Unit 13

Section I

Task 1

Woman 1: I’m reading this cool article about a young woman named Janine Licare.

Woman 2: Really. What about her?

Woman 1: When she was nine years old, Janine and a friend founded an organization

that protects the rainforest in Costa Rica.

Woman 2: Wow, that’s amazing. Her parents must be really proud.

Woman 1: Yeah. Actually, her mother helped her found the organization. It’s called

Kids Saving the Rainforest.

Woman 2: Huh. So, what does the organization do?

Woman 1: Well, volunteers work on different projects—for example, they plant trees

and help animals.

Woman 2: I see. That must be fascinating!

Woman 1: Yeah. They have a website where you can learn more about Kids Saving

the Rainforest.

Woman 2: Cool. I’ll have to check it out.

Task 2

Woman: I saw an incredible documentary on TV about Arn Chorn-Pond.

Man: Oh yeah? So, who’s Arn . . . um . . . what’s his name?

Woman: Arn Chorn-Pond. He’s an amazing young man from Cambodia. He and some

friends founded the Cambodian Master Performers Program.

Man: Really. What’s that?

Woman: It’s an organization that helps Cambodian singers and musicians.

Man: That must be interesting. How does it help them?

Woman: The program gives money and musical instruments to the singers and

musicians so they can teach young students. The program also makes recordings of

the performers, and it organizes concerts.

Man: I see. That must be great.

Woman: Yeah. Arn’s program is helping young people in Cambodia learn about their

musical traditions.

Task 3

Man: I just read this really interesting story on the Internet. It’s about a young woman

from Kosovo named Ardena Gojani.

Woman: Oh. So, what did she do?

Man: Well, when she was eleven years old, Ardena and her family came to the United

States. A year later, Ardena learned that there was a fire in the library she used to visit

in Kosovo.

Woman: I bet she felt terrible.

Man: Yeah. But then Ardena started collecting books to send to Kosovo. Some

teachers and students at her school helped, too. They worked with the International

Book Project.

Woman: What’s that?

Man: It’s an organization that sends books to more than 100 countries around the

world.

Woman: Wow, so Ardena helped build a new library in Kosovo. She must feel pretty

good.

Man: Yeah.

Section II

Task 1

Vince: So you got rid of your TV? How's that?

Katie: Yes. Fine. I love it. I think I can actually do more with my life now, 'cause it's

not there staring at me, saying switch me on. I just don't understand this whole—the

television has just become such a dominant part of our lives and it doesn't need to be.

Vince: Because we're such a visual, we're such a visual people now, you know. We

don't live in, like the Dark Ages . . .

Emily: Yeah.

Vince: When we had silent movies and like a photo, you know there's so . . . We, we

crave those things now.

Katie: So, are you saying that we can't do anything for ourselves? It all has to be done

for us?

Emily: No.

Vince: I'm not saying that. That's why I like the cinema because, yes, they are things

that are just popcorn, you know movies, where you see people doing amazing things

in different worlds, but you do get very artistic and informative, um, films and, and,

you know . . . So I'm not saying that you need to just sit there and be a zombie, I don't,

I know what you're saying about just relaxing but at the same time, you, there's other

ways of getting information and being enriched—like artistically, and, and just

knowledge-wise.

Katie: OK, but there should, there surely should be some sort of cut-off point—people

don't need to be watching television every night. Come on, you must be with me on

that.

Emily: No, but it's no difference to listening to the radio every night.

Vince: I agree with her.

Katie: But I can be doing other things whilst listening to the radio.

Emily: Well, exactly, so you don't want to just stop and do one thing. So you're . . .

Katie: I can't, I can't see myself doing that. I'd much rather be cooking something new

or um you know, listening to the radio whilst, like I said, jogging, or I, I just can't—

maybe I just can't sit still and watch, you know, for three hours, but . . .

