L4 transcript homework

Activity 2:
As chair of the town council subcommittee on park facilities, I’d like to bring you up to date on
some of the changes that have been made recently to the Croft Valley Park. So if you could just
take a look at the map I handed out, let’s begin with a general overview. So the basic
arrangement of the park hasn’t changed – it still has two gates, north and south, and a lake in the
middle.

The café continues to serve an assortment of drinks and snacks and is still in the same place,
looking out over the lake and next to the old museum. (Q11)

We’re hoping to change the location of the toilets, and bring them nearer to the centre of the park
as they’re a bit out of the way at present, near the adventure playground, in the corner of your
map. (Q12)

The formal gardens have been replanted and should be at their best in a month or two. They used
to be behind the old museum, but we’re now used the space near the south gate – between the
park boundary and the path that goes past the lake towards the old museum. (Q13)

We have a new outdoor gym for adults and children, which is already proving very popular. It’s
by the glass houses, just to the right of the path from the south gate. You have to look for it as
it’s a bit hidden in the trees. (Q14) One very successful introduction has been our skateboard
ramp. It’s in constant use during the evenings and holidays. It’s near the old museum, at the end
of a little path that leads off from the main path between the lake and the museum. (Q15)

We’ve also introduced a new area for wild flowers, to attract bees and butterflies. It’s on a bend
in the path that goes round the east side of the lake, just south of the adventure playground.
(Q16)

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Now let me tell you a bit more about some of the changes to Croft Valley Park.
One of our most exciting developments has been the adventure playground. We were aware that
we had nowhere for children to let off steam, and decided to use our available funds to set up a
completely new facility in a large space to the north of the park. It’s open year-round, though it
close early in the winter months, and entrance is completely free (Q17/Q18). Children can
choose whatever activities they want to do, irrespective of their age, but we do ask adults not to
leave them on their own there (Q17/Q18). There are plenty of seats where parents can relax and
keep an eye on their children at the same time.

Lastly, the glass houses. A huge amount of work has been done on them to repair the damage
following the disastrous fire that recently destroyed their western side (Q19/Q20). Over £80,000
was spent on replacing the glass walls and the metal supports, as well as the plants that had been
destroyed, although unfortunately the collection of tropical palm trees has proved too expensive
to replace up to now. At present the glass houses are open from 10am to 3pm Mondays to
Thursdays, and it’s hoped to extend this to the weekend soon (Q19/Q20). We’re grateful to all
those who helped us by contributing their time and money to this achievement.
Activity 3:
WOMAN:

I’m very pleased to welcome this evening’s guest speaker, Mark Logan, who’s going to
tell us about the recent transformation of Minster Park. Over to you, Mark.

MARK:

Thank you. I’m sure you’re all familiar with Minster Park. It’s been a feature of the city
for well over a century, and has been the responsibility of the city council for most of that time.
What perhaps isn’t so well known is the origin of the park: unlike many public parks that started
in private ownership, as the garden of a large house, for instance, Minster was some waste land,
which people living nearby started planting with flowers in 1892 (Q11). It was unclear who
actually owned the land, and this wasn’t settled until 20 years later, when the council took
possession of it.

You may have noticed the statue near one of the entrances. It’s of Diane Gosforth, who
played a key role in the history of the park. Once the council had become the legal owner, it
planned to sell the land for housing. Many local people (Q12) wanted it to remain a place that
everyone could go to, to enjoy the fresh air and natural environment – remember the park is in a
densely populated residential area. Diane Gosforth was one of those people, and she organised
petitions and demonstrations (Q12), which eventually made the council change its mind about
the future of the land.
 Soon after this the First World War broke out, in 1914, and most of the park was dug
up and planted with vegetables (Q13), which were sold locally. At one stage the army considered
taking in over for troop exercises and got as far as contacting the city council, then decided the
park was too small to be of use. There were occasional public meetings during the war, in an area
that had been retained as grass.

After the war, the park was turned back more or less to how it had been before 1914,
and continued almost unchanged until recently. Plans for transforming it were drawn up at
various times, most recently in 2013, though they were revised in 2015, before any work had
started. The changes finally got going in 2016 (Q14), and were finished on schedule last year.

