Festivals and peopletapescript

John Oxford is a professor of virology at the Royal London and Bart's Hospital, and a leading flu expert He and his team dug up the ambulance driver's grave, and found that the dead woman's family had been cheated The woman had been buried in a plain wooden coffin, which had disintegrated Her skeleton may still provide useful informa• tion, but it would have provided much more if her undertaker had not been a crook, a dishonest person _ Professor Oxford and his colleagues hoped to learn from their research on the 1918 flu outbreak how the current Asian flu HSNl may behave when it has mutated, as it surely will Once the virus crosses the species barrier, it will spread readily from person to person, rather than with difficulty from bird to person The HSNl virus has already mutated, though there has been scant publicity, and it has spread from person to person in a couple of families in the Far East If the strain behaves like the 1918 virus, Professor Oxford suspects that the news will be broken by an observant journalist, who will have noticed that the local strain of HSNl has begun spreading rapidly it will be less virulent, and the mortality figures will be less startling than J_heyHowever, \_¥(?,f_e when I:I_SNl ��s caught only from birds The usual patt�_r_n is tha:,:�:.::;::� ::::;:.:,::: ::�::e.::::e: i:�::�n;::h a pandemic is well I I, planned, but he has some reservations In contrast to other developed countries, British stockpiles of the antiviral Tamiflu are miserably low - less than half those of France and comparable to those of Slovenia and Algeria To deal with the first wave of the pandemic, we need at least as much as France has The Department of Health ordered 14.6 mil·,lion courses of Tamiflu in September 2006, enough for 25 per cent of the population It would take six to nine months to raise production enough to provide adequate supplies to protect the medical and other vital services, those at increased risk, and a sufficient number of others to limit the spread of the virus I I I J Festivals Listening Activity No.l Memorial Day Q 097.MP3 May 30 is the Memorial Day in the United States It is the national holiday when Americans honour the military men and women who died in battles The music that is associated with this memorial celebration is called "Taps" It is played at military funerals to honour soldiers who died The sound of Taps can be heard at cemeteries throughout the United States as America honours its dead soldiers 218 - Winning at IELTS Listening www.nhantriviet.com The Memorial Day holiday started in 1868 The purpose was to honour soldiers killed during the Civil War between America's northern and southern states Back then, the holiday was called Decoration Day People used flowers and ribbons to decorate the burial places of those killed during the war Today, Memorial Day honours the men and women who died in all of America's wars The first yearly observance of Memorial Day was at the National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia The cemetery is across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C It is the largest and most famous national burial place in the United States It includes about two hundred hectares of rolling hills Up and down the hills are lines of simple, white stones marking the graves where the soldiers are buried About 200,000 soldiers are buried there Also buried there are military and political leaders, cabinet officers, and Supreme Court judges Only two American presidents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery One is William Howard Taft He was president in the early 1900s The other is John F Kennedy He was president in the early 1960s He was murdered during his first term in office A fire burns all the time over President Kennedy's burial place More people have v1S1ted his grave than any other in the Umted S ates Listening Activity No.2 Q A UK Music Festival 098.MP3 Diane Hi, John Do you know the Glastonbury Festival? John Yes, it's the most well-known and popular music festival in the UK It is held on a farm with hundreds of thousands of people dancing while famous rock bands play on stages Thousands of young people in the UK go to it every summer Diane Why? John Because summer is the best time for outdoor music festivals Diane It sounds interesting John The Glastonbury Festival began in 1970 Diane Is it free to attend the festival? John No Originally, each one only paid £1 for an admission ticket and the ticket included free milk from the farm Diane It sounds good John Since 1970, the Glastonbury Festival has gone from strength to strength In 2004, 150,000 fans attended, paying £112 for tickets to the three-day event Tickets for the event sold out within three hours Diane Wow, it is so popular What kind of events? www.nhantriviet.com Winning at IELTS Listening - 219 l John Well, acts included veteran superstars, such as Paul McCartney and James Brown, as well as new talent, like Franz Ferdinand and Joss Stone Diane I see By the way, the festival seems to be run on a profit-making basis Where does the money go? Although many summer festivals are run on a profit-making basis, Glastonbury is a charity event, donating millions of pounds to local and international charities John I I I L_ lliane I see John You know, Glastonbury is not unique in using live music to raise money for global poverty In July 2007, the