TAPESCRIPT FOR A 209

Unit 1: TV AND ATTENTION PROBLEMS

1. Listen and fill in the blanks

A new study suggests that very young children who watch a lot of television may have attention problems later in school.

Children with attention problems cannot sit still or control their actions. They talk too much, lose things, forget easily and are not able to finish tasks.

People with attention problems may suffer a condition known as Attention Deficit Disorder, or A.D.D. Experts say the cause of A.D.D involves chemicals in the brain. Teachers say many children in the United States are showing signs of the disorder. Some education researchers have been saying for years that watching television at a very young age could change the normal development of the brain. For example, they say that children who watch a lot of television are not able to sit and read for an extended period of time.

2. Listen and answer the questions

1. The new study tested the idea that television watching by very young children is linked to attention problems by the age of seven.
2. It involved more than one-thousand-three-hundred children.
3. There were two groups of children, ages one and three.
4. Researchers at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington reported the results in the publication Pediatrics.
5. They asked the parents how often the children watched television.
6. The parents also described their children's actions at the age of seven using a method that can tell if someone suffers attention deficit disorders.
7. The children who watched a lot of television at an early age/ were most likely to have attention problems.
8. Every hour of watching television / increased the chances of having attention problems y about ten percent.
9. For example, children who watched three hours a day were thirty percent more likely to have attention problems / than those who watched no television. 2.49

3. Listen and dictate

1. The researchers say that all the children with attention problems might not have A.D.D.
2. But they still could face major learning problems in school.
3. The findings support advice by a group of children's doctors that children under the age of two / should not watch television.
4. One of the researchers said there are other reasons why children should not watch television.
5. Earlier studies have linked it with children becoming too fat and too aggressive.
6. Other experts say the new study is important, but more work needs to be done to confirm the findings and better explain the cause and effect.

Unit 2: WEATHER FORECAST

Well, for those of you who went out today, I don't have to tell you it was clear, but muggy for most of the state, with the high temperatures in the low to mid 90's. The city of Elkview had the high for the day of 97 degrees. And that's hot. I'm glad I'm working indoors today!

For those of you planning outdoor activities tomorrow, you can expect fair skies for most of Saturday with temperatures in the high 90's. However, things might change by Saturday evening with a storm front moving in. We can expect light scattered showers over the northern part of the state bringing slightly cooler temperatures in the 80's, but this rain should taper off (het) by mid Sunday morning. It will be partly cloudy for most of the morning, but these clouds should move out by mid-afternoon.

Skies should be clear Sunday night for those wanting to catch a glimpse of the partial lunar eclipse. It should start at 10:47 pm. And that's all for today's weather.

Unit 3: EASY WATER

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Water scarcity is one of the key issues dominating the Forum. Last week, the United Nations (1) released its latest research on water, which paints a bleak picture of increasing demand and diminishing supplies.

UN report is wake-up call

Gerhard Payen is an adviser on water to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President of The International Federation of Private Water Operators - association that connects international organizations with private sector providers of water and sanitation services. He says the U.N. report / is an important wake up call to the world.

"The reality today is that water scarcity is increasing in many parts of the world because of increasing usage and also partly due to climate change," Payen explained. "This is a reality. So easy water is over. So in the future, we will have to manage water more carefully. There are potential conflicts. So if the governments don't care that conflicts will emerge, this is at local regional and international level. This is a collective responsibility; all of us have a role to play. We have to realize we are so numerous on this planet. Easy water is over."

2. Middle East is potential flashpoint

The Middle East, according to the U.N. report, is a potential flashpoint - particularly between Israel and its neighbors - because of dwindling water supplies.

Turkey, the host of the World Water Forum, is offering a solution that could help ease those tensions. The Turkish government is proposing to sell water to Israel from its eastern Mediterranean coast.

Dogan Altinbilek, the former head of the Turkey's General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, is one of the architects of the plan.

"This is the most (5) water-short area in the world. I have a stack of books at home on the topic of the water wars in the Middle East," he said. "There at least a (6) dozen authors who mention that if there will be a war in the Middle East, it will be because of water. We [i.e., Turkey] will make a profit, but not a large amount (7) of profits we know that. It is a resource that is really in short supply and we are (8) making it available."