Emily: I think Vince is right, I think we've evolved as a society and with that we've

got much more expansive media now so why not go with that. Why are you, why do

you have to say, oh, just because it's not what we used to have, you know, twenty

years ago, that's a bad thing. It's really amazing that they can do so much with

animation now, I mean, I don't really like the cinema, I, just because of the people—I

like to be in my own space. I think it's brilliant to be able to go home in my own

surroundings—be comfortable, and watch stuff on TV. Be it really good or bad.

Katie: OK . . .

Emily: But the access we have now to different programs is phenomenal.

Katie: I know but you're making me sound as if I'm some you know, dark-aged . . .

Someone who has never even experienced cinema, television or any sort of new

media. I'm not saying that I, I disagree with it or I don't enjoy it, there are certain parts

of it that I really enjoy, of course I do, but I don't see the need for all of us to have a

television set. I mean, some children have television sets in their bedrooms. There is

no way that my child, if I have one, is going to have a television in their bedroom.

Vince: What? Are you serious? Come on now, if you're doing whatever you're doing

and say, uh, the child has just come back from school . . .

Emily: Yeah.

Vince: And you're fixing dinner, and they want to do something but they just, you

don't want them to go to . . . You don't want them going to play with their friends

'cause then they'll really get into that and then you have to call them away and you've

got like thirty minutes, forty-five minutes and you just throw on a, a TV show that

they can watch and be entertained and then they finish watching TV and then dinner's

ready.

Task 2

Kevin: So, um, I had this dinner party last night, OK?

Rhiannon: Yeah, did it go well?

Kevin: Um, well no. So I said to myself I'll make a Thai red curry.

Rhiannon: Oh, lovely.

Kevin: Delicious, delicious . . .

Katie: Thai red curry . . .

Kevin: Oh, it's great. Uh, but um I didn't have any uh, spring onions. So I used

Brussels sprouts. And, uh, I must have . . .

Rhiannon: Why would you use Brussels sprouts?

Kevin: Well, they were the only green things in the house.

Katie: They're the ones that taste disgusting though . . . That you have to have at

Christmas.

Kevin: No, you can get . . .

Rhiannon: They are Christmas vegetables.

Kevin: . . . Fried really well, anyway, um, and I must have mistaken the sugar for the

salt . . . And . . .

Rhiannon: So what . . .

Kevin: Well, all the people came over and uh, we started talking and I kinda got

distracted, we started talking about the Obama administration and it was a very very

interesting conversation and . . .

Rhiannon: As you do.

Kevin: I must have burnt the curry. Well I did burn the curry and . . .

Katie: How did you burn the curry?

Kevin: Well no, I must have had it on too high and it got too hot. Anyway, it tasted

terrible.

Rhiannon: Did you try it first before you put it on the table yeah?

Kevin: No. No, I didn't.

Rhiannon: You didn't?

Kevin: No, no, I kind of just stirred it.

Rhiannon: A cardinal sin!

Kevin: Yes, yeah, I know that now.

Katie: Oh, my goodness.

Kevin: Yeah, so it was awful, so we, um, I had to just pay for take-out. At this curry

place around the corner—this curry place round the corner.

Katie: Good idea, that's what I would've done—straight away.

Rhiannon: Did you not like practice first, like if I'm having a dinner party, I'll always

like do it on the run up.

Kevin: Really?

Rhiannon: Yeah, if I'm having a party on like Saturday . . .

Katie: Really?

Rhiannon: I'll cook the meal on the Tuesday.

Kevin: Really?

Katie: That's a waste of money.

Rhiannon: It's not a waste of money, 'cause you get to eat the gorgeous food.

Katie: Yeah, but wouldn't you waste, you'll waste if you're cooking for six people . . .

Rhiannon: Yeah, but you do a little mini version for yourself and you invite a friend

over or something.

Katie: But how do you know how to measure all the different ingredients and things?

Kevin: Yeah.

Rhiannon: Well, I have scales, but I just kind of know, I think.