Live concerts held simultaneously in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin Superstars, such as Madonna, Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder, performed in order to highlight international poverty and debt _ Listening Activity No.3 The Edinburgh Festival Q 099.MP3 220 - Winning at IELTS Listening www.nhantriviet.com I Listening Activity No.4 Easter in the UK Q 100.MP3 (Tom and Judy are shopping in a supermarket now.) Tom Hi, Judy, come here There are so many large and coloured eggs on the shelf Judy Oh, Tom, they are not real eggs Tom They are not? What are they? Judy These eggs are made of chocolate In March or April, when you see the shelves in a supermarket are filled with large, brightly coloured eggs, it means Easter time again Tom I see When is Easter? Judy It falls on a different date each year Usually it's on a Sunday in March or April Easter is a festival that has been celebrated in Britain for thousands of years These days we mark the occasion by giving each other chocolate eggs, or Easter eggs Tom What are the roots of this traditional event? , Judy Well, for Christian people, Easter is essentially a religious festival According to the ,.B,-.6, 1e, Jesus Christ was killed by the Romans but came back to life three days later That is why Easter is seen as a time of rebirth and regeneration Tom I see In Korea, we don't have this festival Judy However, some people who not believe any of the chief religions of the world suggest that Easter has its origins in pre-Christianity, or pagan times They claim , that the very earliest societies celebrated the end of winter and the beginning of spring Easter is the time when life returns to the land, when crops grow and animals breed again Tom It is very interesting L Tom Wow, that's a real big business Judy Now, let's get some Easter eggs I love chocolate Listening Activity No.5 The bank holiday ! I I I _J Q 101.MP3 A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom and also in the Republic of Ireland Bank holidays are so called because they are days upon which banks are shut and traditionally no other businesses could operate except fire, ambulance, police and health care workers in essential services Those employed in essential services usually receive extra www.nhantl'iviet.com I I Judy Well, whatever its origins, Easter is a big business You know, the UK's biggest retailer of Easter eggs sold more than 20 million units last year whilst some luxury Easter eggs can cost more than £20! I I I Winning at IELTS Listening - 221 pay for working on these days Legislation allows certain payments to be deferred to the next working day Before 1834, the Bank of England observed about thirty-three saints' days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834, this was reduced to just four: May, November, Good Friday and Christmas Day In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when Sir John Lub• bock introduced the Bank Holiday Act 1871 Sir John was an enthusiastic supporter of cricket and was firmly of the belief that bank employees should have the opportunity to participate in and attend matches when they were scheduled Included in the dates of bank holidays are therefore dates when cricket games were traditionally played between the vil• lages in the region where Sir John was raised Scotland was treated separately because of , its separate traditions; for example, New Year is a more important holiday there I Exactly a century after the 1871 Act, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which currently regulates bank holidays in the UK, was passed Easter Monday, the last I Monday in August, Boxing Day and Whit Monday are listed as bank holidays in England, I Wales and Northern Ireland In Scotland, New Year's Day, Good Friday, the first Monday I in August, Christmas Day, May Day, and St Andrew's Day on the 30th November are listed as bank holidays I During the bank holiday, people often the things they like such as visiting their friends and relatives, travelling, doing some gardening work or watching football games '· ·-· -· - Listening Activity No.6 ! I j _J Q Father's Day 102.MP3 Father's Day is a fairly new celebration in the British calendar compared with Moth• er'sDay, which has been a very-popular and well-celebrated festival in the UK for a very l-iong time - · -! ! · The origin of the celebration is American Father's Day and it was inspired by the II actions of a man named William Smart He was a veteran of the US Civil War and his wifedied giving birthtotheir sixth child He raised his six children alone without re• ! marrying, which was undoubtedly unusual back in those days I , His daughter, _Sonora Dodd, realised when she was an adult what her father had sacrifi��d for his: children: it was in' the early 1900s and she was actually church one [ day, lisfo�irifto a··�eririori ori Mother\ Day She thought there �hoi.Ild also be a Father's Day celebration Arid so the tradition was born, on the third Sunday in June, close to l at :!:�; ;�;&sf;�;;;�;.;� :�;,�:.;:;:;::::�:;·::�::c'.:t::e�: I 222 - Winning at IELTS Listening www.nhantriviet.com I Mother's Day is, probably because it hasn't been in existence for so long But what British people for Father's Day? Well, most people would buy their fathers a card The card would probably have a nice message in it saying what a great Dad their father is Some people buy presents