The project is still in the planning stages with (8) discussions over security, logistics and cost under way with Israel. However, some experts have raised (9) environmental concerns over the plan. The commercialization of water and (10) the role of the private sector is a major issue at the forum.

3. Protesters disagree with water 'privatization'

Outside the World Water Forum, (1) hundreds of protesters demonstrated against what they call the "privatization" of water. Critics of the Forum (2) accuse it of being too closely associated with business interests.

An alternative forum set up by (3) dozens of non-governmental organizations is expected to open in Istanbul later this week.

Mark Hayes of Corporate Accountability International says (4) water privatization offers no solution to the world's water problems.

"Right now, when you look at how water policy has (5) played out over the past 10 or 15 years, these private companies working closely with the World Bank, working closely even with some parts of the U.N., have (6) really dictated the agenda. And the result has been (7) privatization fiascos in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa as well as the (8) growing trend toward commoditization of water, where there is a huge explosive growth in the (9) bottled water market. So they have had their chance - privatization can solve this problem. And it's pretty clear, even from their own sources, that it is not a panacea." (chua moi benh tat).

7: that bai

4. Role for private, public sectors in finding solution

The role of the private sector in helping to deal with the growing challenges of conserving and delivering safe water to the world's population is another key issue at the forum.

Gerhard Payen of The International Federation of Private Water Operators says there is a role for both the private and public sectors. He adds that pragmatism should triumph over ideology. (thuc dung - ..mo tuong)

"Today there is a divide between 3.5 billion people who have access to tap water and the other three billion who have no access to tap water - either at home or in the immediate vicinity," Payen said. "There is a big divide in the world between those who benefit from the public water service and those who don't benefit from it. In the past 15 years, the private sector has provided access to water to 25 million people or more. So the issue today is: When do we want that all people get safe and reliable access to water? This is the main issue. For those people, the most important thing is access to water."

The World Water Forum also offers a week-long venue for government representatives . These meetings are being held behind closed doors, away from the main venue.

Unit 4: DEGREE AT AN AMERICAN COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Today, we answer a question from Martin in Mexico City. He asks about the kinds of degrees / that students can earn / at an American college or university.

American higher education / offers degrees / in many areas of study. A community college student / earns an associate degree / after two years of general study. The student may then continue at a college or university / for another two years / to earn a bachelor’s degree.

An undergraduate student at a four-year school / earns a bachelor's degree. Students majoring in an area of science / receive the bachelor of science, also known by the letters / B.S. Arts or humanities students / get the bachelor of arts degree, or B.A.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. Students who continue in school may earn a master’s degree after two or three more years of study.

2. Many Americans earn master’s degrees at night or on the weekends while they are working.

3. One example of this is the M.B.A., a master's degree in business administration.

4. Students learn to deal with all kinds of business situations.

5. They develop skills needed by many companies.

6. M.B.A. programs teach about economics, finance and marketing.

7. They also teach about the structure of organizations and other subjects.

8. Business is a popular subject for students who come to the United States.

9. To be admitted to an M.B.A. program, a foreign student must have a bachelor’s degree and a good score on the TOEFL.

10. Most students also take the Graduate Management Admission Test.

11. Most of the one thousand eight hundred M.B.A. programs around the world use these test scores.

III. Listen and dictate

1. The Graduate Management Admission Council says that foreign students should find out what different schools could do to help them find a job after they receive their degree.

2. Representatives from many companies visit colleges to hire students.

3. You should ask how many companies are willing to hire international students.

4. The council says even the best schools may have fewer job placements for international graduates than for others.

5. Our Foreign Student Series continues next week with a report about the highest degree a student can earn at an American university -- the doctorate.

UNIT 5: THE FIRST CLASS

Teacher: Okay,

Okay, let's begin. Hello, everyone. My name's Karl Roberts, and I'll be your teacher for this class, Intercultural Communication 311.

Uh, to begin with, please take a look at the syllabus in front of you. As you all should know by now, this class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:50. We will be meeting in this room for the first half of the course, but we will be using the research lab every other week on Thursday in room 405 during the last two months of the class.

