Unit 2Conversation2Janet What's the matter with Joe today?Andy No idea. He's a bit like that sometimes. He gets annoyed with me, but I don't really know why.Janet He wasn't being at all fair. How often does he get like this?Andy Well, I suppose it's not very often. But sometimes he really gets on my nerves.Janet Don't let it get to you. He's probably got too much work, and he's stressed. Andy Well, he should keep his problems away from the studio. Anyway, you're the expert on Dickens, tell me something about him.Janet Well, Charles Dickens was one of the most popular novelists in 19th century Britain. Many of his novels first appeared in magazines, in short episodes.Each one had a cliffhanger at the end that made people want to read thenext episode.Andy And was he a Londoner?Janet He was born in Portsmouth but his family moved to London when he was ten years old.Andy And he set most of his stories in London, didn't he?Janet That's right. He knew the city very well.Andy Whereabouts in London are his stories set?Janet Around the Law Courts in the centre of London. He worked as a court reporter and many of the real life stories he heard in court inspired someof the most famous characters in his novels.Andy I think some of his stories take place south of the river?Janet That's right, especially around Docklands. The thing was...Dickens was a social commentator as much as he was a novelist-his stories describe thehardship, the poverty, and crime which many Londoners experienced inthe 19th century. It makes me want to read some Dickens again. MaybeI'll just go shopping for a copy of Great Expectations.Andy Anyway, you did me a huge favor. That was a real brainwave to suggest the new biography.Janet Cheer up, Andy. It wasn't your fault.Andy No, it's OK. I'll get over it. Go on, off you go and enjoy your shopping!Unit3Listening InPassage 1Presenter How often do you change your clothes during the day?Penny Um I think it all depends on what I'm going to do. Um it might be as many as three times if...Presenter Three times.Penny Yes, if I was going to go to the gym, for instance, having dropped the children off at school, I'd be wearing an outfit for... just a causal outfitfor doing the school run, then I'd go to the gym and, and get changedand ei; and then if I was going out in the evening I'd change again. Presenter Yeah, How about you?Eric Yeah um I think it depends what happens during the day. Most of the time though I just put on my clothes for work. I go to work, I come home.Um maybe, maybe take something oft like er my shoes and changeinto a pair of slippers or something, just a pair of sneakers. Um butthere are times when if I go to the gym, like penny said ,or if we'regoing out, my wife and I are going out for some occasion, I have tochange into something a little nicer.Presenter And, and so what would, what would be the occasion when you changed into something nicer ? It would be different from a work...? Eric Yeah like going to someone's house for dinner or going out for dinner; or going to some kind of event.Presenter Yeah, yeah, Would that be the same for you ?Penny Definitely. Going to the theatre, um or meeting, meeting friends for a drink, yes.Presenter So you'd always change for a social circumstances?Penny Definitely makes it feel more of occasion.Presenter Ok, and what about the clothes you are wearing at the moment, how would you...you know, how...what made you choose these clothes thismorning ?Penny Well. I'm going for an interview in an hour's time so I've got to look quite smart and presentable so that's why I'm looking smarter than Inormally would do in the day.Presenter I think you've got a head start here because you look very presentable. Penny Ah thank you.Presenter How about you?Eric I'm able to go to work in fairly casual clothes so, um you know it's fairly relaxed, nice and easy, anything I'm comfortable with, but as it's cleanand the boss says it's all right.Presenter And so you dress for comfort or do you think you're fashion conscious as well?Eric Maybe a little bit fashion conscious, yeah. You don't want to stand out like a sore thumb and people make fun of you, you know for some reason,but at the same time you want to have your own bit of individuality. Presenter I think you're discreetly fashion conscious, would you agree with...? Penny Yes, and, and another... a good trick I always do is carry um my high heels in my hand bag and go in my trainer you see, and then I can chargealong and jump on the bus and then, and then look...Presenter And you manage high heels?Penny Yes, once I'm there and haven't got to move around too much.Presenter Very impressive, very impressive. What do you think your clothes say about your; your mood or your personality? Do you changedepending...if you get up in the morning do you put on certain clothesdepending how you feel?Penny Definitely, yes .1 f I'm if I'm feeling maybe a bit down I do not want to wear black because it's quite draining and also as you get older it'sdraining too, so I might I might put on some um warm coloursor...which um, I don't know, sort of make your skin look lighter andyour eyes sparkle a little more. Um I, I change...I would say I've got alot of different colours clothes according to my mood.Presenter Yeah, and what about you? Do you change dramatically in the evening when you go out on town on the razz you know?Eric Well not really. Um yeah I might put on a nicer pair of shoes or maybe er get out of my jeans and put on a nicer pair of pants, something like that.But um for the most part it's a young organization that I work for andthe boss is fairly young so we all dress um with a ...with a youthfulthought in mind.Presenter Think you.Passage2Organizers of the London Fashion Show have confirmed today that they will not be following the ban on size zero models which was introduced during similar events in Madrid and Milan.Faced with a disturbing increase in the number of cases of the slimmer's disease , anorexia, city authorities in Milan and Madrid decided to take action against the appearance in fashion shoes of models whose Body Mass Index was less than 18.5-the level below which a person's health is considered to be at risk.The ban follows the death of a Mexican model who ate salads and drank Coke for three months. She had been told