as well Popular gifts for Dads are ties, chocolates or socks because these are the things that Dads can always use even if they don't want them In the week prior to Father's Day, or indeed Mother's Day, there will be adverts on TV giving us ideas of CDs or gadgets we can buy Card shops will be full of mugs or pens and similar merchandise with "World's Greatest Dad" written on them I I I I Some families might things together to celebrate Father's Day like going out for a meal As a special treat, British people might give their Dad a bit of a rest - make him a I I cup of tea, or even wash his car and mow the lawn to make him feel really appreciated I -· Listening Activity No.7 Mid-Autumn Festival , J Q 103.MP3 The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar The other is the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Spring Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, usually around mid or late September in the Gregorian calendar At this time, the moon is at its fullest and brightest, making an ideal time to celebrate the abundance of harvest There are a lot of traditions connected with the Mid-Autumn Festival The most impor• tant one is to eat mooncakes Shops sell all kinds of mooncakes before the festival Children often carry lit lanterns around at that day The pictures of Chang'e - a woman floating to the moon - are displayed at many places Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family mem• bers and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn moon and eat mooncakes together On September this year, the celebrations stretch far beyond the borders of China Here in the UK events are taking place for Chinese people living here, and to teach the people of Britain more about this popular festival Chinese Londoners have created the Moonwalking in Chinatown to celebrate the Mid• Autumn Festival The Soho Theatre professionals and volunteers from the local community will take audiences around the streets of Soho on a magical lantern-lit walk through the landmarks and backstreets of Chinatown They tell the story of three generations of Chi• nese Londoners who all walk around the streets one night in Chinatown In early October, the British Museum is actually opening late for a special free Mid-Au• tumn Festival event There will be Chinese musical performances, a guess-the-mooncake• flavour game and you can learn how to perform a fan dance www.nhantriviet.com Winning at IELTS Listening - 223 ;-_- You can also try your hand at a variety of other traditional Chinese arts and crafts, as well as learning Mandarin and learning more about the history of China The Chinese population in the UK is quite large, so no doubt there will be events happening not only in the capital, but all around the country Listening Activity No.8 I II New Year's Day Qi 104.MP3 New Year's Day is often a quiet day for many Americans Many people spend the first day of the New Year at home Some watch football games on television Some of the top university teams play in these games The most famous of the bowl games is the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California The Tournament of Roses parade includes many vehicles called "floats" The floats are covered completely with paper or flowers Businesses, soI ,1 i ;:�t;,r:���o::i:;;:�;�ea:!t:e t�:yc��:::::::::ta!�i:�:::i�:�f dollars to build these Another famous parade takes place on the opposite side of the nation, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania This city holds a yearly Mummers Parade on New Year's Day The Mummers make unusual costumes to wear They cover their faces with masks They march through the city and play musical instruments II Sometimes families invite friends to visit them on New Year's Day They serve drinks and food at these open houses and wish everyone a good year cus!:�::�::;::y :i;!� ;��;::· f�:e��:: �:�:::: :::i::�:sfr:::d: �:;n:�g::::r:� Americans borrowed this tradition from ancient peoples in what is now Britain and Europe One popular song wishes people love and joy in the New Year i 0 I Many Americans follow traditions meant to bring go()d luck i!J the New Year S()!11e people wear special clothes or eat special foods For example, men and women who 'i · want to find their true love wear yellow clothing Others carry silver in hopes of finding money I People in many parts of the United States celebrate the New Year by eating black• eyed peas Cabbage is another vegetable that people eat as they believe it will bring good luck and money In the South, people prepare and eat a traditional food called Hoppin' John It contains peas, onions, bacon and rice It has this unusual name because long ago children were said to like it so much they hopped around the room while wait• ing for it to cook Asian-Americans sometimes make traditional fortune cookies These sweets contain small pieces of paper telling about a person's future Some Americans from Spanish• speaking families follow a tradition for the New Year that involves fruit On January first, they stand on a chair and eat grapes 224 - Winning at IELTS Listening www.nhantriviet.com Listening Activity No.9 www.nhantriviet.com The story of Christmas � 105.MP3 Winning at IELTS Listening - 225 Listening Activity No.10 Christmas trees � 106.MP3 Steve Hey, Susan Christmas is coming Have you bought a Christmas tree? Susan Not yet Steve What kind of Christmas trees you use to decorate