Практика по разделу «Аудирование»: варианты 1 — 3

Speaker A. I’ve hated job interviews since I had one in a doctor’s office. The doctor talked about himself for a good 20 minutes. He would ask me a question and interrupt me before I’d even answered. So, basically, I answered no questions and he knew nothing about me. As I was leaving, the office manager said they had a lot of other interviews, so they would call me back about a week later. Guess what? A few hours later, the phone rang, and they offered me the job. Of course, I turned it down, because I didn’t want a job where no one is actually interested in you.

Speaker B. I had plenty of job interviews. Honestly, I never worked in a real job before. Just did promotions and similar stuff. When I had to make an interview for the best position ever in a very reputed company, my nerves betrayed me. I mumbled too much, didn’t respond well to questions, and said things that I realized I shouldn’t have said. I even performed low on a test that was about media statistical information, which I actually know well. The annoying part is that the test was for 30 minutes and involved a lot of thinking. Naturally, I failed.

Speaker C. As for being the interviewer, I had one applicant for a computer networking position who asked me if it would be OK if he carried a gun on the job, because you can never be too safe. I wasn’t sure he was packing heat at the moment, so I just smiled and said, that’s something you can discuss with the owner if he calls you back for a second interview, which of course we didn’t. Another person I interviewed had a CV that said he’d worked six months before at the company he was applying to. Moreover, he’d worked there for two years and in my position while I was there.

Speaker D. Job interviews put a lot of pressure on applicants all you can do is relax and be yourself your grades will speak for themselves but so will the grades of dozens of other people applying for the same job you may have a few failures and interviews, but something will turn up. Someone will recognise that your personality is right for their business. Even though you have a good grade point average, remember that a good job only comes about through learning on the job skills. College and internships can help a lot.

Speaker E. Yesterday, I had a job interview at a company where there were 30 people. We were split into groups and set activities to do. When we had breaks, the people overseeing us would come and tap the people they didn’t like on the shoulder and lead them away. It was like Survivor, and it was terrifying. You saw them coming towards you, and then they’d take away the person you were talking to. I ended up getting the job, but I think I lost five years of my life from the stress of it.

Speaker F. I had a horrible interview at a pet shop a couple of weeks ago. Everything was until they asked me to sell them a product i was given about one minute to look over some obscure bottle with fish tank fluid then the manager asked me the weirdest question about it like «why is the bottle dusty? Is it old or something?» What can you say to that? No, sir, it’s just dusty because we don’t bother to clean the store. Or better, yes, it is old, frankly, it is crap, and no one buys it. Well, there’s no way you can prepare for that.

With us today is Ricky Foyles, a songwriter you might be familiar with if you are under 20.

Ricky, your songs are really extraordinary. Are they about real people?

Well, yes. There’s nothing in them that I’ve invented. For example, my latest song, ‘Sarah Jane’ is about a young woman i know well and it’s basically about her strength in a difficult situation my subjects are people and events i’m familiar with but not the well-known personalities that everyone would recognize.

And people like the kind of subject matter?

Yes, though you often have to listen three or four times to one of my songs before you realise that it’s about something completely different from what you thought it was about. That’s because I use everyday words, so you understand their meaning straight away. It’s the message behind them that’s more complex, what the song as a whole is really saying. I suppose the advantage of that is you don’t get bored and tired of a song so quickly.

Would you say you’re more popular now than you were, when your album ‘Rocket love’ appeared last year?

Hmm… I’ve always dreamt of selling millions of records but that hasn’t happened, of course. I’ve got faithful followers though and I know that I’d be able to fill a 500-seat concert hall now, just as easily as I did two or three years ago. When my next album appears, that will certainly change things. That’ll be in about six months’ time.

So you might make a fortune, then.

Well, funnily enough, I’ve always written my songs for the pleasure of it. The financial side of it has never been the driving force.

So is your new album very different from what you’ve done so far?

Well, for a start, I took into account what some of my fans had said about my songs. They said I only write about what’s unhappy, you know. They asked me to be a bit more optimistic. Well, I find that strange, because on the whole I think my songs are about real life, and in real life it’s not always summertime. But I’ve tried to give it a more positive flavour. See what happens.

So are you writing more songs at the moment?

