[Music]
now look at
part one part one
you will hear a conversation between a
customer service representative
and a customer who demands a full refund
first you have some time to look at
questions one to four
now we shall begin you should answer the
questions as you listen
because you will not hear the recording
a second time listen carefully
and answer questions one to four
hello and welcome to under pressure
enterprises customer service department
this is kelly how may i help you yes i'm
calling about one of your rice cookers i
just purchased
what seems to be the problem sir seems
there's no seeming about
it the blasted thing shoots hot steam
all over the place that's what
it nearly scalded my hand when i went to
open it
why it could have killed the cat or
something it could have exploded and
killed my wife and me
sir sir please calm down as long as the
steam escapes the cooker
it won't explode so you're telling me
there's no problem
are you calling me a liar sir no one is
calling you a liar
yes so i demand a full refund
under pressure will be happy to refund
your money sir
now i just need some basic information
okay
okay sorry i do tend to get a little hot
under the collar
my wife tells me to slow down so
what do you need to know sir don't worry
i just need to ask you the model number
of the cooker
where are my glasses ah here
let's see ah it's
r242 r242
okay and how much did you pay for the
product
89 pounds 99 it was on sale i guess i
should tell you
thank you that's honest of you now where
did you buy the cooker
which store and which branch at that big
electric life appliance store downtown
the city center branch that's the one
and
you say the problem is that the steam
escapes
yes it does no problem sir
if there's steam escaping clearly the
cooker is broken or defective
so we have an r242 cooker with an
escaping steam problem
it was bought from electric life city
center branch for 89.99
is that correct yes that is correct oh
i nearly forgot when did you buy the
cooker
just as soon as my wife got the crazy
idea she'll live longer if she stops
eating good
english food roast beef and mash
no all she says she wants is rice and
vegetables and sauces you'd not soak
your feet in
before you hear the rest of the
conversation you have some time
to look at questions five to ten
now listen and answer questions five to
ten
sir sir when did you buy it
oh there i go again let's see
we bought it just six months ago we
hardly use it either
but six months is that too long
i mean for the warranty very well that's
well within the warranty period
now what's your name and address name
and address
what for sir it is company policy
if you want your money you must inform
me money you say
oh my name is herbert hewitt
and my address is 84 park road
is that here in coventry yes the postal
code is b024
1 dj but i don't think sending things in
the mail is very secure
or very efficient i mean don't worry mr
hewitt don't worry
we can credit the money to your credit
card you do have one don't you
yes that's how we paid for the cooker oh
yes
we still have the number on the computer
i only need to ask your card's expiry
date
i'm afraid i never give that sort of
information out
i mean once you have that anyone could
go
charging things and sir i said your
expiry date
not your card's password oh yes
foolish me of course you didn't say
password let's see that will be
april 2008 april 2008
very well your card still has nearly two
months left to go we'll get that refund
right to you
probably by five o'clock this evening
you had better
if i don't get my money wait wait
yes i know i'm losing my temper again
i really am sorry i haven't had my
medicine today
and sir just one more question for our
records
how often do you go shopping at the city
center branch oh
well it's hard to say i suppose maybe
once a month
but i can tell you this if i don't get
my refund
i'll never shop there again
oh i think it's time to start looking
for another job
that is the end of part one you now have
half a minute
to check your answers
now turns to part two part two
you will hear a man talking about areas
for growing vegetables
in towns called allotments
first you have some time to look at
questions 11 to 17.
now listen carefully and answer
questions 11 to 17.
good evening everyone i'm delighted to
see so many of you
i was going to start by saying that more
and more people are seeing the value of
growing their own fruit and vegetables
but now i don't need to first of all
let me say that whether you have a
garden or not
there are all sorts of benefits to
having a plot of land
you can call your own and it will give
you a great
sense of satisfaction okay
let's assume you have a garden
chances are it's small
most gardens in cities are hardly big
enough for a few pots of herbs and a
couple of rows of beans
now that's where allotments come in
a typical plot is around 250 square
meters
big enough to feed the family for a year
big enough too to grow a whole range of
vegetables
fruit as well perhaps not just cabbages
and potatoes
moving on to the social aspects of an
allotment
how many people can say their garden is
a meeting place
you might chat with your next-door
neighbor every now and again
but allotments are notorious communal
hives
there are usually between 10 and 30
plots on any allotment site
and they bring together people from all
sorts of social backgrounds
where else do you find a lawyer deep in
conversation with a lorry driver
there's often a great sense of
camaraderie with initiatives to involve
the wider community
including the less able the retired
and the unemployed in urban areas
nowadays
people may have a tiny yard or a balcony
but it's not a garden an allotment
is a huge recreational asset for anyone
in that situation
first of all there's the exercise
renting an allotment costs around 30
pounds a month
that's generally a lot cheaper than
joining a gym
then there's the involvement with nature
watching seeds grow into mature plants
gives so much pleasure and such a sense
of achievement
spending time outside in the fresh air
boosts our mental as well as physical
well-being
and one more thing don't forget
allotments are also an enormous benefit
to the environment
they provide invaluable green space in
our ever more clogged up
towns and cities making them more
sustainable
and appealing to live in these spaces
provide a habitat for wild plants
birds insects and occasionally bigger
animals
what's more locally grown food doesn't
have to be transported long distances
and that helps to reduce road traffic
and hence
pollution now food
a subject we all like talking about
because the main appeal of an allotment
is obviously
taking home all the freshly picked
vegetables and fruit
so why is grow your own so good
well to start with there's the superior
flavor
food you've grown yourself tastes
infinitely better than anything bought
in the supermarket
because it will be super fresh another
point in its favor
is the range these days gardeners are
growing an amazing variety of vegetables
on their allotments
finally there's the bonus of knowing
that the produce you've grown
is organic you know that what you're
eating
wasn't grown on an industrial scale farm
or sprayed with large amounts of
pesticides
now you have some time to look at
questions 18
to 20.