your house? A real one or a plastic one? Susan A real one, of course We used to drive to tree farms to buy one Steve How about this year? Susan This year, I'd like to order one on the Internet, so I can wait for a tree to come to us at home Steve Sounds great! You know, Christmas trees are a big business Susan Is it? Steve Yes, according to the news report, tall or short, real or plastic or metal, whatever the choice, two thousand million dollars' worth of Christmas trees were sold last year in the United States Susan Really? What kind of Christmas trees you use? Steve I bought a man-made tree with Christmas lights already on it last year, so I can use it I like a real one, but I think the easiest way is to buy a plastic one because there are no fallen needles to clean up That's why I like them You know, the University of Illinois Extension Service says in 2002, artificial trees outnum• bered real ones in American homes more than two to one One third of homes had no tree The National Christmas Tree Association says thirty-three million real trees were sold No, in fact artificial ones generally cost more, but they can be reused, so it is an advantage According to the report, twenty-two per cent of people who bought real trees last year chose them at a farm Two per cent of those people cut the trees themselves Susan Steve Susan I see How long does it take to grow Christmas trees? The Illinois Extension says the trees take seven to ten years to grow Most Christmas trees are now grown on farms instead of in forests 21,000 tree farmers in the United States grow Christmas trees on more than 180,000 hectares Oregon was the leading producer last year Thank you for all this information 226 - Winning at IELTS Listening www.nhantriviet.com Listening Activity No.11 Christmas in the US Q 107.MP3 Christmas Day is December twenty-fifth Christians believe that Christmas is the day of the birth of Jesus They believe he was the son of God Almost every home where Americans celebrate Christmas has a Christmas tree They buy a real evergreen tree, or a manmade one They cover it with lights and small objects made of glass, metal, paper or wood They put colourful lights in the windows and on the outside of their houses They make their homes look special Tradition says that a kind old man called Santa Claus travels to every house the night before Christmas He leaves gifts of toys for children Family members leave gifts wrapped with pretty paper for each other under the Christmas tree and they open their gifts on Christmas morning Many Americans may go to church or visit friends or family members They may eat a special holiday meal Or they may take part in holiday activities for sick or homeless people Amencans of other rehg1ons genera y o not ce e rate ristmas owever, many send holiday cards or gifts to their Christian friends Some Americans not observe Christmas as a religious holiday, but they decorate their homes with lights and a tree Some people think that the religious meaning of Christmas has been lost They say people spend too much time buying gifts for the holiday instead of attending church and thinking about the religious meaning of Christmas These Americans want to put more religion back in Christmas This often involves holiday observances in public places Some people object, however They point out that the Constitution establishes a separation of religion and government A similar problem takes place in American public schools It concerns singing Christmas songs This year, the New York Times newspaper reported about a religious music ban declared by a school district in the state of New Jersey Many community groups criticised the decision Christians said the schools were trying to take Christmas music away from children Other people supported the ban They said that singing Christmas songs would exclude or offend people of other religions in the community Still, others suggested that the schools include holiday songs from all the different religions In this way, students would be learning about other cultures as well as their own One school district in the western state of Washington has published rules for holiday time The schools in the town of Lake Washington say they include the beliefs and music of all groups in the community Teachers say they are teaching about all religious holidays, not celebrating them Still, many Americans like to listen to Christmas music They may listen to songs about Santa Claus or the Christmas tree Many people also attend church during the Christmas holiday and listen to songs sung by a choir J J www.nhantriviet.com Winning at IELTS Listening - 227 Listening Activity No.12 New Year's Eve celebrations in America Qi 1os.MP3 Tina Hi, Steve Could you tell me how Americans celebrate New Year's Eve? Steve OK The most interesting and traditional celebration is in New York City On 31st, hundreds of thousands of people are gathered in Times Square They stand close together, waiting in the cold darkness for midnight The people count the seconds until the New Year arrives "Ten nine eight " A huge glass New Year's ball is lowered through the darkness The ball looks like thousands of burn• ing stars When the ball reaches the ground, the New Year has begun People shout "Happy New Year!" and they throw tiny pieces of colourful paper into the air They dance They sing a traditional New Year song of friendship called "Auld