Oh sure, I need to have a new challenge all the time. I’m convinced my next album is going to be better than anything I’ve produced so far.

Well, we all wish you the very best of luck. Ricky Foyles, thank you for talking to us today.

The accident at the Fukushima power plant in Japan has led to much discussion about the future of nuclear power. I believe one important lesson of the accident has been overlooked. Nuclear power is often touted as a solution to climate change, but Fukushima serves as a warning that far from solving the climate problem, nuclear power may be highly vulnerable to it. Of course, the emergency in Japan was caused by an earthquake and tsunami, but the effects of climate change could cause very similar problems.

Two facts that everyone should now know about nuclear power are that it needs access to large volumes of water to cool the reactor and a supply of energy to move the water. For this reason, nuclear power plants are typically sited near large bodies of water. It is this attachment to water that makes nuclear power vulnerable to climate change.

First of all, coastal areas are highly dynamic. Storms batter and land shifts. This already poses problems for the safety of nuclear plants and it’s only going to get worse. Secondly, nuclear power can be disrupted by water scarcity and rising water temperatures. Nuclear regulators are already well aware of several safety issues, including flooding, loss of power and equipment malfunction. Hurricanes pose a major threat. Many climate models predict an increase in hurricane intensity. Even if they are wrong, existing reactors were built during a period of historically low hurricane activity and a return to baseline seems likely.

This is not to say an accident will happen every time a hurricane passes by a nuclear power plant. Unlike earthquakes, hurricanes can be predicted, allowing time for preparation. Still, preventive measures are not always taken. For instance, during Hurricane Francis in 2004, doors designed to protect safety equipment from flying debris at the St. Lucie nuclear power plant in Florida were left open.

Another cause for concern is floods. All nuclear power plants are designed to withstand a certain level of flooding based on historical data, but these figures do not take climate change into account. Floods, due to sea level rise and heavy rain will increase in frequency.

Heat waves are another serious concern for two reasons. First, the colder the cooling water entering a reactor, the more efficient the production of electricity. And second, once the cooling water has passed through the system, it is often discharged back where it came from in a much warmer state.

During the 2003 heatwave in Europe, reactors at inland sites in France were shut down or had their power output reduced because the water receiving the discharge was already warmer than environmental regulations allowed. Citing exceptional circumstances, the French government relaxed the regulations to maintain the supply of electricity. After subsequent heatwaves, it became a permanent measure during the summer months.

The relaxing of the regulations causes thermal pollution that reduces the ability of aquatic ecosystems to adapt to warmer temperatures. Some may argue these regional impacts are insignificant compared to the global ramifications of climate change, but they illustrate that nuclear power can actually worsen its impact.

The International Atomic Energy Agency advises the nuclear industry to build power plants to last for 100 years. Given that climate models don’t agree on what to expect within this time period, it is not at all clear how this can be achieved. New reactors could use dry or hybrid systems with lower water requirements, but the costs of running these systems are likely to be prohibitive.

What is to be done? Most forms of energy generation are vulnerable in some way to the effects of climate change and the fact that nuclear power is among them is yet another argument against a wholesale shift towards this source of energy. The bottom line is that if nuclear power is to be used to mitigate the effects of climate change, it must also be capable of adapting to them. Still, there are serious doubts that it can.

Speaker A. Monarchy sounds pretty cool: a king queen prince or princess royal ceremonies and weddings but when it comes to making important decisions the fate of the country is left to chance. Monarchy is having one person with absolute power and that person can overrule any decision. Is it fair if your family has worked hard for three generations and then someone comes in and takes away everything you have? If you have a bad king or queen, you are in big trouble for a long time because you can’t vote out a monarch.

Speaker B. Who needs democracy nowadays? The politicians misuse the rights given to them. On the contrary, monarchy, if used right, could be very effective. It works very well because the monarch can really get things done as he has no Congress or Parliament to convince to do things his way. The monarch acts like a president but he has years of experience to add to the role of government advisor having worked with many political parties over the years. My country is ruled by the monarchy. The prince and princess are nice people and they’ve done a lot for our country.

