Unit14

Section One Tactics for Listening

Part1 Spot Dictation

Make Your Child a Winner Peak performances - moments when children (1) achieve the bestthat's in them - are the stuff of every parent's (2) dream. And yet most of us have seen a report card or heard a trumpet solo that (3) falls short ofwhat our kids can (4) accomplish.

Why can some boys and girls repeatedly pull themselves to the (5) heights, while others of equal or (6) superior abilitycannot? Many parents assume skill is pretty much determined by (7) natural ability; the student with the highest I.Q. will get the best grades, or the athlete with the most prowess will (8) surpass his teammates.

Genes count in determining performance, but they're not everything. The (9) edgecomes from mental attitude, character and (10) strategy. There are some simple ways for parents to help their youngsters develop those (11) traits:

Find something to praise. A child who feels good about himself(12) succeeds. Assess your child's (13) strengths. Encourage self-applause.

Knowing how to relax is key to (14) peak performance.

A good report card (15) postednear your daughter's mirror reminds her that she can do well and (16) reinforces the urgeto repeat her success.

There are no (17) shortcutsto bringing your child to do his best. It's a (18) gradual processof support, encouragement and hard work. And those efforts (19) payoffnot only in peak performance but also in (20) closer. winner relations between parent and child.

Part2 Listening for Gist

Elderly people deserve our care and respect. Too many of them are left in homes for the elderly, alone and often forgotten by their families. Or they live with their families, who then have no time to themselves.

The family placement scheme is currently providing many carers with a satisfying and important occupation. And more and more grandparents are being \

How does the scheme operate?

Families are interviewed and carefully matched to the elderly person or persons, taking into account such things as suitability of accommodation - special needs, children and pets, smoking, lifestyle, personality and interests. Matching is, of course, largely a matter of ensuring that the elderly person and the carer will enjoy each other's company.

After this the elderly person and the family are prepared for the placement: An introductory visit is arranged, usually in the carer's home. This means that when the placement begins the elderly person and family have met each other.

Carers are paid on a weekly basis to cover expenses.

Exercise

Directions: Listen to the passage and write down the gist and the key words that help you decide.

1. This passage is about the family placement scheme and how it operates.

2. The key words are elderly people, care, respect, scheme, adopted, caring families, interviewed, matched, suitability, matching, ensuring, enjoy company, introductory visit, caring home, paid, cover expenses.

Section Two Listening Comprehension

Part 1 Dialogue

Tree Climbers of Pompeii* Sara: Urn ... It's another one of my adventures as a tourist, urn ... finding out things

you really didn't expect to find out when you went to the place! I went to Pompeii and of course what you go to Pompeii for is er ... the archaeology. Liz: To see the ruins.

Sara: To see the ruins. And I was actually seeing the ruins but urn ... suddenly my

attention was caught by something else. I was just walking round the comer of a ruin, into a group of trees, pine trees, and I was just looking at them, admiring them and suddenly I saw a man halfway up this tree, and I was looking at him so all I could see was his hands and his feet and he was about 20 or 30 feet up. I thought, \