Lang Syne" Tina It is really an exciting moment By the way, when the people arrive in Times Square? Steve Each year, people arrive in Times Square quite early when it is still daylight Af• ter dark, at about six o'clock, the New Year's Eve ball is raised to its highest po• sition By this time, thousands of people are gathered for the celebration ahead They say "ooh" and "aah" when the electric company turns on the thousands of little lights in the ball Then everyone waits for the beautiful object to fall Fami• lies and friends attend this event together Tina Do people have to pay to attend the Times Square celebration? Steve No, not for this You know, perfect strangers meet and talk as if they had known each other all their lives Many people in the crowd jump around to keep warm Tina I can believe it is very cold, but I'm sure that people are so excited that it goes unnoticed Steve Yes, it is true Tina When did the Americans start to celebrate New Year's Eve in Times Square? Steve Well, the first New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square took place in 1904 The owners of a building on Times Square held that first party on top of their building Three years later, a New Year's ball was lowered from the top of the building for the first time Tina So since then the ball has been lowered every year? Steve Yes, except for two years during World War Two In 1942 and 1943, crowds still gathered in Times Square They observed a moment of silence After that, bells rang from a vehicle in Times Square Tina I see Are there any other New Year's Eve celebrations? 228 - Winning at IELTS Listening www.nhantriviet.com I L Steve Yes, some people like to see the New Year arrive while travelling by boat For example, people in Chicago, Illinois, can choose from several special holiday trips on Lake Michigan These cruises include dinner and dancing to music performed by a band In San Diego, California, a ship company offers New Year's Eve cel• ebration on the Pacific Ocean Tina It sounds really romantic I like this kind of celebration How much does it cost? Steve It costs more than one hundred dollars for each person Tina It's a reasonable price Steve Yes And some Americans have parties at home and invite all their friends Many of these events are noisy People shout and sing They often blow on small noise• makers when the New Year arrives at midnight They kiss their husband or wife or the person they are with They dance to music Other Americans spend a quiet evening at home They drink champagne at midnight to welcome the New Year Tina It's very common when people celebrate the holiday Steve Yes, that's right Some people drink too much alcohol at New Year's Eve celebra• tions This can lead to tragtcrestrlrrff a person drinITToo much: and tnen diwes a car Tina That's true I've read a report from the National Safety Council It says hundreds of people die in road accidents during the holiday Steve It's true In recent years, the danger of accidents has resulted in a new tradition called the "designated driver" Tina What is it? Steve One person among a group of friends drinks little or no alcohol during New Year's Eve celebrations Then this designated driver can safely drive the other people home Many American cities also offer free taxi service on New Year's Eve to take people home safely Tina It's very interesting and a very good way to decrease the road accidents Steve Yes And there are some other events without alcohol More than 220 American cities hold the First Night celebrations Artists in Boston, Massachusetts, started the tradition of the First Night celebrations in 1976 They wanted to observe the coming of the New Year But they did not want to hold noisy drinking parties So they organised music, art and other events to observe the holiday Tina Yes, I heard a lot about this People in Boston can choose among 250 perfor• mances and exhibits around the city People can look at huge statues made of ice Steve Right People there can watch fireworks early in the evening Later, they can see fireworks light the midnight sky over Boston Harbour Sounds beautiful I wish I could spend Ne_w_Y_e ' E_v th e_ J T� I I _ www.nhantriviet.com Winning at IELTS Listening - 229 Janet Maurice I see I have to sign a tenancy agreement with the landlord before I move in Is that right? I Yes, must that's tell right Andlawhen to move of a rented apartment, you your ndlordyou or plan manager in out writing This is house calledor"giving notice" Give the notice to the landlord one month before you will move out Please this by the last day of the month before you move out I I ' Janet move out l I understand I have to give notice to the landlord one month before I I Mauri�' v a_r _J_ w_elcome People Listening Activity No.l Q 013.MP3 Listening Activity No.2 Q Announcement Stephen Jay Gould 014.MP3 Today I'm going to tell you about Stephen Jay Gould, one of the important American scientists in the past He worked as an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts Mr Gould studied fossils, the hardened remains of an animal or plant of long ago This permitted him to better understand how different animal groups or species developed over time Mr Gould was a strong supporter of the evolutionary theory developed by Charles Darwin in the 1800s Mr Darwin argued that fossils could prove that plants and animals developed slowly over time from their earlier an ce st or s