TAPESCRIPT FOR A 102

Unit 1: GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

A woman from Japan (1) was telling a friend about her trip to the United States. The woman had visited (2) major businesses / and investment companies / in New York City and Chicago.

"I studied English (3) before I left home," she said. "But I still was not sure / that people were speaking English."

Her problem is easy to understand. Americans in business / are (4) like people who are in business anywhere. They have a (5) language of their own. Some of the words and expressions / (6) deal with the special areas of their work. Other expressions are (7) borrowed from different kinds of work / such as the theater and movie industry.

One such saying is / (8) get your act together.

When things go wrong in a business, an employer may get angry. He may shout, (9)"Stop making mistakes. Get your act together."

Or, if the employer is calmer, he may say, (10) "Let us get our act together."

Either way, the meaning is the same. Getting your act together / is (11) getting organized. In business, it usually means / to (12) develop a calm and orderly plan of action.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. It is difficult to tell exactly where the saying began.
2. But, it is probable that it was in the theater or movie industry.
3. Perhaps one of the actors was nervous and made a lot of mistakes.
4. The director may have said, "Calm down, now. Get your act together."
5. Word expert James Rogers says the expression was common by the late nineteen seventies.
6. Mister Rogers says the Manchester Guardian newspaper used it in nineteen seventy-eight.
7. The newspaper said a reform policy required that the British government get its act together.
8. Now, this expression is heard often when officials of a company meet.
9. One company even called its yearly report, "Getting Our Act Together."
10. The Japanese visitor was confused by another expression used by American business people.
11. It is cut to the chase.
12. She heard that expression when she attended an important meeting of one company.
13. One official was giving a very long report.
14. It was not very interesting.
15. In fact, some people at the meeting were falling asleep.

III. Listen and dictate

Finally, the president of the company said, "Cut to the chase."

Cut to the chase means to stop spending so much time on details or unimportant material. Hurry and get to the good part.

Naturally, this saying was started by people who make movies. Hollywood movie producers believe that most Americans want to see action movies. Many of their movies show scenes in which the actors chase each other in cars, or in airplanes or on foot.

Cut is the director's word for stop. The director means to stop filming, leave out some material, and get to the chase scene now.

So, if your employer tells you to cut to the chase, be sure to get to the main point of your story quickly.

UNIT 2: A VISITOR

I. Listen and answer the questions

1. Hello. This is Greg Rice reporting for TBC News in blizzard conditions in the freezing state of Alaska.

2. I've just arrived here in Barrow, Alaska, to bring you live coverage of what appears to be the results of a huge (da troi, thien thach) meteorite impact, perhaps the largest in recent history, that occurred just twelve hours ago.

3. The exact location of the impact is unknown, but estimates put it about 20 kilometers south of Barrow based on shock waves felt throughout the region.

4. Some witnesses say they saw a bright light streaking through the sky, accompanied by a roaring boom, moments before the impact.

5. It's unknown whether there are any casualties, but it is unlikely considering this sparsely populated area. (rai rac)

II. Listen and dictate

1. Such impacts were commonplace during the formation of our solar system,

2. and many believe that a meteorite 10 kilometers in diameter crashed into Earth 65 million years ago which led to the mass extinction of many animal species including the dinosaurs.

3. It is often difficult to calculate the number of such large impacts on earth because erosion and vegetation make it difficult to spot them.

4. In recent years, astronomers have focused more of their attention on the paths of many uncharted space rocks or asteroids floating out there in the hope that we might be able determine the threat they pose on mankind.

5. We'll keep you up-to-date on any developments here.

Key Vocabulary

• blizzard (noun): a severe snowstorm with a lot of wind
  - We couldn't reach our family's house because of the blizzard.
• casualties (noun): people who are injured or killed in military action or accidents
  - There were many casualties to due intense bombing in that region.
• erosion (noun): the process of wearing something down due to wind and rain
  - Erosion of the soil can become a real environmental problem.

• vegetation (noun): plants in general
  - Having vegetation in some areas can slow down the process of erosion.