Uh, this is the text for the class, Beyond Language. Unfortunately, the books haven't come in yet, but I was told that you should be able buy them at the bookstore the day after tomorrow. Again, as you see on your course outline, grading is determined by your performance on a midterm and final test, periodic quizzes, uh, a research project, and classroom participation.

My office hours are from 1:00 to 2:00 on Wednesdays, and you can set up an appointment to meet with me at other times as well.

UNIT 6: DEVELOPMENT BANKS

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

The Asian Development Bank was created in nineteen sixty-six, two years after the African Development Bank. Today both of them are talking about needed reforms / to better serve their member countries. Last month we looked at the issues in Africa / where there is still widespread need / for development aid.

The situation is different for the Asia-Pacific area. The Asian Development Bank was created / to raise money from rich industrial nations / for loans to support economic growth. Now there are surpluses in Asia, and less and less need for those loans.

Rajat Nag / is managing director general of the bank; we called him in Manila. He says / the bank is debating /how to deal with the two faces of Asia. Economic growth in many countries has been great -- ten percent a year in China, for example. The bank's members have about two trillion dollars in savings / that could be invested. Yet more than six hundred million people in Asia / are still without clean water.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. And Rajat Nag says / by the year twenty-twenty, almost two billion Asians / will still be living / on less than two dollars a day.
2. The bank will continue to be supportive for those countries, he says.
3. Many of the reforms / that the bank is considering / come from a report / released in late March / by an independent committee.
4. Bank President / Haruhiko Kuroda asked for a study looking ahead / to two thousand twenty.
5. Supachai Panitchpakdi, head of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, chaired the committee.
6. He discussed the report / during the bank's board of governors meeting last month / in Kyoto, Japan.
7. He urged the bank / to change with Asia's economic rise / but to continue its poverty reduction efforts / in poor countries.

III. Listen and dictate

1. Rajat Nag predicts / that reforms will help connect / local borrowers with local lenders.
2. Like other international lenders, the Asian Development Bank / may also become more of a knowledge bank / for technical aid.
3. Mister Nag says / the bank will be a partner / and not a competitor of other development banks.
4. The proposed reforms will be examined / over the next eight to ten months.
5. Rajat Nag says / a final plan / might be presented and approved / at next year's Asian Development Bank meeting/ in Madrid, Spain.

UNIT 7: CELL PHONE

1. More and more people these days have cell-phones as a means of communicating with family and friends.

2. It just helps you stay in touch,

3. so if I want to talk to a friend, I just call her up no matter where I am.

4. Also, I can take and send pictures with my cell-phone, so I really don't need an extra camera.

5. Of course, if my friend doesn't have her cell-phone turned on, then I can just leave a message and ask her to call me back.

6. A cell-phone also comes in handy if case of an emergency and you need to call for help,

7. For example, if your car breaks down, and you need assistance.

8. To be honest, I don't think I could live without my cell-phone.

Unit : 8 WASHING YOUR HANDS

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Hand washing is a powerful way to prevent the spread of disease.

The World Bank, the United Nations and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine / did a study to urge hand washing around the world. They found / that one million lives could be saved each year / if people washed their hands with soap often. They said that programs to increase hand washing with soap / could be among the most effective ways / to reduce infectious disease.

Doctors say many diseases can be prevented from spreading / by hand washing. These include pinworms, influenza, the common cold, hepatitis A, meningitis and infectious diarrhea.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. Hand washing destroys germs from other people, animals or objects a person has touched.

2. When people get bacteria on their hands, they can infect themselves by touching their eyes, nose or mouth.

3. Then these people can infect other people.

4. The experts say the easiest way to catch a cold is to touch your nose or eyes after someone nearby has sneezed or coughed.

5. Another way to become sick is to eat food prepared by someone whose hands were not clean.

6. The experts say that hand washing is especially important before and after preparing food, before eating and after using the toilet.

7. People should wash their hands after handling animals or animal waste, and after cleaning a baby.

8. The experts say it is also a good idea to wash your hands after handling money and after sneezing or coughing.

9. And it is important to wash your hands often when someone in your home is sick.

III. Listen and dictate

1. The experts say the most effective way to wash your hands is to rub them together while using soap and warm water.

2. They say you do not have to use special antibacterial soap.

3. Be sure to rub all areas of the hands for about ten to fifteen seconds.

4. The rubbing action helps remove germs.

5. Then rinse the hands with water and dry them.

6. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are rubbed into the hands and do not require soap and water.