M r Go ul d su pp ort ed thi s th eo ry 142 Winning at IELTS Listening www.nha ntriviet.co m However, he and another scientist, Niles Eldredge, believed that evolution was not a slow and peaceful process In 1972, the two men developed a new theory called "punctuated equilibrium» They argued that evolution of species happened during short, fast bursts of change during longer periods of no change During his more than thirty years at Harvard University, Mr Gould wrote more than twenty popular books He also wrote 300 monthly commentaries published in the maga• zine Natural History Many Americans will remember him because he tried to make science Lular and easy to understand Stephen Jay Gould died at the age of sixty I I ii J Listening Activity No.3 Justin Dart Qi 015.MP3 Today I'm going to tell you about another American we should remember, Justin Dart, Justin Dart was a long-time activist for the rights of disabled people Such people are unable to see, hear or walk because of accident or disease Many use special chairs with leave people disabled In fact, Justin Dart was a disabled man too He lost the use of his legs when he became infected with polio at age eighteen He used a wheelchair for the rest of his life Mister Dart worked for more than fifty years to establish government policies to guar• antee civil rights and health care for disabled people He was considered one of the fathers of the Americans with Disabilities Act which became law in 1990 This historic civil rights law has improved the treatment of disabled people across the country It requires that all public buildings, transportation and other services should be built or modernised so that disabled people can use them Justin Dart received a great honour when President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presi• dential Medal of Freedom in 1998 This is the highest honour given to civilians in the United States Justin Dart died at the age of seventy-one Listening Activity No.4 William Shakespeare Qi 016.MP3 William Shakespeare, a famous English poet and dramatist, was born in April 1564 His father was a rich man, whose business was making and selling leather gloves His mother was the daughter of an important farmer in Warwickshire He was educated at a gram• mar school of the town At the end of 1582, when he was 19 years old he married Anne Hathaway, a farmer's daughter who was some years older than him www.nhantriviet.corn Winning at IELTS Listening - 143 In 1587, Shakespeare went to work in London, leaving his wife and the children at home He soon began to act and to write plays By 1592, he was an important member of a well-known acting company, and in 1599, the famous Globe Theatre was built on the south bank of the River Thames It was in this theatre that most of his plays were performed By 1603, when Queen Elizabeth I died, Shakespeare was already the leading poet and dramatist of his time He continued to write for the next ten years, but in 1613 he finally stopped writing and went to live in Stratford, where he died in April 1616 He was only 52 years old and was buried in the chancel of Stratford church I Shakespeare's plays have been acted for hundreds of years, not only in England but all over the world I' · Listening Activity No.5 The men who escaped Q 017.MP3 Listening Activity No.6 What they look like? Q 018.MP3 Kerry Hello, Hans It's Kerry I was just ringing to ask about your two friends You ask of me to meet them at the airport tomorrow morning, but you forgot to tell me what they look like! How will I recognise them? 144 - Winning at IELTS Listening www.nhantriviet.com f ·1 I I Hans Oh, sorry, Kerry Yes, well they're all very different from each other Let's start with Greta She is 25 years old and she is about 180cm tall and quite slim She has long blond hair, blue eyes, and a pointed nose She looks pretty cheerful She usu• ally wears a T-shirt and jeans with flat shoes Kerry Right! Greta has long blond hair, blue eyes and a pointed nose She is quite tall and slim She usually wears a T-shirt and jeans with flat shoes What about the next one? Hans Diana is the opposite of Greta in many ways She is 35 years old, heavy-set and very short, about 150cm She is half-Thai, half-American, so she has short black hair and big blue eyes She always has a sweet smile She likes to wear sports clothes It's easy to recognise them You would like them One more thing I forgot to mention Greta is very shortsighted and she wears glasses Kerry I'll remember that Right Diana is heavy-set and short She has short black hair and big blue eyes She always wears sports clothes OK I'll see them at o'clock tomorrow morning Hans Thanks, Kerry Goodbye Kerry Bye I ' - Listening Activity No.7 Millie Benson Q 019.MP3 Millie Benson was the one person most likely to be missed by young Americans She wrote books for young people The main character in each of her books is a sixteen• year-old girl named Nancy Drew who solved mysteries These books were extremely popular for many years They gave teenage girls the idea that they could anything that boys could This was especially important at a time when women were struggling for equality with men Millie Benson began writing the Nancy Drew books in 1930 She wrote twenty-three of the first twenty-five stories in the series under a false name, Carolyn Keene This was because Ms Benson signed an agreement with her publisher promising never to