Kevin: See I never know. I always . . . I never get it right. Ever. Even though I have

scales, I'll always somehow . . .

Rhiannon: Don't you use a cookery book?

Kevin: Yeah, but even still the amounts don't make any sense. What's a tsp?

Rhiannon: Well, that's a teaspoon. (Laughs)

Kevin: Oh, OK, it's a teaspoon. Oh, a tea . . .

Rhiannon: Is it 'cause you're American? (Laughs)

Kevin: No, OK, no, no, no . . .

Rhiannon: To me, like it's so natural. You just you know, you read the ingredients and

then you kind of just go with it. But you've got to give it a bit of love and just kinda

go with it.

Katie: It's just all over my head.

Rhiannon: Don't you cook at all?

Katie: I hate cooking. I absolutely hate it.

Rhiannon: Do you? I thought you cooked.

Katie: No—beans on toast? Fine. I'd much rather be doing other things.

Rhiannon: Really?

Kevin: Really?

Rhiannon: So if I made you cook a meal, like and I said you've got to cook a meal

tonight. Would you have . . .

Katie: I'd have no idea. You'd have to do it all for me.

Kevin: (Laughs)

Katie: I wouldn't have a clue.

Rhiannon: I would happily. I love it, I cook every day. Pretty much.

Kevin: Do you?

Katie: Every day?

Kevin: I never cook.

Rhiannon: Well, yeah.

Katie: How can you get on with the rest of the tasks in the day?

Rhiannon: Well to me, it's one of the most important things, I'm looking after myself

and it's how I know I'm grounded if I'm at home.

Katie: Food is that important?

Rhiannon: Yeah.

Kevin: Oh, food is very important.

Rhiannon: Food and sleep and like friends . . . What more is there?

Kevin: (Laughs) Yeah, it's true.

Rhiannon: Do you know what I mean? I kind of think about it every day so I think,

what's in my cupboard . . .

Katie: Oh, my God.

Rhiannon: What have I got?

Katie: That's insane.

Rhiannon: If I've got some prawns, what shall I . . .

Kevin: I always eat out, that's what I always do.

Rhiannon: Do you?

Kevin: And I love, I love going to a new restaurant and trying new things . . . Oh, my

god.

Rhiannon: I do.

Kevin: I went to, I went to this Japanese place, the sushi there was just, oh, it was

great.

Rhiannon: Was it?

Kevin: Like the fish was perfectly, like perfectly prepared. And the, the rice was

wonderful. I, oh, I love when we have lots of wasabi and some ginger on there it

tastes amazing.

Section III

Alison: My name is Alison and I've been teaching here at “The Pony Center” for

twenty-one years. “The Pony Center” is a charity for disabled and disadvantaged

children and young adults and they come here on a weekly basis for different riding

activities.

I come to “The Pony Center” every Saturday morning and I teach riding for the

disabled lessons. We have a variety of children and young adults that come here.

Some are disabled, um and some are not disabled, but for all the children that come

here, they mix with able-bodied or disabled, um, people, which is a great advantage to

them. Um, the riding actually is for therapy for them and, um, it's also fun.

I've always loved horses and I started riding at seven years old, but because we

didn't have very much money, I could only ride a very small amount each year. As I've

got older, I've got more interested and I've been able to ride a lot more, and I've also

done lots of exams in teaching. So that's how I can teach riding for the disabled.

The best thing about being around horses is that they give you a tremendous

feeling. They are so intuitive to your moods, your problems, and when you're riding

the horse, you have a sense of freedom that you don't have with anything else.

My day job is a school teacher, and this at the weekend is my hobby. Um, I, I love

teaching and when I come here I can actually teach the children at the level that

children are at, um, it's not so prescriptive like my day job. Um and I really enjoy

being able to improve the children's lives.

I love my hobby here because I can combine my love of horses with my love of

teaching, and I can make people's lives better.