Unit 3: PREVENTING BULLYING

1. Listen and fill in the blanks

Today we have the last of three reports on bullying. Last week / we shared (1) some of your comments on this issue. Now, we talk to a researcher / who (2) presented a study this week / at the (3) Pediatric Academic Societies meeting / in Vancouver, Canada.

Rashmi Shetgiri is a (4) pediatrician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center / and Children's Medical Center Dallas.

"There's about thirty percent / of U.S. children are / (5) involved in bullying, and the latest numbers we have is / about thirteen percent of them / are bullies, eleven percent as victims / and then six percent (6) as both bullies and victims."

The new study led by Doctor Shetgiri / shows that parents could help prevent bullying / by (7) improving communication and involvement with their children. The study (8) identified factors that seem to increase or decrease the risk / that a child will be a bully.

"Children who have (9) emotional or developmental problems / or who have mothers / who have (10) poor mental health / are more likely to be bullies. And older children / and children who live in homes / where their (11) primary language is not English, and also children who (12) complete all their homework, are less likely to be bullies."

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. Another difference: The study found that African-American and Latino children were more likely to be bullies compared to white children.
2. For the study, the researchers used the two thousand seven National Survey of Children's Health.
3. Parents of children age ten to seventeen were asked whether their child bullies or is cruel or mean to others.
4. Not surprisingly, how a parent acts may also influence whether or not a child becomes a bully.
5. "We found that parents who frequently get angry with their children and feel that the children often do things that bother them a lot are much more likely to have a child who becomes a bully.
6. And that parents who share ideas with their children and talk with them and who've met most of their child's friends are much less likely to have children who become bullies."

III. Listen and dictate

1. University of Nebraska psychologist Susan Swearer says / communication between students and teachers / can also reduce bullying.
2. She says studies have shown improvement / when students are taught about bullying and respectful behavior.
3. Some programs also try to get people to intervene / to stop bullying.
4. “And a lot of these bullying prevention and intervention programs that focus on bystanders have been shown to be the effective programs because they focus on changing that bystander behavior.
5. So instead of watching bullying take place or joining in with the bullying, these programs teach bystanders how to stand up and be supportive of the kids who are being victimized and to say 'You know we don't do that here, we don't engage in those behaviors.'"
6. Professor Swearer advises parents and teachers to try to get children to talk to them about being bullied.
7. Otherwise a child could feel hopeless and helpless to do anything about it.

UNIT 4: SURFING THE INTERNET

Isaiah: Aren’t you (1) supposed to be working?

Nancy: I just thought I would take (2) a break and surf the web a little.

Isaiah: You’d better be careful which sites you visit. You know that (3) Big Brother is watching.

Nancy: The boss told us that, but I don’t believe it. They’re not going to care if I read a (4) blog or check out a forum once in a while.

Isaiah: That may be, but I would suggest (5) clearing your history and your cache after you do that. You never know when someone is going to be (6) checking up on you.

Nancy: Listen, I’ve (7) installed plug-ins and downloaded programs I’m not supposed to onto this computer, and I’ve never (8) gotten into trouble. I think the boss is just (9) using scare tactics to keep us from (10) messing around when we’re supposed to be working.

Isaiah: Like I said, you can (11) dig your own grave if you want to. Vivian was shopping on the Internet on her work computer a couple of weeks ago, and some (12) questionable pop-ups opened when she moved to a new tab. She didn’t notice it, and when the boss went onto her computer to get a document while she was at lunch, he saw it. She was (13) in hot water.

Nancy: Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I know how to (14) cover my tracks.

VOCABULARY

1. Big Brother: some one in secret

2. cache: temporary computer memory

3. plug-in: a part of software

4. scare tactic: serious regulation

5. to mess around: to spend time doing silly things

6. to dig s.o’s own grave: to make trouble himself

7. pop-up: small window

8. in hot water: in trouble

9. to cover s.o’s track: to hide s.th

Unit 5: DEVELOPMENT BANK

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 6: ORDERING FOOD DELIVERY

Order clerk: Hello, Torino’s Restaurant.

Nancy: Hello, I’d like (1) to place a delivery order.

Order clerk: Can I have your address and the (2) major cross streets, please?

Nancy: It’s 1212 Main Street, and the nearest cross streets are Speedway and Highland.