7. Experts say these products must contain at least sixty percent alcohol to be effective in killing most bacteria and viruses.

8. Experts also say that people who use public bathrooms and dry their hands with a paper towel should use the towel to turn off the water.

9. Then, before throwing it away, use the same paper to open the bathroom door.

UNIT 9 NOSE AND EARS: HE HAS HIS NOSE IN THE AIR

A person’s nose is important for breathing and smelling. The nose is also used in many popular expressions.

Some people are able to “lead other people by the nose.” For example, if a wife “leads her husband by the nose,” she makes him do whatever she wants him to do.

Some people are said to be “hard-nosed.” They will not change their opinions or positions on anything. If someone is hard-nosed, chances are he will never “pay through the nose”, or pay too much money, for an object or service.

It is always helpful when people “keep their nose out of other people’s business.” They do not interfere. The opposite of this is someone who “noses around” all the time. This kind of person is interested in other people’s private matters. He is considered “nosey.”

Someone who keeps his “nose to the grindstone” works very hard. This can help a worker “keep his nose clean” or stay out of trouble.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. One unusual expression is “that is no skin off my nose.”
2. This means that a situation does not affect or concern me.
3. We also say that sometimes a person “cuts off his nose to spite his face.”
4. That is, he makes a situation worse for himself by doing something foolish because he is angry.
5. More problems can develop if a person “looks down his nose” at someone or something.
6. The person acts like something is unimportant or worthless.
7. This person might also “turn up his nose” at something that he considers not good enough.
8. This person thinks he is better than everyone else.
9. He has his “nose in the air.”
10. In school, some students “thumb their nose” at their teacher.
11. They refuse to obey orders or do any work.
12. Maybe these students do not know the correct answers.
13. My mother always told me, if you study hard, the answers should be “right under your nose” or easily seen.

III. Listen and Dictate

1. I think we have explained the “nose” expressions.
2. What about ears?
3. Well, I hope you are “all ears”, (cham chu lang nghe)or very interested in hearing more expressions.
4. We might even “put a bug in your ear,” (or give you an idea about something.
5. We also advise you to “keep your ear to the ground.” (nhay ben, nam bat van de mot cach nhanh chong)
6. This means to be interested in what is happening around you and what people are thinking.
7. If you are a good person, you will “lend an ear” (lang nghe)to your friends.
8. You will listen to them when they have a problem they need to talk about.
9. Our last expression is to “play it by ear.” (cam am)
10. This has two meanings.
11. One is to play a song on a musical instrument by remembering the tune and not by reading the music.
12. “Play it by ear” also means to decide what to do at the last minute instead of making detailed plans. (lam theo ngau hung)

Unit 10: CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY PLANTS

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Christmas has many traditions. Singing songs Cooking foods. Giving gifts. Some special trees and plants / also are part of the Christmas tradition.

One of the most popular / is the evergreen tree. It is usually a pine / or a fir. It remains green / during the cold, dark months of winter / in the northern part of the world. Many people buy an evergreen tree / for Christmas. They put it in their house / and hang small lights / and colorful objects / on its branches. Some people buy living trees / and plant them after the Christmas holiday. Others cut down a tree / or buy a cut tree.

Another popular evergreen plant / is mistletoe. It has small white berries / and leaves that feel like leather. The traditional Christmas mistletoe / is native to Europe. Mistletoe is a parasite plant. It grows by connecting itself to a tree / and stealing the tree's food and water. It can be found on apple trees, lindens, maples and poplars.

Priests of the Druid religion of ancient Britain and France / believed mistletoe / had magical powers. Today, some people hang mistletoe / in a doorway / at Christmas time. If you meet someone under the mistletoe, tradition gives you permission to kiss that person.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. One of the most popular plants at Christmas / is the poinsettia.
2. These plants are valued for their colorful bracts, which look like leaves.
3. Most poinsettias / are bright red.
4. But they also can be white or pink.
5. Poinsettias are native to Mexico.
6. They are named after America's first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett.
7. He liked the plant / and sent some back to the United States.
8. Many people believe that poinsettias / are poisonous.
9. But researchers say / this is not true.
10. They say / the milky liquid in the plant's stem / can cause a person's skin / to become red.
11. If children or animals eat the leaves, they may become sick, but they will not die.