Speaker C. In reality there are a lot of people who feel that monarchy is an expensive anachronism. In the UK, the monarchy is not nearly as costly to the taxpayers as some people think it is. They make far more money for Great Britain than they receive. The tourist trade became huge in the last century, much of it made from the royalty. The royals also raise enormous amounts of money for charities by being patrons of them besides we do not have to elect a president and this alone saves a lot of money. I’m sure Britain would be far less well off as a republic.

Speaker D. The monarchy is thousands of years old and it’s steeped in tradition one can say that the monarchy is a bit outdated but it does have lots of advantages. First, it attracts plenty of tourists who love visiting Britain because of its rich cultural and historic heritage which is mostly due to the royals. Everyone loves the royals and they want to see Buckingham Palace. Did you see how many people were present at the wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate? Abolishing the monarchy would be the same as knocking down the Tower of London.

Speaker E. The most well-organised nations in Europe are all monarchies. I don’t think this is a coincidence. I think, having a neutral monarch provides strength and unity in the country. The monarch provides a sense of continuity in terms of political and social change. While political parties change constantly, the sovereign continues as head of state, providing a stable framework within which a government can introduce wide-ranging reforms. And at least one part of the government is always there. Elected parties come and go, but the monarch is always there to ensure that the elected government is put in place.

Speaker F. I would say most of us are a bit indifferent in our opinions on monarchy. Having never lived under a monarchy, we mostly don’t have sufficient experience to really know what it is like to be under a monarch. However, I can’t see any significant difference between a monarchy and a republic. Most of the Western European republics are almost no different in constitution from monarchy, except that they have a president instead of a king or queen to do formal stuff like summoning and dissolving parliament, calling elections and appointing the prime minister. So, from a governmental point of view, there’s absolutely no benefit.

— Hi, Pete. I just wondered if you fancied coming up for a coffee?
— Oh, I was just writing a letter.
— Writing a letter? Is your phone out of order?
— No, well, not exactly a letter. Ben’s applied for a job at a children’s summer camp and they’ve asked me for a character reference. He must have put me down as one of his referees.
— Oh dear, you’re not going to tell them the truth, are you?
— What do you mean?
— Well, that he’s a big-headed show-off who goes out every night and never does a day’s work.
— Oh, come on. He’s not that bad. I mean, kids love him. Do you remember the birthday party that he arranged for his little brother last month? It was really fantastic. And he always entertains his brother’s friends with his magic tricks and silly jokes.
— Oh, yes. He’s great with children, but he’s a big kid himself, isn’t he?
— Yes, I suppose he’s a bit immature. You never know what he’s up to.
— And I hope they don’t expect him to work before four o’clock in the afternoon. You know what he’s like. He needs a bomb under him to get him up in the morning.
— That’s right. He’s always late in the morning.
— Also, he hates taking orders from anybody. Do you remember that job he had last summer in a restaurant? He ended up throwing a bucket of water over the chef when she asked him to wash the kitchen floor.
— Oh, no. Don’t remind me. He won’t do anything he doesn’t enjoy, will he? Mind you, he did run that restaurant single-handed when the chef and two of the waiters were off sick with food poisoning.
— That’s true. He’s good in a crisis, but having said that, he’s good at causing a crisis as well. I mean, you know the food poisoning was his fault, don’t you?
— Oh, yes. Oh dear, this isn’t helping. Yet, I think he could.
— Hey, do you think he’s still got blue hair? Well, his appearance is rather strange, but kids find it rather attractive. Come on, let’s go and get that coffee.

Dr. Dibb, what is Arctus?

Arctus stands for the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites. It is part of the activities that are going on under the umbrella of the International Polar Year about every 40 or 50 years. 2008 and 2009 are two of those years when this is occurring after the last ones were in the 50s. This is the time when the international community comes together and focuses on polar aspects.

Why should we study the Arctic?

It’s generally a very clean region because nobody or very few people actually live there. But there’s a lot of pollution that is imported into those areas and transported there. So our main goal is to see how it is getting transported, where it is coming from, and what impact it might have on the regional climate in the Arctic region.

Why don’t you use satellites to get this data?

