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Unit 1 Lifestyles Warm-up Tapescript

1 Football player: Being famous isn’t easy, you know. I travel a lot – I have matches in different countries. But my job is exciting, very exciting! I love the matches, the people cheering, know what I mean?

2 Student: My dad says these are the best days of my life –but I’m not so sure! You know, I’ve got lots of work to do and there’s not much time really. I also play football for the school team and we have to do training three nights a week.

3 Shepherd: I love the animals and I love nature. It’s peaceful, and there’s no one to tell me what to do. But it’s not so good when the weather’s bad!

4 Business manager: I’m very busy, and I don’t have time to see my husband and children. Mmmm and my life is very stressful, I suppose. I mean, I have to deal with lots of money. But I find it really exciting.

1 A Perfect Day?

A Couch Potato

Forty-three-year-old Brian Blakey from Birmingham is sitting on his sofa and telling me about his perfect day.

When I wake up I don't get up immediately. I turn on the television and watch the children's programmes and old movies until about half-past ten. Then I get up, go downstairs and switch on the TV in the living room. For lunch, I have biscuits and a glass of milk, and I watch the news. In the afternoon, I often watch another old film – they're showing some good ones at the moment. In the evenings, I often watch TV series or sport and the news again. I like the main news at six o'clock. At nine thirty, if there is a good play on BBC 2, I switch over and watch it. Then at night, I watch more films and I usually switch off the TV at about two o'clock. I never watch TV all night.

I watch TV for sixteen or seventeen hours a day. I also do some exercise every day. I take Tina, the dog, for a walk every afternoon. I don't go far, of course. I walk to the wall outside my house. I always take my portable TV and I sit on the stone wall while the dog walks round in a circle.

Of course, I couldn't live this lifestyle without a good wife. She's not here now because she's working, but she always makes my meals. We haven't got much money, you know, but we're happy. Sit down and watch TV. Here's the remote control. You've got the world at your feet. And in your hand. Great!

A Workaholic

Thirty-six-year-old Bob Black is sitting at his desk and working his way through his paperwork. I normally wake up about five minutes before my alarm clock goes off. As soon as I hear my alarm clock, I jump out of my bed. It takes me less than fifteen minutes to wash, get changed, have breakfast, leave home and get on a bus.

I am always the first person to get to the office. The mornings are always very busy and the afternoons are even busier! Meetings and phone calls take up a large part of the day. Every minute

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of the day is filled with urgent matters. By around eight o'clock, I usually find some time to do my own paperwork and answer some personal e-mails.

When I get home at about ten, I look at some documents that I bring back from the office so that I can be ready for the next day's work. I get to bed around midnight when my wife and children are already asleep.

I seldom have time for fun and other activities with my family. My family complains about it. But I try to work hard so that I can make more money for them. Besides, I get bored if there's nothing to do. I like being busy.

2 Relaxing Tapescript

Presenter: Good morning and welcome to Lifestyles. Today we're going to look at stress – what causes it and what we can do to relax and prevent it. We have in the studio Dr Klinsmann, an expert on stress. Good morning, Dr

Klinsmann.

Doctor: Good morning.

Presenter: Dr Klinsmann … er … what kinds of people often suffer from stress?

Doctor: Well, anybody can suffer from stress. There are certain jobs that are very stressful, like some jobs in business or the police. But, probably everyone suffers from stress at some time in their life – students, doctors, factory workers– anybody.

Presenter: But, what really causes it?

Doctor: There are different reasons. One is time and the pressures of work and study. At school, for example, students can become very stressed when they have a lot of homework to do and they feel they haven't got enough time to do it all. Other reasons can be social – if you have a problem with your family or friends or at school. And it has something to do with the person – if you're shy, social situations like parties can be very stressful too.

Presenter: And what can you do to stop stress and worry? Because stress is very bad for you, isn't it?

Doctor: Yes, it can cause a lot of health problems. But to answer your question, there are lots of things you can do to reduce stress. You can organise your work or studies. For example, you can make a list and do all the important things first. You must eat well – have a good diet – and of course do exercise often. Finally, you can talk to people about your problems – talk to a friend, someone in your family or, if you're studying, talk to a teacher. You can also do special exercises.

Presenter: Can you describe some of these … Tapescript

Mark: Things I find stressful. Well, I really hate … mm …doing exams. Mm, I get very nervous the night before, you know. And I can't sleep, you know what I mean? I'm also shy and I

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don't like going to parties very much. I prefer meeting people in small groups, you know. Ah, there's another thing – in French lessons I can't stand talking in front of the class, er, I get nervous and mm, make lots of mistakes. Things I find relaxing? Well, mm, I like a lot of things. I love talking to my friends. And when I'm tired and want to relax I enjoy listening to music and I also like reading. Ah, I quite like sitting and doing nothing!

3 A Volunteer Teacher Tapescript

I: Good morning and welcome to the show. This morning, I have Wang Shu here in the studio. She's going to tell us about her plan for the future. Good morning, Wang Shu.

WS: Good morning.

I: Wang Shu, tell us about your plan, please.

WS: I'm going to work as a volunteer teacher in a small country town in Inner Mongolia. I: Really? You must be excited!

WS: Oh yes, I'm really excited about it. (Section 1) I: But why did you make this decision?

WS: Well, I've just graduated from university. As a teacher, I feel it's my duty to do something for students in poor areas.

I: But life in Inner Mongolia is very hard and quite different from that in Beijing. Are you prepared for that?

WS: Yes, I know life there will be especially hard for me. You know, I'm the only child in my family and I've always lived in Beijing. So, teaching in Inner Mongolia is going to be a great challenge for me. Maybe it will be very cold and maybe I'll only have a small room with a bed and a basin to wash up with but I really enjoy meeting new challenges. That's why I made the decision to go. (Section 2)

I: What are you going to do there as a teacher?

WS: I'm going to teach middle school students. I'll have lots of lesson plans to make and homework to mark. I'll be very busy.

I: What do your parents think of your plan? Do they support you?

WS: To tell the truth, they didn't like the idea when they first heard about my plan. But we had a long talk, and I finally won their support.

I: And when are you leaving?

WS: The train leaves at 9 tomorrow morning. So I'm getting up at about 6 to get everything ready. The new school term begins the day after I arrive. I can't wait to meet the students there. They are said to be very good students.

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