Order clerk: Okay, it looks like you’re in our (3) delivery area. What would you like to order?

Nancy: I’d like (4) an order of spaghetti. Does that come (5) with any sides?

Order clerk: You have(6) a choice of soup or salad.

Nancy: I’ll have the salad.

Order clerk: Is that all? We have a (7) $15 minimum for delivery orders.

Nancy: In that case, I’ll also take an appetizer (8) sampler plate.

Order clerk: Okay, that’s one order of spaghetti and an appetizer sampler plate. You’re still $3 short. Would you like a (9) drink or some dessert?

Nancy: I’ll take an iced tea.

Order clerk: All right, but you’re still a dollar short.

Nancy: What can I get for a dollar?

Order clerk: There’s nothing on the menu for a dollar, ma’am.

Nancy: And you won’t deliver my $14 order?

Order clerk: That’s (10) our policy, ma’am.

Nancy: All right, you win. Give me an order of bread. (11) How long will that take?

Order clerk: You should get your food in about an hour.

Nancy: An hour?!?

Order clerk: Yes, ma’am. You’ve ordered a lot of food and it (12) takes time for us to prepare it.

UNIT 7: FAILURE AND KNOWLEDGE

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says / organizations / (1) learn more from their failures / than their successes, and (2) keep that knowledge longer.

One of the researchers was Vinit Desai, an (3) assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. He worked with Peter Madsen / from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.

They did not find much (4) long-term "organizational learning" / from success. It is possible, they say. But Professor Desai says / they found that (5) knowledge gained from failure / lasts for years.

He says organizations should (6) treat failures / as a learning opportunity / and not try to (7) ignore them.

The study looked at companies and organizations / that (8) launch satellites / and other space vehicles. Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. In two thousand two, a piece of insulating material / broke off / during launch / and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis.
2. Still, the flight was considered a success.
3. Then, in early two thousand three, a piece of insulation struck the Columbia / during launch.
4. This time, the shuttle broke apart on re-entry / and the seven crew members died.
5. NASA officials / suspended all flights /
6. and an investigation / led to suggested changes.
7. Professor Desai says / the search for solutions / after a failure / can make leaders more open-minded.
8. He points to airlines / as an example of an industry that has learned / from failures in the past.
9. He advises organizations / to look for useful information / in small failures / and failures they avoided.
10. He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information.
11. The study appeared in the Academy of Management Journal.

III. Listen and dictate

The mistakes we learn from / do not have to be our own.

1. We recently asked people on our Facebook page / to tell us a time they had done something really silly.
2. Fabricio Cimino wrote: Not long ago / I wanted to watch TV, but it wouldn't turn on, so I did everything I could to start it.
3. Thirty minutes later / my mum shows up / and passing by, says to me/ "Did you try plugging it in?"
4. I was like / "I'm just dusting, Mum!" / so she wouldn't notice how dumb I am sometimes!
5. Bruno Kanieski da Silva / told about a time he looked everywhere / for his key.
6. It was in his pocket.
7. He wrote: I always promise / I will never do it again, but after a few weeks ... where is my wallet?
8. For sure it will be in a very logical place.

UNIT 8: PUTTING THE CHILDREN TO BED

Andrea: It’s your (1) turn to put the kids to bed.

Marlon: No, I put them to bed last night, didn’t I?

Andrea: Nope, I did that. Don’t forget their (2) bedtime story.

Marlon: The kids won’t let me forget it. Okay, time for bed! Go (3) brush your teeth and put on your pajamas. It’s lights out in 15 minutes.

Andrea: What are you doing?

Marlon: I’m finishing my newspaper.

Andrea: Aren’t you going (4) to watch over them to make sure they’re (5) getting ready for bed?

Marlon: Nope. You have your methods and I have mine.

Andrea: Okay, (6) this I’ve got to see.

Marlon: I don’t hear anyone brushing their teeth. If everyone isn’t in bed in five minutes, they’re going to (7) get a cuddle from Norman.

Andrea: Who’s Norman?

Marlon: Norman is just a (8) little scary monster I told them about. Norman eats little children who aren’t in bed when (9) they’re supposed to be. It’s my way of making sure they (10) stay in bed through the night.