III. Listen and dictate

1. Two thick, sticky substances from trees / have been part of Christmas / from the beginning.
2. They are frankincense and myrrh.
3. Both have powerful, pleasant smells.
4. Tradition says / three wise men / carried them as gifts / to the Christ child / in Bethlehem.
5. Finally, there are several herbs used in Christmas foods, drinks and decorations.
6. One is sage. (rau thom)
7. Its leaves are cooked with turkey or goose.
8. And sweet-smelling rosemary plants / are hung on doors / or cut to look like little Christmas trees.

UNIT 11: NEW YEAR'S TRADITIONS

I. Listen and dictate

1. It is December Thirty-First in New York City.
2. Thousands of people are gathered in Times Square.
3. They stand close together, waiting in the cold darkness for midnight.
4. That is the time when the old year dies and the New Year is born.
5. The people count the seconds until the New Year arrives.
6. "Ten … nine …eight … " A huge, brightly lit, glass ball falls as the seconds pass.
7. When it reaches the ground, the New Year has begun.
8. People shout "Happy New Year!"
9. They sing a traditional New Year song of friendship, called "Auld Lang Syne."

II. Listen and answer the questions

Americans hope Two-Thousand-Two will be happier than Two-Thousand-One.

1. New York suffered terrible losses in the terrorist attacks on September Eleventh.
2. However, the city is continuing with its New Year's Eve traditions in Times Square for the ninety-seventh year.
3. The tradition began in Nineteen-Oh-Four.
4. That year, the owners of the building at Number One Times Square held a party on top of the building.
5. Today, the New Year's Ball falls from the top of the same building.
6. The ball contains thousands of pieces of lighted cut glass.
7. It looks like burning stars as it falls through the darkness.
8. When it reaches the ground, people in Times Square dance and sing.
9. They throw tiny pieces of colorful paper into the air.
10. Many people in the United States also watch this event on television.

III. Listen and practice reading

Other cities also have New Year celebrations. For example, Chicago has a fireworks show. The fireworks are launched from the Navy Pier, a land area that extends into Lake Michigan. Some people like to watch the fireworks from a boat on the lake. The boat serves a special meal on New Year's Eve. People drink a special wine called Champagne to celebrate the clock striking midnight.

Many young people in Chicago celebrate New Year's Eve at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Children wear funny hats as they wish the animals a good New Year.

Many other Americans celebrate New Year's Eve with parties at home. Or they celebrate at public eating and drinking places. These events are usually noisy. People shout and sing. They often blow on small noise-makers when the New Year arrives at midnight. They kiss their husband or wife or the person they are with. They dance to broadcast music, records or live bands.

IV. Listen and answer the questions

1. Some people drink too much alcohol at New Year's Eve celebrations.
2. This can lead to tragic results if a person drinks too much and then drives a car.
3. The National Safety Council says / hundreds of people die in road accidents during the holiday.
4. In recent years, the danger of accidents has resulted in a new tradition called the "designated driver."
5. One person among a group of friends drinks little or no alcohol during New Year's Eve celebrations.
6. Then this designated driver can safely drive the other people home.
7. Many American cities also offer free taxi service on New Year's Eve to take people home safely.
8. Other Americans observe the coming of the New Year at events without alcohol.
9. More than two-hundred American cities hold these First Night celebrations.
10. Artists in Boston, Massachusetts, started the tradition of First Night celebrations in Nineteen-Seventy-Six.
11. They wanted to observe the coming of a New Year.
12. But they did not want to hold noisy drinking parties.
13. So they organized music, art and other events to observe the holiday.

5. Listen and dictate

1. This year, people in Boston have a choice of entertainment at fifty places in the city.
2. A parade and fireworks celebration are held early in the evening.
3. At midnight, more fireworks are launched over Boston Harbor.
4. People attending First Night in Whittier, California, are also marching in a parade.
5. Adults and children in the parade wear costumes -- unusual or funny clothes.
6. They hear performers from many countries.
7. For example, they listen to African and African-American stories and traditional Welsh music.
8. Finally, fireworks will light up the California sky.

