Section 1. You will hear a man inquiring about joining a wildlife conservation society.
Wildlife Conservation Society, good afternoon. Can I help you? — Oh, hello. Yes, I'd like to join,
please. — Oh yes, certainly. I'll just get some details from you. Could I have your name? —
Michael
Jones (Example). — Right. And can I ask where you heard about us? Was it in an
advert? Or did a friend tell you? — Neither, actually. 1It was a radio program. Then I just got your
number from the phonebook.
Oh, right. Now I need some membership details. It's Michael Jones, and the address? — 21 Beale Street,
Leeds. — Fine. And do you know your postcode? — Yes, it's 2LS14 2JW. — Okay. And do you have a daytime
telephone number we can contact you on? — Yes, you can call me at work. The number's 0117358642. And I
can give you my office email address if you like. — That'd probably be useful, yes please. — It's 3mj@hennings.co.uk. —
Is that H-E-double N-I-N-G-S? — That's right.
Thank you. Now I just need to ask you some questions about exactly what you want. First of all, how long
do you want the membership for? We do two, three and five year memberships, and we also do one for
life. — 4I think I'll just
get the minimum length this time around (= 2 years). — Fine. And then the type of
membership: we do single, joint or family, which covers up to four children. — Well, we haven't got any
children, but I think 5I'll
get the joint one because my wife will probably want to do
the activities with me. — Yes, fine. Let me see, 6that'll be 49 pounds all together then, please.
How would you like to pay? — By direct debit. — No problem, I just need your bank details. Can you give
me the name first? — 7It's
the Union Bank. — And now I've got your name, but I need your account number. — 01059612. —
Okay, when would you like to start payment? Next month, on the first of October? — 8Can you make it the 15th instead? (= 15
October) — No problem, the membership will begin then too. Is that alright? — That's fine.
I'll just give you a reference number in case there's any problem. Have you got a pen? — Yes. — 9It's JYZ37. And we'll
be sending you an information pack within a few days. Is there anything else? — Oh yes, could you send
me an additional one? I've got a friend who's very interested. — Certainly, no problem, I'll make a
note of that. 10There's
also a video we can send you if you like — there's no charge. — Yes, please. That'll be
great.
Section 2. You will hear a woman talking on a radio programme about the Spring Festival in Yorktown.
Well, it's such an exciting time to be in Yorktown. To kick off the Spring Festival, there'll be a huge
firework display 11down by
the lake starting at 9pm this Saturday, the fourth of September. Over 10,000 fireworks will
be set off, all choreographed to music. You should get there early if you want to get close to the
action, so 12bring along a
picnic and a blanket as it could get chilly in the evening.
One of the things that attracts visitors to the festival from all over the country is 13the amazing collection of
flowers on show in Central Park throughout the festival. Special buses will run from the
town centre to the show 14at
20 minute intervals, for those of you who prefer to take
public transport.
If you're interested in seeing the latest in cars, from the fastest to the most expensive, then head
over to 15the motor
show at the Exhibition Centre from the 10th to the 15th of September. It'll be open daily
from 9am until 10pm, so you can even pop there after work.
Do you like photography? Then go along to 'Grow Your Imagination', an exhibition of photographs of
famous gardens, which will be held 16at the Art Gallery from the 11th to the 19th of September.
If music is more your scene, then you should come and hear the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra
performing 'Swing in Spring' 17at the concert hall on Friday the 17th and Saturday the 18th of
September. There will be three performances: both evenings start at 7pm, and 18a matinee performance at 2.30 on the
Saturday.
For something a little different, you could try Balloons Down Under, the largest gathering of hot air
balloons in the southern hemisphere. I'm also happy to announce that 19one lucky person will get the chance to go up in one
of these balloons absolutely free. That's the prize in our special Spring Festival competition (C —
a flight in a hot air balloon). It would normally cost you $200, so it's not a bad prize.
I'm sure you all want a chance to win, so 20you'll need to fill out the entry form in today's edition of the
Yorktown News (B — the newspaper). Don't forget to include your phone number and send it to
Radio Yorkie. Make sure your entry reaches us by 5pm on Thursday the 9th of September. Then, to see if
you've won, just check out the Festival's website on Saturday the 11th of September, where we'll
publish the name of the lucky winner.
Section 3. You will hear a student called Paul talking to a tutor about the archaeology course.
Good morning, come in. You're Paul, are you? — Yes, I spoke to you on the phone. — Have a seat. You
wanted to talk to me about the archaeology course? — Yes, I've read the handbook, but I'd like to find
out a few more details before I decide whether to do it. First of all, can I combine the archaeology
course with one in anthropology? — Yes, 21you can combine it with any other subject apart from classical
history. That's simply because there's some overlap in the lecture times for those two
courses.
