Audio Scripts to the Student book (Total English Upper-Intermediate) / NTE_UI_AudioScript_U04
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U
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Intermediate
Unit 4 Audio Script
CD 1 Track 23
1
Recently, I’ve realised that investigating and writing about important issues is what I really want to do, so I’m now considering a change of career. I’d like to get a job with a newspaper or perhaps a specialist magazine.
2
You could call my job a labour of love, I suppose. I don’t get paid much and it’s very hard work, but I really love working with children and I really wouldn’t want to do anything else.
3
There’s a pretty strict career path for my field of work. After the basic five-year training, you have to work in various different hospital departments to build up experience. That’s what I’m doing now, but eventually I’d like to specialise in heart operations.
4
I used to work in an office but it was really boring, so I left and took a year out to retrain. The training I did was hard but I like the fact that this job is physically challenging and that we’re providing a really vital emergency service for people.
5
What I really like about my job is being able to help people. I mean, I get a great deal of job satisfaction from knowing that I’ve helped individuals and families with some pretty serious problems – like having nowhere to live.
CD 1 Track 24
J = Julia, M = Mark
1
M: Hi Julia. What’s the matter? You look a bit upset.
J: Oh I don’t know. I’m so fed up with work at the moment. It’s so stressful here. I’m supposed to do a nine-to-five day, but I’m working longer and longer hours. I’m not being paid to do all this extra admin. Basically, I’m totally overworked and underpaid – and I’m on the verge of collapsing with sheer exhaustion!
M: I know. It’s been awful for ages, hasn’t it?
J: I’m thinking about leaving … Actually, I’m on the point of leaving really. You know, I’d like to have a complete break … really soon.
M: That’s a good idea. That would be great. Have you got any plans?
J: I’m not sure yet but as I say, I think I’ll leave … in the next month or so, even. I can use the time to think about what to do next … perhaps I’ll do some voluntary work or something. One idea is to do some voluntary work abroad. I’ve seen an ad recently and I’m going to get some more information about it …
M: You could research some stuff on the Internet …
J: Yes. That’s a good idea! I think I’ll go to the library now and do it there. It’s my lunch break and I’ve got at least half an hour.
M: Good idea! Let me know how you get on.
CD 1 Track 25
A = Andreas, J = Jane
2
J: How are you, Andreas? What have you been doing?
A: Oh I’m fine. I’ve been making plans! I’m really excited.
J: Oh? Really? What’s going on?
A: I’ve decided I’m going to leave work and go back to college. I’m planning to retrain and do something completely different.
J: Retrain? Really? What are you going to do?
A: Well, I’ve always wanted to be a vet … And life’s too short … you know, I want to get on and do it now! I know it’s going to be tough. You know, it’s sure to be really hard work, but I’ve decided I’m just going to do it.
J: Wow, that’s great. When are you going to start?
A: Well, it depends on being accepted on the course this year. I have to take an exam first. I’m doing that in about three weeks’ time … and then, if it all goes to plan, if I pass, I’ll probably start the course this coming September.
CD 1 Track 26
C = Cassia, H = Helen
3
H: Hi, Cassia. Do you fancy coming out for a meal tonight?
C: Well, I’d love to, but I can’t I’m afraid. I’m having an interview tomorrow, so I’m about to have dinner and then have an early night.
H: An interview? What for? I thought you liked working for yourself from home.
C: Well, it’s been OK, and I suppose I like the flexible hours and not having to commute and stuff, but to be honest, I’m feeling a bit isolated.
H: Yes, I know what you mean.
C: I really miss having colleagues, you know – not going to a sociable workplace every day. So I’ve applied for this job – it’s to work for a small firm of architects. It’s a small open-plan office and they seem really friendly on the phone. I’m meeting them at ten o’clock tomorrow morning and then having the interview in the afternoon.
H: Oh, well. Good luck. I hope you get it.
CD 1 Track 27
J = John, T = Tom
4
T: I think I’m going to try and look for another job.
J: Why? Don’t you like where you are?
T: Yes, it’s OK. But I want to be promoted and take on more responsibility. I really want a more senior position now and there are lots of other people who I work with who are certain to get those jobs before me.
J: Oh, you don’t know that.
T: Well, I do. I think they’ll offer Ania the job of departmental manager. She’s really good and she’s been there ages.
J: OK … but what about assistant manager?
T: No, Dominic’s going to be assistant manager. He’s a workaholic and a bit of a rising star, isn’t he? He’s bound to get the job. It’s obvious. He’s being fast-tracked for it … you can tell … I heard him talking to Miguel about it.
J: That’s just because he wants the job … you don’t know if he’ll get it.