The satellites do a good job of staying there for several years so they do provide us a long-term view of things. They also cover a lot of territory so they are more global in nature but they don’t do a very good job in terms of the details they don’t measure a lot of things that we need to know in order to understand the system in order to be able to model it and to forecast or predict the changes in the future. So a lot of detailed observations we will be doing using airborne platforms are really not possible from satellites but there is an aspect. Things that are measurable from satellites require a lot of validation, because a satellite is really an indirect measure of things.

How does this study relate to climate change?

Given the recent loss of Arctic ice in 2007, which was unprecedented, this is a fortuitous time for us to be the here looking at climate change in the Arctic. We’re particularly interested in the atmospheric contribution to that. So, in the spring, we’re looking at what is traditionally being described as Arctic haze. Besides, this Arctic haze has components that come from pollution transport from mid-latitude locations, such as North America, Europe and Siberia.

So, are you looking at how carbon dioxide is related to climate change?

We’re not only looking at carbon dioxide, which is the most recognisable greenhouse gas, but also at methane and CFCs and ozone even more importantly. Ozone is a greenhouse gas that is not emitted by pollution, but is created by the chemistry of pollutants as they’re transported to the Arctic. Trying to understand those things is an important part of this campaign.

What recent changes in the Arctic have made the Arctic’s mission really important?

One of the things that has been of great interest in the last few years is why the snow and ice are now melting earlier in the year and freezing up later and clearly the air is a little warmer. There’s also speculation that the dirt and black carbon that is in the arctic haze that’s deposited just as the sun is coming up may actually change the reflection of the snow and hasten the melt season. So where is this black carbon coming from? Is it increasing or decreasing over time and does it have a measurable effect on the reflection of I don’t know. season.

So where is this black carbon coming from? Is it increasing or decreasing over time and does it have a measurable effect on the reflection of the white surface as we come out of the winter in the Arctic? These questions are a major motivation behind Arctus.

What is your field of study and how does it relate to the Arctus mission?

We have a lot of similar issues like where where the air comes from that gets to a place like Greenland, and how it gets out of the atmosphere and onto the ground. Recently, we’ve discovered that there’s very active processing of the snow. When the sun shines on the snow, a lot of complicated chemistry happens that nobody knew about 10 years ago. I’m actually studying snow and air samples in Greenland to better understand ice core analyses that have been done by other folks in our group and in other areas of the world.

Speaker A. Television has always been a very good source of information for my family and me. Of course, I’ve heard about lots of people who have ended up wearing glasses and developing eye problems. But as far as I’m concerned, I don’t think watching your favorite movies and shows for a short duration at an acceptable distance from the television screen is bad for anyone. TV is also a potential source of valuable information. And it’s fun!

Speaker B. I think it’s hard to control children watching TV as they tend to watch cartoons continuously on cartoon channels. It’s very important that we restrict the watching time for children rather than adults. Children should be encouraged to read books and play indoor and outdoor games in their free time. For the older ones, it’s better to tell about bad consequences of watching TV too much and the importance of studying and socializing with friends.

Speaker C. I feel television is a safer source of information when we compare it with the Internet. This is because of the harmful radiation computers give out as compared to television, even when watching for a short time. Although computers with online applications are more popular than television for educational and entertainment purposes, I would prefer watching movies, news, and other shows on my TV for a longer time than on a computer.

Speaker D. I believe there is a problem in today’s world with heavy television use. I think people spend too much time sitting on a couch instead of being physically active. So television is a great contributor to the obesity problem worldwide. Heavy television use isn’t helpful also because people are killing time when they could be reading a book or mingling with friends. That’s why the only time I watch TV during the day is right before bed.

Speaker E. Television is only a problem if you make it one. Television plays an important role in both my life and the life of my family. It’s not only a form of entertainment, but something that is very helpful in staying in touch with your family. It is a form of bonding with each other, and because we watch much television and only have one in the house, we watch it together while spending time as a family. Our TV room is a place of regular family gatherings.

Speaker F. We often argue about TV programs to watch, as we all love different things. Whenever my dad isn’t working, he mostly spends his time watching the Sunday soccer games, his passion. My grandma, of course, can’t go a day without watching some form of soap operas or novellas, as we call them. My sister just loves to watch anything. And my mom, well, she is with soap operas too. I personally enjoy watching TV shows for teens.

