1. Complete the sentences with the verbs and particles below.
Verbs call carry give go set work
Particles back off off on out up
1) If I’m going on a long car journey, I always check the traffic reports before I __________ __________
2) I’ve got a new SIM card for phone, but I can’t __________ __________ how to install it.
3) If you make a mistake during the performance, don’t stop – just __________ __________
4) When the weather got really bad, they decided to __________ __________ to their hotel.
5) They’re going to __________ __________ the festival because of bad weather.
6) Although you failed your driving test, you shouldn’t __________ __________
Show answers
1) set off 2) work out 3) carry on 4) go back
5) call off 6) give up
Listening Strategy 1
Sometimes you need to listen for the main idea (gist) rather than a specific piece of information. If this is the case, do not worry about a few unknown words. You can often understand the gist without understanding every word.
2. Read Listening Strategy 1. Then listen to two mobile phone calls. Ignoring the words you cannot hear, circle the best summaries.
1) a Mary and Mike are going to meet up that day.
b Mary and Mike are going to speak the next day to make an arrangement.
2) a Tom is going to buy some food for dinner.
b Kirstie doesn’t want Tom to buy any food.
Show answers
1) b 2) a
Transcript
1)
Mike Hi, Mary? I’m on the train. Look, I xxxx xxxx able to meet you in town this afternoon. I’m afraid xxxx xxxx work late. Really sorry.
Mary That’s OK, Mike. Let’s arrange something for next week.
Mike Good xxxx. xxxx xxxx or Wednesday, maybe. I’ll give you a call.
Mary OK. I can’t hear you very well. Let’s speak tomorrow.
2)
Kirstie Hello?
Tom Hi, Kirstie?
k Hello, Tom. Where are you?
T I’m xxxx xxxx, doing some shopping. xxxx xxxx from the shops? Some food for dinner, maybe, or xxxx xxxxx?
k Oh, great. Yes. Can you buy some pasta?
T Yes, OK. What xxxx xxxx shall I get?
k Tom, I can’t really hear you. Just get anything.
Tom OK. I’ll xxxx xxxx later. OK?
Listening Strategy 2
When you do a multiple-choice task, do not choose the correct answer based only on one or two words. Remember that the incorrect options also have some connection with what you hear.
3. Read Listening Strategy 2. Then listen to a radio programme and circle the correct answer.
What is the programme about, in general?
a The health effects of using mobile phones.
b The mobile phone network in the UK.
c The birth of the mobile phone industry.
d The best way to get a strong mobile phone signal wherever you are.
Show answers
b
Transcript
Host Good afternoon. guest today is Julian Westbrook from the Association of Mobile Phone Networks. Welcome to the programme.
Guest Thank you.
h Now, most of us don’t pay much attention to the mobile phone network – until we suddenly find that we can’t get a signal. But in fact, building a network that covers the whole country was a big challenge, wasn’t it?
g Yes, it was. After the first mobile phones appeared in the 1980s, the phone companies had to work very fast to build a network that covered as much of the UK as possible.
h Why was there such a hurry?
g Basically because mobile phones became popular so quickly. In the mid-1980s, there were two mobile phone companies in the UK. The government gave them both permission to build a network. Each company was hoping to attract about 20,000 users during the next ten years. But in fact, within three years, they had half a million users each!
h So how did they go about building this network? What is the network actually made of?
g Well, it’s made up of base stations – lots of base stations. There are about 52,500 base stations in the UK today. They’re all over the country, in towns and cities. Often they’re hidden – on the roofs of buildings for example – so we aren’t always aware of them. And there are hundreds of microcells in towns and cities too.
h What are they?
g Microcells? Well, they’re much smaller than base stations and they aren’t as powerful, but they do the same job. Microcells are often hidden behind road signs or on the front of a building, disguised as part of it. They help to provide really good mobile phone reception in areas where lots of people need to use their phones.
h You say that base stations and microcells are hidden – or sometimes hidden – but people still complain about them, don’t they?
g Yes, some people do. For two reasons, really: often, they can’t be hidden and people think they look ugly, and secondly, some people worry about the health effects of living near these base stations.
h Yes, that is a concern for some people. But if we can just talk about the first point for moment – what people don’t understand is, why do we need so many of them? You know, why choose a historic town, with beautiful buildings, and put an ugly base station in the middle of it? Aren’t there any laws to stop that? Can’t they go somewhere else?