CD 1 Track 28
J = Julia, M = Mark
1
M: Hi Julia. What’s the matter? You look a bit upset.
J: Oh I don’t know. I’m so fed up with work at the moment. It’s so stressful here … I’m supposed to do a nine-to-five day, but I’m working longer and longer hours. I’m not being paid to do all this extra admin. Basically, I’m totally overworked and underpaid – and I’m on the verge of collapsing with sheer exhaustion!
M: I know. It’s been awful for ages, hasn’t it?
J: I’m thinking about leaving … Actually, I’m on the point of leaving really. You know, I’d like to have a complete break … really soon.
M: That’s a good idea. That would be great. Have you got any plans?
J: I’m not sure yet but as I say, I think I’ll leave … in the next month or so, even. I can use the time to think about what to do next … perhaps I’ll do some voluntary work or something. One idea is to do some voluntary work abroad. I’ve seen an ad recently and I’m going to get some more information about it …
M: You could research some stuff on the Internet …
J: Yes. That’s a good idea! I think I’ll go to the library now and do it there. It’s my lunch break and I’ve got at least half an hour.
M: Good idea! Let me know how you get on.
A = Andreas, J = Jane
2
J: How are you, Andreas? What have you been doing?
A: Oh I’m fine. I’ve been making plans! I’m really excited.
J: Oh? Really? What’s going on?
A: I’ve decided I’m going to leave work and go back to college. I’m planning to retrain and do something completely different.
J: Retrain? Really? What are you going to do?
A: Well, I’ve always wanted to be a vet … And life’s too short … you know, I want to get on and do it now! I know it’s going to be tough. You know, it’s sure to be really hard work, but I’ve decided I’m just going to do it.
J: Wow, that’s great. When are you going to start?
A: Well, it depends on being accepted on the course this year. I have to take an exam first. I’m doing that in about three weeks’ time … and then, if it all goes to plan, if I pass, I’ll probably start the course this coming September.
CD 1 Tack 29
I’m standing in the extraordinary Rock Gardens of Chandigarh in India. And I’ve spent the morning talking to Nek Chand, India’s most visionary artist and creator of these gardens. He is a small, elderly man with a wrinkled face and silvery hair, and is extremely modest about his work. I’ve been trying to find out what has driven him to create these gardens, but he told me, simply, ‘One day I started, and then I continued.’ His modest manner, however, hides an incredible story.
Nek Chand was the son of a poor farmer and in 1958 he started work as a government road inspector. At that time, his city, Chandigarh was being designed and built by a famous Swiss Architect. Chand was fascinated by the process of design and construction using concrete, and decided to build his own ‘kingdom’. He started to collect rocks and other bits of ‘rubbish’ from the building sites. Secretly, he took these things to a forest area outside the city and began to build his garden. It had to be done in secret because he was building on land which belonged to the government.
At first, he spent time making walls and paths and buildings. And then he moved on to the second phase, creating over five thousand sculptures. These sculptures provide an incredible array of different figures: people, animals, birds and many other strange and wonderful creatures. Each one is different and they are all made of material that had been thrown away. Chand recycles anything he can find – old bicycles, bricks, lumps of concrete, broken plates, old sinks, electric plugs, pebbles … the list goes on.
Many people find that they waste a lot of time, but it’s amazing what you can do when you really want to. For eighteen years, Chand worked on his secret garden. He made time to do a bit more every day after work and every weekend. In fact, whenever he had time to spare he worked on this huge project that nobody else knew about. Then after eighteen years, the garden
was discovered by accident. At first, Chand was afraid that it would be destroyed as he had built it illegally on government-owned land. But quickly, people became interested in it and the government realised that the garden could become a tourist attraction. They paid Chand a small salary to work full-time on the project and one year later the Rock Garden was officially opened.
Now it is one of India’s most popular tourist attractions with five thousand visitors every day. His huge achievement doesn’t seem to have changed Chand at all, however. He told me, ‘I am just doing my work. Everyone has work they do. This is mine.’ He says his life is utterly regular. ‘I eat. I sleep. I work.’ Tomorrow morning, he will be doing the same as he’s doing today. And the day after, he will be doing the same. He says it makes him happy, just doing it … which is a good thing, because soon, he will have spent half a century just doing it.
CD 1 Track 30
M = Man, W = Woman
M: Well, what’s interesting about the whole work-life balance thing is that most of us only spend more or less a third of our day in work. So, actually, there’s plenty of time for other things … and if you’re organised, you can have a very good work-life balance. I mean, I’m not the best organiser in the world, but I think I can organise my time pretty well … and divide my time between work and other things.