Andrea: That’s terrible! That’ll (11) give them nightmares.

Marlon: Nonsense. It won’t do (12 them any harm. As my father told me, Norman only eats bad children

Unit 9: JOBS

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

The National Association for Business Economics / has its (1) latest predictions for the American economy. Most of the forty-five (2) business economists questioned said / they (3) expect the recession to end in the second half of the year. But they also (4) expect a slower-than-usual recovery.

Still, there were more signs this week / that Americans are (5) feeling better about the economy. The Conference Board said its (6) consumer confidence index / had its biggest jump in six years in May.

The National Association of Realtors reported that (7) sales of existing homes / rose about three percent / from March to April. The Commerce Department said (8) / sales of new single-family houses also rose -- but just by three-tenths of one percent.

The (9) Federal Housing Finance Agency said / home prices fell seven percent in the first three months of the year. But that was less than they fell at the end of two thousand eight / (10) compared to a year earlier.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. Housing recoveries usually follow employment recoveries.

2. Experts say / job losses / might slow later this year,

3. but the unemployment rate / could rise / until the middle of next year.

4. Job losses / help explain the latest numbers / from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

5. By the end of March, twelve percent of homeowners with a mortgage / were late on loan payments / or in the process of losing their home.

6. California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada / drove up the national numbers.

7. Pete Kyle is a University of Maryland finance professor.

8. He agrees that the economy should begin to grow again / in the second half of the year.

9. But because of job conditions, he says, the recovery is "not going to feel like a recovery / to the average person."

III. Listen and dictate

1. Unemployment was almost nine percent in April, the highest since the early eighties.

2. High unemployment reduces spending / which slows recovery.

3. Professor Kyle also points to a weak property market, both for housing and businesses.

4. But what really set this economic downturn apart from others, he says, was the severity of the banking crisis.

5. Many banks, he says, are going to need additional capital / to deal with bad loans and heavy debt.

6. Heavy government debt / only adds to unease about the future / after the so-called Great Recession.

7. But President Obama says / "we have stepped back from the brink."

8. He says there is now some calm / that did not exist before.

9. But he also says / Americans cannot return to a "borrow-and-spend economy."

UNIT 10: EXERCISE A GRADUATION CEREMONY

Rafael: They’re playing (1) Pomp and Circumstance and the (2) graduates are filing in. Do you see your daughter? I don’t see my son.

April: No, we’re too far from the field and everybody is wearing a (3) cap and gown. It’s hard to see who’s who.

Rafael: Oh, there’s the dean and I think that’s the (4) commencement speaker behind her. You must be really proud of your daughter. I know I would be if my son were (5) valedictorian.

April: I’m very proud of her, but your son is graduating (6) cum laude, with honors. Those are great accomplishments.

Rafael: It’s a proud day for both of us. I just hope that the graduates will keep this a (7) dignified ceremony. I don’t want to see (8) any shenanigans.

April: What do you mean?

Rafael: Last year when my other son graduated, a (9) group of rowdy students started singing an (10) offensive song as the graduates went up to get their diplomas.

April: Hey, what’s that over there?

Rafael: Where? Oh, that’s a (11) beach ball! How dare they throw a beach ball around while the dean is speaking!

April: Don’t look now. Those students are doing something (12) strange with their tassels.

Rafael: (13) Shame on them! Shame on every one of them!

Unit 11: KEY ICB

II. Listen and fill in the blanks

" v:shapes="_x007c__x007c_CPIMAGE_x003a_545044_x007c_">The half-a-point lending rate cut was coordinated between the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Banks of Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and England.

China also made a cut of just over a quarter of a point / and the Bank of Japan strongly expressed its support / for the coordinated international move.

In Britain, a Bank of England cut was anticipated, but that was not supposed to happen until Thursday. (luong truoc)

Speaking in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said / the move was highly significant. (ha vien)

"The coordinated cut in interest rates / is an important signal /that the world will come together / to deal with this economic problem

and I believe that it has come at the right time to show/ that the action that we are taking / and the action that the Americans are taking / and the action taken in other countries in Europe / is action that is designed to together / solve the problem that we face,"

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. Building on this international coordination the prime minister said, was very important.