g Well, there are rules about where you can put base stations, but the simple answer is no, they can’t just go somewhere else. To get good mobile reception all over the country, we need to have base stations quite close together. In towns, they need to be between 200 and 500 metres apart – no more than that. In the countryside, they can be between two and five kilometres apart, depending on the landscape.
h Why do they need to be so much closer together in towns?
g Two reasons: firstly, there are buildings in towns, and these block the signals, and secondly, there are more people making calls. Each base station can only deal with a certain number of calls at one time.
h I see. And what about those health effects you mentioned earlier? Is there any evidence that living near a base station is bad for your health?
g No, there isn’t. And there have been plenty of studies into this. But some members of the public are not always convinced by these studies. So the research continues ___
h But as far as we can tell, these base stations are safe.
g Yes, they are.
h Julian, thank you very much.
4. Listen again and circle the correct answers.
1) The mobile phone network was built quickly in the UK because
a two different phone companies were competing against each other.
b two different phone companies were sharing the work.
c a lot more people started using mobile phones than the phone companies had expected.
d the government spent a lot of money on it.
2) The main different between microcells and base stations is that microcells
a are in cities, while base stations are in the countryside.
b are smaller and less powerful than base stations.
c are hidden, but base stations are visible.
d are on the front of buildings, but base stations are on top.
3) Base stations are positioned in historic town centres because
a they need to be close together in places with lots of buildings.
b there are no rules to prevent it.
c phone companies ignore the rules.
d they can easily be disguised.
4) More research is being done into the health effects of base stations because
a the results so far are not clear.
b there have only been one or two studies so far.
c some of the evidence suggests that there is a small risk to public health.
d people do not always believe the results.
Show answers
1) c 2) b 3) a 4) d
Transcript
See exercise 3.
Extra exercises
Strategy
In all listening tasks, you are able to listen twice. Get as much information as you can from the statements, then listen the first time and make your matches. During the second listening, recheck your matches, concentrating on questions that you were unsure about the first time.
1. Read the Strategy above. Then read statements 1-3 quickly and match them with extracts from recordings A-C. Then check your answers.
1) The speaker expresses dissatisfaction with a device.
2) The speaker tells you how to communicate with someone.
3) The speaker wants to convince you to buy something.
a Please press three now to speak to an agent.
b It’s so complicated that I can’t get it to work at all!
c Call now, and we’ll send you two for the price of one!
Show answers
1) B 2) A 3) C
2. You will hear four speakers. Match the speakers (1-4) with the statements (A-E). There is one extra statement.
a The speaker describes what is wrong with a new device.
b The speaker wants someone to make a decision about something.
c The speaker wants to recommend something new.
d The speaker describes a variety of communication devices.
e You can hear this speaker in a classroom.
Show answers
a 3 b 1 d 2 e 4
Transcript
1)
Hi Kelly, it’s Josh. I keep getting your voicemail, so maybe your phone’s switched off. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about this course. It’s about how to get noticed as a blogger, and it sounds like we’d both learn a lot. They’re going to talk about different ways to communicate using online video, social networking and things like that. It’s next month, so let me know soon if you’re interested.
2)
Now for some local events. The new show at the Science Museum, called ‘Communicate!’, sounds fascinating. It includes all sorts of communication devices. For example, there’s a telephone timeline, from the earliest phones to the first mobiles – those heavy, brick-like things – to the gadgets we use today. There’s also a section about the history of computing. I’m definitely going, and I hope you’ll give it try.
3)
Hi everybody! I’m Nate, and this is video weblog, Tech Tech. Today I’m talking about the latest version of the Saessou X-phone, the X 823A. You know I try out every new phone there is, so I know what’s good – and this phone isn’t. For one good thing, the battery takes ages to recharge, and it only lasts a few hours. I don’t care for the screen layout either. So don’t waste your money on this one.
4)
OK, before I start, keep in mind that I’m going to assign a project related to this subject. So do take notes. Now, thinking of communication, the first thing that comes to mind nowadays is technology. But we often forget the most basic form of communication: the human face. Our expressions are like coded messages, and you’ll be amazed what you can discover by studying expressions more closely. So, look at the face up on the screen and tell me what this person is communicating.