— Mary, darling, what do you think of going to Disneyland this Christmas?
— Our kids would be more than happy. Dave, but we need to decide which one we’d like to visit, where to stay, how to get there, and much more.
— You’re right. I’ve made a search on the net and found out that Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is the only world in a set of Disneyland’s around the globe. Its territory is enormous, with many theme parks and shopping entertainment zones.
— I’ve heard of it. It’s the one which was built over decades, starting with the Magic Kingdom, which opened in 1971, right?
— Amazing! How do you know?
— Jim did a project on it last month. He was so busy with his chemistry project that he didn’t have time for this one. So I decided to help and did a little research for him. And as you know, I have a wonderful memory of facts and figures. Anyway, do you want to visit Disneyland on Christmas Eve?
— Well, it might be better to go there between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as it’s a top time to visit Disney World. The parks will be decorated for Christmas, but they won’t be crowded. But Leslie might be a bit disappointed because at this period the Magic Kingdom closes early some nights, and the weather may be too cool for the water parks.
— We’ll deal with Leslie when we’re there. She’s a bit eccentric, but I know what to do. I think that she’ll be happy to know that some parks will probably be open until midnight and there is a lot of fun after dark. I’m sure she’ll enjoy a special night parade, fireworks, and shows that only happen when the park is open late.
— Darling, you know more than me.
— Oh, thank you. The only thing I’m not sure about is the weather. As you said, it may be too cool for water rides, but won’t it be too cold in general? Or too rainy? Could there be thunderstorms or hurricanes?
— Mary, calm down. Hurricanes are rarely a problem because Orlando is inland. As for the rain, we can bring plastic ponchos or buy Mickey ponchos on the spot. We can also stay in the hotel just by the park and leave the park whenever we want and return when the weather gets better.
— Okay, Dave. You’re right as ever.

— Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. You’re listening to our Sunday program, Fit and Fab, where we are talking with fit and fabulous people from all over the world. And here with us, Lindsay James. Welcome, Lindsay.
— Good afternoon, Nick. Good afternoon, everyone. Happy to be here.
— Lindsay, a 47-year-old, Japanese-born managing director, is also a fan of the Mahabharata. It’s one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. Being impressed with Arjuna, the hero and skilled archer in the story, Lindsay took archery lessons seven years ago. In 2007, she opened a cafe with an archery range in Scotland called the Arjuna. The cafe serves vegetarian food 24-7. So, Lindsay, tell us what you do to keep fit.
— You know, I think I don’t do much. However, for one and a half hours every day, I work out at my local gym or in the hotel gym if I’m overseas. For an hour on some evenings, I swim in the pool using flippers and aquatic fitness gloves to train various muscle groups, and I play golf with my friends about twice a month. Well, actually once a month.
— What sports did you do when you were young?
— Despite being a girl, I was a huge Bruce Lee fan, so I picked up martial arts at 13. At 17, I started practicing taekwondo. I eventually achieved a black belt and got certified to teach. Throughout my 20s, believe it or not, I used to practice with a sword.
— Well, you aren’t an ordinary girl. Has there ever been a time when you were not fit?
— To tell the truth, there’s been such a time. When I was about 30, I started my own business. I had irregular meals, skipped lunch on some days, and ate late at night. As the company started growing, I had to travel frequently. I ate out all the time. I didn’t have time for sport and exercise, and I put on 20 kilograms.
— What made you change your lifestyle then?
— It really hit me how much I had let myself go when I looked at photos of myself in my younger days. It encouraged me to start working out.
— What is your diet like?
— Nowadays, I eat mostly organic fruits and vegetables and buy organic ingredients such as flour to cook them. I start the day with a milkshake before my morning workout in a gym. Afterwards, I have unsweetened muesli for breakfast. Lunch and dinner include various combinations of salads, grilled vegetables, beans, and rice. I get hungry quickly, so I snack almost every hour on fruits and nuts. I don’t believe in counting calories. To me, it’s all about balancing one’s input with output.
— Do you have little weaknesses?
— To tell the truth, I do. Once a week, I have a fun day when I eat whatever I want except junk food. 80% dark chocolate, yogurt, ice cream, pasta.
— What is your secret to looking fabulous?
— I don’t think I look fabulous. Bodies are built differently. So to me, it’s not about one’s weight or figure. It’s important to be healthy.