UNIT 12: NEW YEAR

That is a song millions of Americans will hear this New Year's Eve. It is called "Auld Lang Syne." It is the traditional music played during the New Year's celebration. Auld Lang Syne is an old Scottish poem. It tells about the need to remember old friends.

The words "auld lang syne" mean "old long since." No one knows who wrote the poem first. However, a version by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published in Seventeen-Ninety-Six. The words and music we know today first appeared in a songbook three years later.

The song is played in the United States mainly on New Year's Eve. The version you are hearing today is by the Washington Saxophone Quartet. As we end our program with "Auld Lang Syne," I would like to wish all of our radio friends a very Happy New Year!

Unit 13: JOB MARKET

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Employers in the United States expect to hire almost twenty percent more college graduates this year than last year. So says the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The group says employers are most interested in students with business, engineering and computer-related training. There is also great demand for business graduates with a master's of business administration or other advanced degree. Employers say they plan to increase hiring of M.B.A. graduates by eighteen percent.

Increases in starting pay are also a sign of the demand for business and technical majors. The average pay offer to newly hired marketing graduates is reported up by more than ten percent over last year. The increase is almost eight percent for graduates in business administration.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. The job market for college graduates has grown stronger and stronger since demand reached a low point in two thousand two.

2. The unemployment rate for all workers is four and a half percent.

3. But people with a bachelor's degree have a jobless rate under two percent.

4. Just over half of employers said they expect to offer jobs to more college graduates this year than last.

5. But the signs of job growth do not look so good for liberal arts graduates.

6. Not only that, starting pay for graduates with a liberal arts degree is up just one percent.

7. Before we go -- we told you last month that the carmaker Chrysler was for sale.

8. This week DaimlerChrysler of Germany announced a deal for its struggling American division.

9. Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity company in New York, will buy an eighty percent share.

10. The deal is valued at almost seven and one-half billion dollars.

III. Listen & Dictate

1. Daimler will have to pay about six hundred fifty million dollars to complete the deal.

2. And it will continue to hold twenty percent of Chrysler.

3. But it will no longer be responsible for Chrysler's retirement and health care plans.

4. Their cost is estimated at around eighteen billion dollars.

5. Labor unions are being told there are no plans for major job cuts beyond the thirteen thousand that Chrysler announced in February.

6. Chrysler lost one and one-half billion dollars last year.

7. Recently, though, because of accounting changes, the loss was restated as six hundred eighty million dollars.

8. The new owners say they are looking for a long-term plan to make Chrysler profitable again.

Unit 14:

I LOVE TREE

I love trees because they are an important commodity to the environment. They make life possible on this planet, along with other plants. I also love the trees' glorious display of colors in the fall. I love trees because they have many different shades of green, so many that it's almost impossible to count. When I paint a picture of a tree, I use many shades of green and many more shades of brown. My favorite thing about trees is that they always seem to have a glow around them. I love trees because they always smell so fresh and clean. I like to go to the nursery because I love the smell of trees, it's so refreshing. It's a glass of cool water on a hot day, or a damp cloth on a hot forehead. I love to plant trees. I love to dig through the soil to make a hole in which the tree will rest. I love to place the tree in the ground, making sure not to disturb the roots which will be the tree's support. I love to water the trees. I love to pour the water on the trees knowing that it will grow. One of my favorite things about trees is that they are fun to climb. I started climbing trees when I was very little. My dad taught me how to climb, along with some useful tips. I especially like to climb my grandpa's apple tree. I love to wind through the branches, and climb to a board that has been placed there. Once up, I like to think and relax, or bring a book up with me. It is fun to let my imagination run away with me while munching apples. II . Listen and dictate 1. I love trees in the autumn when they display their beautiful colors. 2. In the autumn time, splashes of red, yellow, orange, and green decorate the mountainside. 3. The maples go red, the oak and aspen go yellow while the evergreens maintain their beautiful shade of green. 4. Trees make life possible because they use the carbon dioxide and release oxygen which makes it so that we can breathe. 5. If we exterminate trees, the effects could be fatal. 6. There may be global warming, lack of oxygen, and we would definitely not have any lumber or paper. 7. Trees are very important to the environment. 8. The beauty of trees makes me feel peaceful, and inspires me to make the best of myself.