2. He said during the next couple of days accounting standards will be discussed among G7 members,

3. an IMF meeting is scheduled for Saturday

4. and he hoped that an international leaders' meeting on the economic crisis could be held soon.

5. "We need to have responsibility and integrity at the heart of the global financial system,"

6. "We need a global early warning system and cooperation among regulators that to be frank,

7. we in Britain have tried for for years, but have not been able to persuade other countries to support and we will continue to seek coordinated action on economic policy."

8. The interest-rate announcement was made just after the British government disclosed its own $87.5 billion dollar bank-rescue plan.

9. The lending rate cut managed to pull the major European markets out of the steep declines seen early in Wednesday's trade

10. and some of that lost value was regained in later trading.

UNIT 12: TALKING ABOUT TIME

Juanita: What time is it?

Chuck: It’s (1) a quarter to 12. Why?

Juanita: At noon, (2) on the dot, I’m supposed to meet James.

Chuck: On the dot? What if you don’t get there until a (3) few minutes past four? Will you turn into a pumpkin?

Juanita: (4) Knock it off. I have good reason to be (5) on time. I was (6) supposed to meet him at the movies at 8:30 last Saturday and I didn’t (7) turn up until 10 ‘til 9:00. We missed the first 10 minutes of the movie.

Chuck: That doesn’t sound too bad.

Juanita: (8) You don’t know the half of it. The week before that, I was supposed to pick him up from work at (9) a quarter after 5:00, and I didn’t (10) show up until nearly 20 minutes to six. (11) To add insult to injury, James’ boss saw that he was still in the office and gave him an (12) extra assignment to do that night and he didn’t finish until (13) well after 10:00.

Chuck: I can see why he’s (14) pissed off at you.

Juanita: What time is it now?

Chuck: It’s 12:03.

Juanita: Oh my god! I’m late again! What am I going to tell him?

Chuck: Tell him it was (15) all my fault. My (16) incredible charm made you lose track of time.

UNIT 13: USC

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

The number of international students in the United States /is (1) at record levels. Last year, more than six hundred seventy thousand foreign students / (2) attended an American college or university.

And for the eighth year / the school with the largest number / was the (3) University of Southern California / in Los Angeles.

U.S.C. has about six thousand six hundred international students / in (4) regular academic programs. One in four graduate students / and (5) one in ten undergraduates / come from other countries.

In a special class, international students meet with American students / and (6) learn about American life, says instructor Vincent Vigil.

We are able to (7) have them interact with American students, but then also ask them (8) any sort of simple questions that you may ask another person: 'What do you like to do for fun? Why did you choose U.S.C.? What do you do on the weekends?' Just simple things so that way they (9) get to understand what it means to be an American student."

Sports fans know the University of Southern California (10) for its athletics, but students say / they come for the (11) strong academic programs. "Star Wars" director George Lucas got his start at the U.S.C. film school.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. The university's ties / are strongest with Asia.

2. A Japanese student / was in the class of eighteen ninety.

3. Tony Tambascia is director of the office of international services,

4. he says / U.S.C. actively seeks international students.

5. students are from about one hundred fifteen different places of origin / around the world.

6. India is first with over fifteen hundred students.

7. We have almost as many from mainland China."

8. Yuan Si Zhao, from Beijing, / is working on her master's degree / in communication management.

9. the main reason I wanted to come is that "I have lots of friends that came to U.S.C.

10. And then, one of my family friends actually recommended this school when I was little."

11. Some students come to study business or liberal arts / or to attend the university's highly rated engineering school.

III. Listen and dictate

1. Indian engineering student Rahul Khola says / the international student population was part of the school's appeal. California's climate is also appealing.
2. But another engineering student from India, Bikramjeet Singh Grewal, says / he does not have time / for much fun in the sun.
3. "Because sometimes you are busy and sometimes your friends are busy.
4. Sometimes your professors make you busy."
5. Foreign students not only give schools more applicants to choose from, they also provide money.
6. Undergraduate students from other countries / usually pay full tuition at American colleges and universities.
7. Only a small percentage receive financial aid.

UNIT 14: AN UNTRUSTWORTHY CO-WORKER

Vicky: Did I imagine it or did you just give Gavin (1) the cold shoulder?

