mentor who was a non executive
member of the company's board.

Until the accident which left her wheelchair-bound when I was

nineteen, my brother and I hardly knew our mother. She was a
shadowy but glamorous figure who appeared in the nursery in full
riding kit to tell us a bedtime story, but otherwise our upbringing was
left to our nanny until we were sent off to boarding school. So it's
strange really that both of us have chosen to follow in her footsteps
and pursue athletic careers.

' Pearson Education Limited, 1999. Photocopiable

Proficiency Listening and Speaking Mock SflUi

Communicative activities
I Describing
Role models are not necessarily public figures. Describe how a person from one of the categories
below has influenced your thoughts or behaviour, either as a positive or as a negative role model.

parents or other older relatives

teachers or university lecturers
priests or other religious/spiritual advisers
friends or acquaintances

2 Simulation
If you were able to travel through time, which two of these people would you like to meet, and
why?

Alexander the Great Martin Luther King

Maria Callas Mary Magdalene
Albert Einstein Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mahatma Gandhi William Shakespeare
Che Guevara Queen Elizabeth

J Selecting
You work for a television company and have been asked to make a shortlist of people to be
interviewed on a programme about role models aimed at the youth market. Which three people
would you include in the shortlist and why?

a competitor in a round-the-world sailing an exceedingly thin and beautiful 16 year-

race who turned back as he was about to
win in order to help a fellow competitor
in distress
a freedom fighter who successfully
liberated his people from foreign invasion
(but is alleged to have committed terrorist
acts in the process)
a 17 year-old schoolgirl who has become
a millionaire by playing the stock market
a boxer from a poverty-stricken
background who has become a world
champion (but is infamous for insulting
his opponents and their supporters)
old supermodel who is rumoured to be
suffering from anorexia nervosa
a woman who, despite being permanently
confined to a wheelchair, has become a
mother for the first time at the age of 45
a lottery jackpot winner who donated his
entire winnings to a home for abandoned
dogs and cats
a relief worker assisting hurricane victims
who turned down the opportunity to go
home even though his own son was
seriously ill in hospital

' Pearson Education Limited, 1999. Photocopiable

^,/J*Ui

*V-7fl Pearson
Education