make public her identity For more than fifty years, she was never officially recognised for writing the books This changed in 1980 during a court case against the publisher Ms Benson was permitted to tell the world she was the true writer of the Nancy Drew series The Nancy Drew mysteries have sold more than two hundred million books in seventeen languages Millie Benson was also one of the first female newspaper reporters She wrote for newspapers for more than sixty years She was also a pilot and an adventurer She made many trips to the jungles of Mexico and Central America to study archaeology Millie Benson was ninety-six years old when she died www.nhantriviet.com Winning at IELTS Listening - 145 On board Listening Activity No.8 � 020.MP3 (Mike and Maria boarded the plane Maria noticed Mike didn't look very well.) Maria ·What's the matter, Mike? Are you sick? Mike Oh, God, I hate flying Maria You're kidding! How come? Mike Oh, I don't know, but I really get nervous Maria Have you ever had a bad experience on a plane? Mike No, I just keep thinking of all the things that can go wrong Maria Oh, come on Flying is the safest way to travel, comparing to driving it's Mike I know Look, let's talk about something else, OK? I'll be all right Maria OK Your parents' thirtieth anniversary is tomorrow, isn't it? Mike Yes, that is why we are going on this flight for I Maria I'm curious about your parents What are they like? Mike They are just ordinary people Dad is an electrician and he is a hardworking person My Morn is a nurse and she is kind and very patient They met when Dad was in the hospital from an accident / Maria Accident? What happened to your Dad? Mike Well, he helped his college friend repair the roof at the weekend, and then he lost his balance and slipped and fell He was sent to a local hospital right away Maria Was it serious? Mike Maria Mike Yes, he had a broken arm and two broken ribs, so he stayed there for about three months In the hospital he met Mom As a matter of fact, Morn was the nurse who took care of him Then they got married That is interesting - I · My Dad is pretty conservative, but Morn is not They have some fantastic arg: rnents sometimes But they are both crazy about fishing They fish every chance they get · -· �· ·- Maria They seem a very good couple Mike Oh, yeah, tomorrow you will meet them and I'm sure you'll like them, Maria I'm looking forward to meeting them 146 - Winning at IELTS Listening www.nhantriviet.com I I I _ Listening Activity No.9 Snooker superstar Q 021.MP3 Listening Activity No.10 Three American women Q 022.MP3 For many years, Time magazine has recognised a person or persons who made im• portant news during a year Recently, Time named three American women as its Persons of the Year for 2002 One of those honoured is Coleen Rowley She works for America's Federal Bureau of Investigation Time also honoured Cynthia Cooper, an official of the communications business WorldCom Corporation The third winner is Sherron Watkins She formerly worked for the energy trading company Enron www.nhantriviet.com Winning at IELTS Listening - 147 These women reported serious problems or wrongdoing in the places where they work Each woman risked her job to tell the truth Their actions have led to congressional inves• tigations and called for reform Coleen Rowley wrote a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller in May She criticised the agency for failing to gather evidence before the September eleventh terrorist attacks on �the-united-States Miss Rowley told how-officials at FBI-headquarters had dismissed in• formation from the agency's office in Minneapolis, Minnesota The information concerned a French citizen, Zacarias Moussaoui Mister Moussaoui is now waiting to be trialed in the state of Virginia He is accused of helping plot the terrorist attacks Miss Rowley wrote that an FBI agent had identified Mister Moussaoui as a terrorist threat one month before the attacks The Minneapolis office asked FBI headquarters to let it seek a court order to search the suspect's property Agents especially wanted to search his computer Yet higher-level FBI officials dismissed their appeals Congress and the Bush Administration now are exploring ways to improve the agency's performance Cynthia Cooper examines financial records for the WorldCom Corporation in Clinton, Mississippi In June, Miss Cooper told a WorldCom financial committee that the company's records were dishonest Soon, WorldCom's chief financial officer admitted that the compony earned almost four million dollars less than it had reported Since then, the amount I l has grown to more than nine million dollars Owners of the company's stock shares have lost three million dollars WorldCom reported that it is unable to pay its debts I I Sherron Watkins was a communications officer with Enron, based in Houston, Texas In August of last year, she wrote to the company chairman Kenneth Lay Miss Watkins told I him about questionable financial methods at Enron She also said the company should tell I its shareholders the truth about its losses Months later, the company began to fail By then, Enron had lost about one million dollars The actions of Sherron Watkins and Cynthia Cooper led to criminal charges against ��;�:o:o,;i�;dn:::��::;:�i:!:congressal�o is considering ways to prevent com� Listening Activity No.11 I Justine Henin - the world No.1 tennis player Q 023.MP3 