Okay, fine. And could you tell me about the modules? — Well, in the first semester there are three,
22all of them are
compulsory. We don't offer optional modules till next year. The first one focuses on what
can be learned from specific artifacts, such as pottery and stone tools. 23It's called Object matters, and
it's taught by Dr Morris.
How is the module presented? I mean, is it lectures? — We refer to the means of presentation as the
learning method, and in this case it's lectures integrated with practical sessions, so it's a mixture.
— What about the content? — The module is basically about processes: first of all recording material,
24then
classification, then interpretation of the data — that's how archaeologists draw conclusions
about their findings — and finally, display.
One other thing: how is the module assessed? Is there an exam? — No, 25it's all based on coursework.
And the second module? — 26That's the one called Towns and cities, taught by our
department head, Professor Elliot. And as the name suggests, 27the module's about the origins of built
environments, and how they developed. — That's mainly factual, I suppose? — It is really,
and for that reason the assessment's by examination. But you may be pleased to know 28it's an oral rather than a written
exam. It sounds a bit scary, but most of our students find they actually enjoy it, so don't
worry too much.
And then the title of the third module is Method and Science. In that, Dr Thompson will be introducing
you to the standard techniques used in archaeological fieldwork and analysis, things like excavating
and dating. — What about the learning method for this module? Are there any lectures, or is it all
laboratory work? — Oh, 29it's half lab work and half seminars, there aren't any
lectures. Then right at the end of the module you'll take part in a site survey. The date for that is
the week beginning the 10th of March, but 30I can't tell you the location yet — that will be announced
later. But I think you'll find it very useful.
Section 4. You will hear a talk about the effects of our digital world on young people.
In this lecture series, we're looking at changes occurring due to the rapid spread of digital technology
in the last decades of the 20th century. By digital technology, I include any computer-related devices,
such as email, the internet, cell phones and instant messaging, to name but a few. Today's lecture
focuses on the ideas of Marc Prensky and what he believes are the major effects that high exposure to
digital technology has had on young people today.
Firstly, what exactly does Prensky believe? He argues that because today's young people have been born
into a digital world and spend hours simply playing with technology, 31they've changed in fundamental ways. He believes
they're evolving differently and, as a result, process information differently from previous
generations (A — it has altered their thinking patterns). It's even possible that these
young people's brains have physically changed, although whether this is literally true isn't yet
known, nor does Prensky go quite this far.
Prensky divides people into digital natives and digital immigrants. Today's young people are the digital
natives — they were born into the digital age and grew up as native speakers of the digital language of
computer technology. Digital immigrants are those born in the generations before the digital age. Just
as those who learn a second language often retain their foreign accent, 32the immigrants are usually, in varying degrees, not
quite as effective at speaking the digital language as the natives are (B — less efficiently than
young people). For example, they're more comfortable finding phone numbers using a phonebook
or looking up information in an encyclopedia, rather than using the internet as a primary source of
information. Prensky calls this the digital accent. Another example of the digital accent is scanning a
manual for a computer program, rather than assuming the program itself will teach you how to use it.
Basically, 33people with a
digital accent have never really stopped relying on their original non-digital means of sourcing
information. They prefer doing things as they've always done them (B — doing things the
old-fashioned way) without typing something into a computer.
Prensky predicts that due to all this, changes are in store, mainly in the area of education. But what
do other educators and theorists such as Thomas Allen, Samuel James and Peter Vander believe? 34Samuel James from Sydney
University agrees with Prensky's predictions. He believes that educators are no longer successful
in the way they teach (B — James).
However, not surprisingly, Prensky has been criticised by more traditional theorists like Peter Vander
and Thomas Allen. They disagree with many of Prensky's assertions. Vander argues that a typical
classroom is more varied than Prensky believes, with students coming from a range of backgrounds.
35He maintains that a
large percentage of these students are not necessarily proficient with technology (C —
Vander), and not all students today fit the one stereotype. 36And Allen adds that even though most students today
have easy access to technology, some just don't find the digital medium appealing (A —
Allen).
James disagrees, though — he believes that all today's students do share the same basic interest in and
knowledge of digital technology. However, 37James believes our younger students can communicate with their digital
immigrant teachers and can still learn using methods which have proven to be successful in the past
(B — James).
James's theories are taken a step further by Allen, who recognises that both digital immigrants and
natives have to deal with vast amounts of information in today's electronic society. 38Allen maintains that while
most young students are proficient in playing computer games and using the web in quite basic ways,
they're not used to using the computer at advanced levels — for example, to conduct complex
information searches, which are so necessary for university study today (A — Allen).
Irrespective of Allen's research, 39James believes it's possible for computer games to play a major role
in making classroom learning more stimulating (B — James), and he cites many instances where
this would be possible today. However, 40Vander asserts that rather than focusing on developing games, we
should think of better ways to assist teachers, because no computer program comes close to doing
what a human teacher does every day (C — Vander).