Gerard: You didn’t imagine it. I’m not too happy with him.

Vicky: Why? What did he do?

Gerard: He’s (2) two-faced, that’s why. Last week, he told me he was going (3) to put in a good word for me with the (4) manager for a promotion.

Vicky: So that sounds like a nice thing to do.

Gerard: I thought so, too. But as it turns out, I heard from Elanda that he was (5) bad-mouthing me behind my back.

Vicky: Are you sure?

Gerard: I’m sure. He told Elanda that he thought I had (6) gone pretty far in the company for someone who had dropped out of college. That’s a (7) backhanded compliment, if I’ve ever heard one. (mia mai)

Vicky: That sounds (8) pretty nasty. At least the manager wasn’t around. (cruel) (not hear)

Gerard: She wasn’t, but (9) who’s to say what he told her behind my back? (noone knows s.th)

Vicky: You know, the manager is (10) pretty sharp and nothing gets by her. (inteligent) (I’m ok) I’m sure she’ll (11) put two and two together (u don’t hae enough inf but you understand clearly) and realize that Gavin isn’t (12) trustworthy.

Gerard: I hope so. (13) With friends like him, who needs enemies!

Unit 15: USING PERSONAL COMPUTERS

II. Listen and fill in the blanks

A project called the World Community Grid / has found a way for (1) computers connected to the Internet / to help solve (2) humanitarian problems. The World Community Grid / is (3) making technology available to public / and non-profit organizations / to use in humanitarian research.

Scientists at the University of Washington, for example, / are using the technology / to study (4) ways / to improve the nutritional value of rice. Another research project supported by the World Community Grid / is studying mathematical ways / to (5) design drugs / to treat the disease AIDS. Other projects are studying cancer. And still others / are studying (6) climate change in Africa.

The success of the World Community Grid (7) / depends upon individuals / collectively donating their extra computer power. This is based on the idea that most computers are (8) inactive / most of the time. During these times they are not used, they can help (9) solve complex scientific or engineering problems.

The IBM corporation started the World Community Grid / more than two years ago. The company continues to provide advice / and support to the project. Stanley Litow (10) heads community relations for IBM. He says / anyone in the world with a computer connected to the Internet / can join the project.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. Volunteers download a program from the World Community Grid Web site.

2. Every so often, the program uploads results / or downloads more information / to be processed.

3. Individuals can also find out / how much work their computer power has done / on the Web site.

4. Currently, about one million personal computers/ in one hundred countries / are involved / in the World Community Grid.

5. Mister Litow hopes that another million computers / will join the project.

6. Then, he says, the World Community Grid / will become the world’s largest super computer / able to do many projects a year.

7. Any researcher can sign up to use the grid’s super computing power.

8. However, all findings from the studies / must be made public.

9. Mister Litow says / not only is the technology free.

10. But he says / it will also lead to more knowledge / and valuable scientific discoveries.

UNIT 16: TRASH AND RECYCLING

Rajid: What are you doing?

Nicole: I’m putting my (1) garbage into the garbage can. Why?

Rajid: Don’t you recycle? You’re supposed to (2) separate out your recyclables and put them in a (3) separate bin.

Nicole: I know, I know, but who has the time? I don’t have (4) that much trash anyway.

Rajid: Oh, yeah? The (5) dump is full of food containers that aren’t (6) biodegradable from people who didn’t have the time.

Nicole: Come on. Don’t (7) blow things out of proportion. It’s not like I’m going to (8) save the environment all by myself.

Rajid: No, you’re not, but if everybody thinks the same way you do, we’re going (9) to use up all of our natural resources.

Nicole: When did you (10) turn into an ecologist? I don’t see you (11) conserving energy. You have your lights on all night. I can see them through your window.

Rajid: I use (12) energy-efficient bulbs. Besides, I take my (13) recyclables to the recycling center, I have energy-efficient appliances, and I (14) turn down my thermostat.

Nicole: I’m just saying that you’re not doing everything you can to save the environment. Okay, okay. (15) Put your money where your mouth is and help me separate out my recyclables.

Rajid: Me? You want me to help you (16) sort through your garbage?