Justine Henin was born on June 1, 1982 At the age of 2, a hazard made her move to Rochefort, which was only a few metres from the local tennis club, where she played tennis for the first time I At the age of 5, she spent all her summer vacation on the courts, going home from time to time for meals By the time she was and still progressing very fast, she left Rochefort Tennis Club to join Ciney Tennis Club 148 - Winning at IELTS Listening www.nhantriviet.com I I1· I This was her first contact with training and competition After working with several trainers, Justine joined the French Tennis Federation In 1997, she won the Orange Bowl - a junior championship Soon, Justine stopped her studies and she became a full-time professional in 1999, which was also the year of her first participation at the Fed Cup with the Belgian national team Her first step in the women's circuit was a wonderful success as she won the final of the Antwerp tournament against Sarah Pitkowski In 2001, Justine finally made the public notice her when she was playing a semi-final in Paris and a final in Wimbledon Thanks to high-level performances, Justine entered the list of top 10 woman players In 2003, Justine won victories The best one was with a memorable victory against Serena Williams in the Charleston final Justine had risen to number position in the world after her third victory in Paris During a fantastic American tour, Justine won three titles in three tournaments The first one was in San Diego She defeated Kim in the final The second was in Toronto She overcame Lina Krasnoroutska a in the final And the t · d the I JS Open She drew the attention of the American public by playing in the semi-finals In more than three hours of unexpected twists and turns, Justine overcame not only cramps, but, after she almost lost the match twice, she defeated the public favourite Jennifer Capriati Justine Henin once again made tennis history by winning her second Grand Slam tournament and by becoming the number two in the world, right behind her compatriot The Belgians dominated women's tennis, and as far as Justine was concerned, she domi• nated New York as well as Paris It's been said that the year 2003 was Justine's year Winner of two Grand Slams and five other tournaments, it was logical that the champion would be the number one in the world by the end of the year And, as said, it was the morning after her victory over Jelena Dokic in Zurich that Justine was the first in the world for the first time From January 2004 onwards she still craved for victory She won the two most im• portant tournaments in Australia, in Sydney and Melbourne And during her tour of Australia, she was undefeated, including beating Lindsay Davenport in the semi-finals and Kim Clijsters in the final Justine took the courageous decision to go to the Olympics in Athens, without really knowing how sick she was After a false start, she almost achieved perfection during the semi-final against Anastasia Myskina Then buoyed up by this incredible success, she didn't give any chance to Amelie Mauresmo in the final and won the only Belgian golden medal in Athens "This is," she said with great emotion, "the most beautiful victory of my career." www.nhantriviet.com Winning at IELTS Listening - 149 Listening Activity No.12 Woman Man - Talking about people you admire Q 024.MP3 Hi, I'm conducting a survey for a lifestyle magazine, and I wonder if I could ask you a few questions? ·uh, ·�hat.abouti - Woman Well, we're doing a feature on modem-day heroes, you know, people you really · admire Oh, I see Man Woman Man So, who would that be for you? Well, I'm from China and I'm crazy about basketball, so I think the people I admire most are all basketball players If I have to choose one, it would be Yao Ming Woman And why would you choose him? Well, I think Yao Ming is one of the best basketball players China has ever had Man I I Ii Woman So, you admire him mainly for his basketball skills? Man · That's one of the reasons Sure, he is really a talented player Some players said, "Yao Ming is such a huge, talented guy and he's the focal point of the offense, so we're just going to have to take the challenge and play against him." But there are other reasons For one thing, Yao is one of the tallest men in the world He I is 228cm tall, a very good size for basketball And he has his own unique style j II Woman So, he is tall, talented and unique Anything else? Well, I think the other thing that makes him stand out is that he has a lot of courage He has had to really fight hard to get to where he is today He is one I I of the NBA Stars and people call him NBA giant Yao At present, he plays in Houston Rockets Team and he is a starting player in the team And one of the I ·r · -�6sT1mp5ftanrfnings1s-Yl:Iarhe-lo'i.re-s ehtna-:-Y-ou-knDw; lrris-pi-ayirrgirr-Arnerical now, but he always comes back to play for China when our country needs him I I ! Man i ! ! Woman jI Man : So, have you ever met him? j Yes Actually, I did meet Yao Ming at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when they I were practicing I even got to talk with him a little." , Woman Oh, so what did you say? Man I said, "Yao Ming, can I have your autograph?" and he said, "Sure Here you are." I It didn't last very long, but I'll always remember that moment Who knows_, ,! maybe he will too - 150 - Winning at IELTS Listening - www.nhantriviet.com I I