Unit 15: MONEY TALKS

1. FILL IN THE BLANKS

People often say that money talks. They mean /that a person with a lot of money / can say how he or she wants things done. But it is not easy to earn enough money / to gain this kind of power. Ask anyone in a business, they will tell you that it is a jungle out there. The expression probably began / because the jungle is filled with wild animals / and unknown dangers that threaten people. Sometimes people in business / feel competing businesses are as dangerous as wild animals. And they feel that unknown dangers in the business world / frighten the survival of their business.

People in business have to be careful, if they are to survive the jungle out there. They must not be led into making bogus investments. Bogus means something that it is not real. Nobody is sure how the word got started. But it began to appear in an American newspapers in 1800s. A newspaper in Boston Massachusetts / said the word came from a criminal / whose name was Bogazy. The newspaper said / Bogazy wrote checks to people, although he did not have enough money in the bank. After he wrote the checks, he would flee from town. So people who were paid with his checks / received nothing. The newspaper said / Americans shortened and changed to the criminal's name Bogazy to bogus.

II. Listen and dictate

1. 1. People trying to earn money also must be aware of being ripped off.
2. 1. A person who is ripped off has had something stolen or at least has been treated very unfairly.
3. 1. A writer for the magazine American Speech said he first saw the expression used in 1971.
4. 1. It was on a sign that a student carried during a protest demonstration at a university.
5. 1. The message on the sign was that the student felt ripped off or cheated.
6. 1. Perhaps the best way to prevent getting ripped off in business is to not try to get rich quickly

III. Listen and answer the questions

1. To be successful, a person in business works hard and tries to get down to brass tacks.

2. This expression means to get to the bottom or most important part of something.

3. For example, a salesman may talk and talk about his product without saying the price.

4. You get down to brass tacks when you say it sounds good.

5. How much does it cost？

6. Word expert Charles Funk thinks the expression comes from sailors on ships.

7. They clean the bottom of a boat.

8. When they have removed all the dirt, they are down to the brass tacks,

9. the copper pieces that hold the boat together.

10. So if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent rip-offs and bogus ways of earning money in that jungle out there.

11. And some good luck will help too.

unit 16:

WEIGHT-LOSS ANSWERS

I. Listen and fill the blanks

A listener has written from China / for advice about how to lose weight. Michael in Shanghai / says he is twenty-six years old / and has battled obesity for most of his life.

Doctors say obesity, also known as severe overweight, is a complex condition. A doctor may advise medical interventions / in addition to changes in behavior. But experts say / the most successful weight-loss plans / include a well-balanced diet and exercise.

People who want to avoid weight gain / have to balance the number of calories they eat / with the number of calories they use. To lose weight, you can reduce the number of calories you take in, or increase the number you use, or both.

Experts at the National Institutes of Health say / to lose weight, a person should do an hour of moderate to intensive physical activity / most days of the week. This could include (8) fast walking, sports or strength training.

You should also follow a (9) nutritious eating plan / and take in fewer calories / than your body uses each day.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. A recent study looked at four of the most popular dieting plans in the United States.

2. Researchers at Stanford University in California / studied more than three hundred overweight women, mostly in their thirties and forties.

3. Each woman went on one of the four plans: Atkins, The Zone, Ornish or LEARN.

4. The women attended diet classes and received written information about the food plans.

5. At the end of a year, the women on the Atkins diet had lost the most, more than four and one-half kilograms on average.

6. They also did better on tests including cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

7. Christopher Gardner led the study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

8. He says the Atkins diet may be more successful because of its simple message to lower intake of sugars.

9. Also, he says the advice to increase protein in the diet leads to more satisfying meals.

III. Listen and dictate

1. He says there was not enough money to also study men, but that men would probably have similar results.

2. But last week, another report suggested that only a small minority of people have long-term success with dieting.

3. The report in the journal American Psychologist was based on thirty-one studies.

4. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, medical school found that most dieters regained their lost weight within five years.

5. And often they gained back even more.

6. But those who kept the weight off generally were the ones who exercised.