Nicole: Since you’re the expert, I need you to show me how. (393)

UNIT 17: WHO PUT LIPSTICK ON THAT PIG?

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Americans often use (1) expressions about animals.

In two thousand eight, the main (2) candidates for president / each used this expression: (3) "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig." This means / that it is (4) a waste of time / to change something from (5) ugly or unpleasant-looking to beautiful.

There are other expressions about improving a pig's appearance, like this one: (6) "A hog in a silk waistcoat is still a hog." Hogs are similar to pigs, only bigger. Americans use many other expressions about (7) pigs, hogs and female hogs called sows. Like this one: (8) "You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." This means you cannot create something valuable / from something that has no value.

(9) In a pig's eye is another unusual expression. It means something that is not so, or will never happen. Then there is the expression / (10) casting pearls before swine. That means (11) wasting something valuable / on someone who will not be thankful or care about it.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. However, at least one kind of pig can be useful in saving money.

2. It is called a piggy bank.

3. You can buy a small container shaped like a pig.

4. It has a hole where a child can put money into it.

5. Hogs are very large animals.

6. If you say you ate high on the hog during a holiday, it means you ate very good or costly food.

7. If you went whole hog on your trip, it means you did everything possible to have fun.

8. But you should never go hog-wild at any time because that means behaving badly.

9. Hogs take up a lot of space

10. but people should not take up more than their share.

11. If one of your children is taking up too much space sitting in front of the television, other children might say: "Do not hog the couch."

12. And a road hog is a driver who uses more than his share of the road.

13. Such a driver increases dangers for other drivers.

III. Listen and dictate

1. Pig terms are also used in American politics.

2. Farmers mark their pigs' ears to identify them.

3. In politics, earmarks are money / set aside for projects / in a congressman's home state / or locality.

4. And politicians might say / there is a lot of pork in a budget proposal, meaning wasteful spending.

5. In many areas, pigs provide ham, bacon and other pork products to eat.

6. All Americans want to be able to bring home the bacon.

7. That means to earn enough money / to provide the necessities of life.

8. Experts say this term was first used in the nineteen twenties.

9. But it is believed to come from the much older game of catching a greased pig.

10. This was a popular event at country fairs / in which the winner was awarded the pig.

UNIT 19: CLIMATE CHANGE

I. Listen and fill in the blanks

Leaders at the Group of Eight meeting last week in Heiligendamm, Germany, (1) discussed issues including climate change and aid to Africa. The eight nations (2) represent almost two-thirds of the world economy. They are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (4) failed to get them all / to accept a (5) goal to limit temperature increases this century / to two degrees Celsius. But earlier, President Bush (6) announced a policy change. He said / the United States will support an (7) effort / to negotiate a new agreement on climate policy / before two thousand nine. He (8) proposed a conference of the major producers of greenhouse gases.

II. Listen and answer the questions

1. The current agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, ends in two thousand twelve.

2. The United States rejected it for economic reasons.

3. The treaty requires industrial countries, but not developing ones, to reduce greenhouse gases linked to climate change.

4. China, for example, is the second largest producer of heat-trapping gases.

5. Experts say it could top the United States within two years.

6. Last week, China released its first plan to deal with climate change.

7. China aims to reduce energy use.

8. But the plan does not include targets for reducing greenhouse gases.

9. China says industrial nations were mostly responsible for the current problem as they burned unlimited amounts of oil, gas and coal.

10. It says asking developing countries to lower their emissions too early will hurt their development.

III. Listen and dictate

1. The eight leaders agreed to "consider seriously" / the decisions by the European Union, Canada and Japan / to cut global emissions in half / by two thousand fifty.

2. Chancellor Merkel, the current G-Eight president, / said she was "very, very satisfied" with the agreement.

3. But she noted it was a compromise.

4. The G-Eight leaders also promised sixty billion dollars in "the coming years" / to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa.

5. The amount includes thirty billion dollars, over five years, that President Bush has asked Congress for.

6. But some activists / criticized the G-Eight offer / as short on details / and short of promises made two years ago /to improve African health systems.

7. Also at this year's meeting, the G-Eight established a process for high-level economic talks with Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.

8. The aim is to produce results within two years.