W: Mmm … yes, I know what you mean, but although in theory, people spend about a third of their day at work … eight hours or something … in reality, it’s often much longer. Your time gets swallowed up by having to work longer hours. The fact is, I have a really busy work schedule. I really do. You know, there are pressures of deadlines and things, and I end up coming to work earlier and staying later … so the work-life balance gets a bit lost.
M: Yes, true. Believe me, I know, it’s not easy, but I do think it’s possible to improve it. It’s something that people need to work at, in a sense. You know, it might not just happen, if you don’t work at it – you need to be quite disciplined, in a way. My non-work life is really important to me, so I make sure that I prioritise it. Without a doubt, I’d say that I ‘work to live’ and not the other way round. I want to be able to have spare time, you know, leisure time, and not be too tired to do anything with it!
W: Yeah. What do you like doing in your spare time?
M: Well, I think it's important to make time for the fundamental things in life: family and friends, and relaxing on your own too, sort of recharging your batteries.
W: Yes, I agree. Family and friends are the most important, for sure. What do you do then, you know, to recharge your batteries?
M: Well, I go to the gym a lot. I find it a really good way of relaxing, and keeping fit, of course. If I don’t have time to fit in at least three trips to the gym every week, I begin to feel a bit anxious, I must say.
CD 1 Track 31
1
The fact is, I have a really busy work schedule.
2
I really do.
3
Believe me, I know, it’s not easy, but I do think it’s possible to improve it.
4
Without a doubt, I’d say that I ‘work to live’ and not the other way round.
5
Family and friends are the most important, for sure.
CD 1 Track 32
Marc
I started learning English when I was about fifteen and my main goal was to have a chance to study in the UK. I wanted to do a course in London and I had to get to a good level of English so I studied really hard to get the right grades. Then when I first arrived in the UK, and I was around a lot of native speakers, I became quite self-conscious of my accent. So, although I had a good level of English in general, my aim became to sound like a native speaker. I think that I really wanted to fit in and sound like one of them … I didn’t want to sound different. However, I found it very difficult to change my accent, and more importantly, maybe, I found that it didn’t really matter. Nobody seemed to have a problem understanding me. And anyway, at the school there were lots of native speakers, but there were also lots of non-native speakers from lots of different countries. It was a multi-cultural community and people had different accents and sounding like a native speaker didn’t matter. We tried to communicate with each other and we could all understand each other – I’m happy with my English and my accent … it isn’t a problem.
CD 1 Track 33
I = Interviewer, S = Susanna
1
I: It’s Susanna, isn’t it?
S: Erm … yes …
I: Hello Susanna. Pleased to meet you. My name’s Michael Harrison. Come and sit down.
S: Thank you.
I: So, thank you for applying for the job and coming to the interview today. First, I’d like to ask you about your experience. In your letter, you say you’ve worked in an office before. Tell me about that.
S: Oh well, it was ages ago actually.
I: OK, well, what did you do there?
S: Nothing much really … I was just an assistant. You know, answering the phone and stuff …
CD 1 Track 34
I = Interviewer, J = Joana
I: Ah, here you are …
J: Oh dear. I’m so sorry …
I: Let’s see … you’re Joana, aren’t you? Joana Mendes?
J: Yes, that’s right.
I: Well, come in Joana. I’m Peter Manning, head of the Economics department and I’ll be interviewing you today. Very nice to see you. Thank you for coming.
J: I’m really very sorry. I thought it would be a much quicker journey. The traffic was terrible and then I couldn’t find the building.
I: OK. Can I start by asking you about your reasons for applying for the course? What do you think you’d get from studying Economics in this particular university, Joana?
CD 1 Track 35
3
I: Well, thank you very much for talking to me today, Karema. We’re coming to the end of the interview now. Is there anything that you’d like to ask me?
K: Yes, I do have a question, if that’s OK.
I: Of course. Fire away.
K: Well, I was wondering about promotion prospects. Obviously I’m keen on staying in the journalism business and I’d like to know what kind of opportunities there might be.
I: That’s a good question. We are very interested in the professional development of our staff and offer many opportunities for further training and promotion within the company. The right person can be promoted to a position such as senior editor and we are always looking for people to manage completely new magazines. Anything else?
K: Could you tell me when you’re going to make your decision?
I: I’ve got some other candidates who I’ll be interviewing this afternoon, but we’ll let you know by tomorrow afternoon.
K: Thank you very much.
CD 1 Track 36
1
Thank you for applying for the job and coming to the interview today.
2
I’d like to ask you about your experience.
3
You say you’ve worked in an office before. Tell me about that.
4
I’m Peter Manning, and I’ll be interviewing you today.
5
Can I start by asking you about your reasons for applying for the course?
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