by her model agency that she would be extremely successful in the fashion world, but only if she lost weight. A short while after finishing her catwalk display, she complained of feeling unwell, and later died of heart failure.The London Fashion Show was expected to introduce a similar ban on its own size zero models一which is a UK size 4, or a European size 32. In recent years, there has been an increasing tendency by designers to use only the slimmest of models who show off their clothes to the best advantage. Critics claimed that the size zero models encourage young women of all sizes to reduce their weight to unhealthy levels.The Body Mess Index is measured by taking your weight in kilos divided by your height in metres squared. It's considered to be a more accurate measurement of a person's health than the dress size they wear.But it appears that contributors to the London Fashion Show are nervous about Milan and Madrid's concern for the health of their fashion models. Aspokesperson said, “We refuse to comment on or interfere in the creativity of the designers displaying their collections at our show." Others claimed that designers were not uncaring, and would use their common sense. "It's an obvious choice not to use a model who is clearly unhealthy/' said one industry insider.One unnamed designer said that he couldn't afford to design dresses in sizes which are more realistic for the average woman. He said that if he made them any bigger; no one would use them in photo shoots for magazines. It's not the designers who are promoting size zero models. It's the fashion magazines and ultimately, it's the customers 一the people who buy the magazines 一who decide what we design and promote in fashion shows.To explore the different sides of the debate we've invited a couple of leading fashion specialists into the studio...Unit 6Listening inPassage 1Just as Chinese children learn about the emperors of China, English children learn about England's history through its kings and queens. There have been many more kings than queens but one of the greatest and most loved rulers of England was a woman, Queen Elizabeth I. During her reign in the second half of the 16th century Elizabeth made England rich from international trade and also defeated one of the most frightening invasions England ever faced.Elizabeth Father; King Henry VIII, had six wives he divorced two of them and execute two. Elizabeth's mother; Queen Anne Boleyn, was henrys second wife and one of those whom he executed, when Elizabeth was three years old.Elizabeth, who was born in 1533, was very intelligent, talented, and, unusually for a woman, received an excellent education. However; for much of her early life she was afraid that she would be execute like her mother, but after the death of her half-brother and half-sister; she become Queen in 1588 at the age of 25.All the rulers of Europe wanted to marry her and Elizabeth's advisors also wanted her to marry and have a son. But Elizabeth never did, because she was afraid a husband would try to control her.One of Elizabeth's greatest problems was her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary believed she should have been ruler of England. Believing that her Cousinwas a danger to her as long as she remained alive, Elizabeth imprisoned Mary in 1568 and finally execute her in 1587.The King of Spain, Philip II had once wanted to marry Elizabeth but the two countries then became enemies. Mary, Queen of Scots shared the same religion as Philip, and her death gave the King an excuse to go to war with England. At the time Spain was the most powerful country in Europe and in 1558 Philip assembled a huge navy called the Spanish armada. It sailed for England with the intention of invading it. Queen Elizabeth made a famous speech to her soldiers, in which she said. I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a King, and of a King of England too .the Spanish armada was defeated.By the time she died in 1603, Elizabeth was ruler of one of the most powerful and richest countries in the world.Unit8Listening inPassage 1I'm standing in the Arrivals Hall of Terminal 3, Beijing Capital Airports newest terminal which became operational in March 2008. The terminal, which has a third runway and a rail link to the city center, is the second largest in the world. Designed by the famous British architect Norman Foster, it extends almost three kilometers but took only three and a half years to build.The terminal has been designed to look and feel Chinese. The building, a mixture of glass and steel, uses the traditional Chinese colors of red and gold. Columns inside are red. And the roof is dull gold. From the air it is said to resemble a flying dragon.The building uses the latest technology. To save energy, the roof allows in the maximum amount of light and heat, and the advanced baggage systemcan handle up to 19,000 pieces of luggage per hour.The terminal is only one of a number of new buildings that have made Beijing a leading example of 21st century architectural design. Another design success is the capital's new National Centre for the Performing Arts, which opened in late December 2007.The centre, which has created huge interest all over the world, is based at West Changan Avenue, just west of the Great Hall of the People and Tian'anmen Square. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu, it took six years to complete. The building is in the shape of a dome made of and glass, and changes color depending on the amount of sunlight it receives.A man-made lake surrounds it and to enter the building you walk through an 80-metre-long underwater corridor with a glass ceiling.The inside of the centre is as light as the outside. A glass curtain that goes from the floor to the ceiling reflects sunlight during the day and the city lights at night. The floor is made in ten different colors of marble which came from all over China.The centre has three main performance venues. The Opera House, with almost 4,000 seats is the largest venue, followed by the Concert Hall with seating for 2,000 and the Theatre with seating for 1,035. Top companies from all over the world will perform there. Guests walking through the gardens and trees that surround the lake describe the building and the performances as "spectacular".。