now listen to the next part of the talk
and answer questions
18 to 20.
now i'm going to show you a typical
allotment from the site closest to here
on findlay road
let me just get this image up that's it
can everyone see so as you can see here
each plot has a fence around it and its
own
gate between the beds are grass walkways
that means you can walk in and around
comfortably and not get your boots too
muddy
there are soil beds on either side this
plot in fact has two smaller flower beds
opposite a much
larger area for vegetables and there's
also a glass
house for growing tomatoes or anything
that needs more warmth and protection
here you can see one of those at the
front near the gate
most allotments have their own shed at
the far end
as you can see allotments do need a
water source
though and there are stone sinks outside
the sheds
a hose pipe can be attached to the tap
for easy watering
some of the plots have a pond though
they're not always popular
as they tend to attract insects and this
plot has a compost bin
at the end opposite the shed for
recycling organic waste
right so how to go about getting an
allotment
that is the end of part two
you now have half a minute to check your
answers
now turns to part three part three
you'll hear a talk between an
interviewer and
an interviewee called chris evans from
the royal caledonian
curling club about ice curling
first you have some time to look at
questions 21-26
now listen carefully and answer
questions 21-26
today we're pleased to have on the show
chris evans from the royal caledonian
curling club
now let's welcome chris to tell us
something about ice curling
chris please thank you it's my honor to
briefly talk about ice curling here to
all of you
so let's start with what curling is
curling
is a sport in which players slide stones
on an ice rink
towards a target area which is segmented
into four
concentric circles two curling teams
consist of four players
the lead the second the third and
finally the skip
the captain of the curling team and its
players will throw their stones in the
order stated above
each team has eight stones the purpose
is to accumulate the highest score in
the game
points are scored depending on which
stone is resting closest to the center
of the target area
at the end of the game the ice surface
on which the game is played or the rink
in curling is called the sheet it is
covered with tiny droplets of water that
become ice
and cause the stones to curl or deviate
from a straight path
the curling players should slide the
heavy polished stones or rocks
across the ice curling sheets towards
the house a circular target
marked on the ice as i mentioned before
there are several pieces of equipment
essential for a curling game
so a concise instruction will be given
to you the most important things
are the curling brush which is used to
sweep the ice surface in the path of the
stone
as well as the curling stone which is
sometimes called rock
the former is usually made of horse hair
and the latter
is made of granite mainly coming from
scotland
curling shoes are similar to ordinary
athletic shoes
except that the two shoes in a pair have
dissimilar soles
the sole of the slider shoe which is
designed for the sliding foot
is typically made of teflon while the
gripper shoe
for the hack foot has a special layer of
rubber
applied to the sole during the curling
game you may also find a stopwatch
attached either to the player's clothing
or the broom
which is used to time the stones over a
fixed distance
to calculate their speed
before you hear the rest of the talk you
have some time to look at questions 27
to 30.
now listen and answer questions 27 to
30.
