Longman exam skills new proficiency listening speaking teachers book

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^

m^m^

about 40 minutes
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

•

• .

• •••.

;

.

*

• > .

'

•

-

•

"

,">?

•

•

• ,

V-.-.:'*•

*

••

•

. •;.' ?: '.
•.'.

•

"

'

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-

note-taking and blank-filling exercises
yes-no questions
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

surgery
diabetes
obesity
heart disease
high blood pressure
degenerative diseases
an allergy
infections/infectious diseases
cancer
rickets
scurvy
food poisoning
AIDS
depression

treatments/medicines

preventive measures

surgery
tonics
vitamins
diet supplements
an injection
an operation
a transplant
a life support system
pain relief

vitamins
tonics
diet supplements
vaccinations
antiseptics

Example: recordina vocabularv bv tvpes of word/phrase
adjectives to describe
people's physical condition

adjectives to describe
people's character

adjectives to describe
emotions/attitudes

healthy, obese, chubby,

overweight, sedentary,
terminally i l l

humane, compassionate

reassuring/reassured,
enthusiastic, scornful,
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 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 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 - 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


Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book

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
'
month of December, in other words around the
;
time
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

:
:

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
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
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
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)

I
;
'
;
I
:
•
:
;
\
;
;
'.
:
;
;
1

;
•
•
;
•

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

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
4

c2

cl

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

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 overI
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
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

; 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.

Proficiency Listening and Speaking TeachertsBoak

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
«
incidence of asWma among children who live in areas
I
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 citydwellers are subjected to much higher levels than that.

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.
^
Encourage the use of other adjectivestoj»Wecatewith
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 lonelyIf 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
woman who lives in Greece and is married to a Greek
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-inlaw 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


Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book

•
I
\
:
;
•

everyone has his or her opinion about what
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 ?
'

• 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 min£hr 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? ,
;

Mink are predators, and very vicious ones at that. V V o>Sv
•
They'll attack anything small that moves - birds,
".
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 -

0

Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Boofc

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 harebrained 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.

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.j»w-flstti •$ , T *

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

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

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,


Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book

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

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 picturesome 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.

Listening B

7

Before you listen
Answer key
1 c 2d 3e 4f Sa 6 b

Listening 1, page 24
Answer key

1 • 2X 3 ^ 4 V
6X 7 ^ 8X 9 i /

5^

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.


Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's fRaofe

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

I
:
;
j
;
;
I
;

»
;
;
:
;
^
:
;
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
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
less than 6 percent who've ever taken Ecstasy.
Accordingly, the programme we've
implemented in our schools over the las^twp 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 sixpoint 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
1991.

%JD

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
yW
communication skills - this is especially important for'
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

h


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

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

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'.

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 jobsharing 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


Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's Book

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

will also be internal windows opening onto
the central atrium, as illustrated in this crosssection 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 bestj
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


Proficiency Listening and Speaking Teacher's kloofe

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

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^
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.

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.

• 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.

Listening 3 - Tapescript

Photographs

'. You will hear a radio programme on holidays.
» Presenter Travel companies and tour operators are
;
falling over themselves to find new holidays to whet

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.

Speaking B

hainl


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

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
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/

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* W W W « W • *-""?-'

Before you listen

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

Man and the environment

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
Answer key
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.