now a word about the development of
curling clubs
curling is thought to have been invented
in medieval scotland
and outdoor curling was very popular in
scotland between the 16th and 19th
centuries
as the climates provided good ice
conditions every winter
kill scythe curling club is renowned as
the first
club in the world having been formally
constituted in 1716
and widely influencing ice curling
development
in kill scythe today both men's and
ladies sections are thriving
participating in all major competitions
and having won championships
in the british open in the past the
mother club of curling
grand caledonian curling club was
instituted in 1838 for the purpose
not as such to attract people's interest
but to regulate the ancient scottish
game of curling by general
laws with these official rules the young
curlers
could be trained in a more professional
way by 1842
the new national club had sought to
obtain royal patronage
and it has ever since been known as the
royal caledonian curling club
however many sports such as athletics
and tennis were frowned upon as being
too recreational
and not practical enough so the crown
banned them by law
during the 1300s in the hope that men
would instead practice
the archery skills that were seen as
vital to the country's defense
and the ban was lifted in the 17th
century
so do you know the reason for curling
being kept during the 16th century
is it because it was so popular or
because people from all ages like
children could play it
the spirit of curling dictates that one
never cheers mistakes
misses or gaps by one's opponent and
most importantly
all the team members should strictly
follow the instructions of their captain
which is essential for men in battle
curling was brought to canada from
scotland and some
curling was played informally before
1800 curlers often used
iron curling stones made from melted
materials such as cannonballs rather
than granite
until the early nineteen hundreds
because
there were transport problems importing
granite stones from scotland
that is the end of part three
you now have half a minute to check your
answers
now turns to part four part four
you will hear a talk given by a lecturer
in the art history department
first you have some time to look at
questions
31 to 40.
listen carefully and answer questions 31
to 40.
in this lecture today i'm going to
introduce you to an
american painter charles wilson peel
you may be familiar with his portraits
but did you know that he never even
saw a painting till he was a grown man
he was born in maryland in 1741
his father died when he was nine and the
family struggled financially for the
next
few years and charles became a saddle
makers apprentice
one day he went to norfolk for supplies
and there he saw paintings for the first
time
he thought they were so bad that he felt
sure he could do better so he decided to
make painting
his career in 1766
he went to london to study painting with
benjamin west
whilst there he painted this portrait in
1768
see slide 1 pit as a roman senator
notice how elaborately symbolical this
portrait is
the symbolism arises of course from
pitt's famous speech
to the british parliament where he draws
an analogy
between the ancient roman senate's view
of a barbaric
britain and the prevailing european view
of the time of a barbaric african
continent
fueling the slavery trade perhaps you
didn't know that the romans
used britons as slaves but i digress
back to peel he returned to america
and in 1772 painted the first ever
portrait of george washington
see slide two in 1773
he painted a group portrait of himself
his wife
mother brothers sister his old nurse
and an unidentified baby
just look at the slide this painting is
simply called
the peel family and you can almost
feel the exuberance of the family and
their warmth
towards one another he enjoyed great
success as a portraitist
prior to the revolution and served with
distinction
in the revolution during this time he
became friends with george washington
benjamin franklin and thomas jefferson
after the war he continued to paint and
when his wife died in the 1790s as a
result of her 11th
pregnancy he remarried he had 17
children in all naming the sons after
famous painters or
scientists although perhaps best known
for his portraits of famous people
peel liked novelty look at this slide of
his two sons
rafael and tyson life-size
climbing a narrow stairway this painting
the staircase group 1795
was exhibited in a doorway as a trump
lawyer
and it is said that it did in fact fool
the eye
of george washington even as far back as
1772
we can see his desire for difference in
rachel weeping
it's a rather macabre portrait of his
first wife crying over the death
of one of their children their daughter
margaret
i'd like to show you one more slide to
demonstrate his
innovative approach this is a portrait
of his brother
james sitting at his desk at night
with only his face illuminated by a lamp
this was painted much later than the
others in eighteen
twenty two you know peel believed
anyone could learn to paint and he
taught painting to his brothers
sisters sons daughters nephews
nieces and other relatives four of his
sons
tyson rubins rembrandt and raphael
became painters as did his brother james
before i finish i'd like to tell you a
bit more about peel
he was active in politics for several
years
and throughout his life he maintained a
lively interest
in many branches of science he was also
an inventor who gained patents for a
fireplace
porcelain false teeth and a new kind of
wooden bridge
he collaborated with thomas jefferson on
what was known as the polygraph
a kind of portable writing desk but it
wasn't any ordinary desk
this one could make several copies of a
manuscript at once
he also wrote papers on a wide variety
of subjects
from hygiene to engineering oh
and he also tried his hand at inventing
a
fairly primitive but innovative motion
picture technique
new types of eyeglasses and a velocipede
which is a precursor to the bicycle
now some of the original velocipedes had
petals
and some didn't you sort of scooted
along on them
using your feet unfortunately i can't
remember which type it was
that peel worked on he's also remembered
for his work
as a naturalist he established the first
scientific museum in america and he even
invented his own system of taxidermy
for those of you who aren't sure what
taxidermy is
it's the art of preparing stuffing and
presenting
dead animals so that they appear
lifelike
he was also well ahead of his time in
that he placed his
animals in a simulated natural
environment
his most magnificent exhibit however
was the complete skeleton of an extinct
mammal
known as a mastodon which he helped
excavate
the event was memorialized in his
extraordinary painting
the exhuming of the mastodon
that is the end of part four
you now have half a minute to check your
answers
[Music]
you