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OK, let me tell you about some of the changes that have been made – and some things
that have been retained. If you look at this map, you’ll see the familiar outline of the park, with
the river forming the northern boundary, and a gate in each of the other three walls. The statue of
Diane Gosforth has been moved: it used to be close to the south gate, but it’s now immediately to
the north of the lily pond, almost in the centre of the park (Q15), which makes it much more
visible.

There’s a new area of wooden sculptures, which are on the river bank, where the path
from the east gate makes a sharp bend. (Q16)

There are two areas that are particularly intended for children. The playground has been
enlarged and improved, and that’s between the river and the path that leads from the pond to the
river. (Q17)

Then there’s a new maze, a circular series of paths, separated by low hedges. That’s
near the west gate – you go north from there towards the river and then turn left to reach it.
(Q18)

There have been tennis courts in the park for many years, and they’ve been doubled,
from four to eight. They’re still in the south-west corner of the park, where there’s a right-angle
bend in the path. (Q19)
 Something else I’d like to mention is the new fitness area. This is right next to the lily
pond on the same side as the west gate. (Q20)

Now, as you’re all gardeners, I’m sure you’ll like to hear about the plants that have
been chosen for the park.

Activity 4:
Good morning. My name’s Lucy Crittenden, and I’m the Director of Operations for an
organisation that arranges volunteering in this part of the country. I’m hoping I can persuade one
or two of you to become volunteers yourselves. Let me start by briefly explaining what we mean
by volunteering.

Volunteers are teenagers and adults who choose to spend some time, unpaid, helping other
people in some way. Most volunteers devote two or three hours to this every week, while a few
do much more. The people they help may have physical or behavioural difficulties, for example.

Volunteers can do all sorts of things, depending on their own abilities and interests. If they’re
supporting a family that’s struggling, for example, they may be able to give them tips on
cooking, or recommend how to plan their budget or how to shop sensibly on their income. They
might even do (Q11) some painting or wallpapering, perhaps alongside any members of the
family who are able to do it. Or even do (Q12) some babysitting so that parents can go out for a
while.

The benefit from volunteering isn’t only for the people being helped. Volunteers also gain from
it: they’re using their skills to cope with somebody’s mental or physical ill health, and (Q13)
volunteering may be a valuable element of their CV when they’re applying for jobs: employers
usually look favourably on someone who’s given up time to help others. Significantly, most
volunteers (Q14) feel that what they’re doing gives them a purpose in their lives. And in my
opinion, they’re lucky in that respect, as many people don’t have that feeling.

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Now I’d like to tell you what some of our volunteers have said about what they do, to give you
an idea of the range of ways in which they can help people. Habib supports an elderly lady who’s
beginning to show signs of dementia. Once a week they, along with other elderly people, go to
the local community centre, where a group of people come in and sing. The songs (Q15) take the
listeners back to their youth, and for a little while they can forget the difficulties that they face
now.
Our volunteer Consuela is an amazing woman. (Q16) She has difficulty walking herself, but she
doesn’t let that stop her. She helps a couple of people with similar difficulties, who had almost
stopped walking altogether. By using herself as an example, Consuela encourages them to walk
more and more.

Minh visits a young man who lives alone and can’t leave his home on his own, so he hardly ever
saw anyone. But together (Q17) they go out to the cinema, or to see friends the young man
hadn’t been able to visit for a long time.

Tanya visits an elderly woman once a week. When the woman found out that Tanya is a
professional dressmaker, she got interested. Tanya showed her some soft toys she’d made, and
(Q18) the woman decided to try it herself. And now she really enjoys it, and spends hours
making toys. They’re not perhaps up to Tanya’s standard yet, but she gains a lot of pleasure from
doing it.

Alexei is a volunteer with a family that faces a number of difficulties. By calmly talking over
possible solutions with family members, he’s helping them to realise that they aren’t helpless,
and that (Q19) they can do something themselves to improve their situation. This has been great
for their self-esteem.

And the last volunteer I’ll mention, though there are plenty more, is Juba. She volunteers with a
teenage girl with learning difficulties, who wasn’t very good at talking to other people. Juba’s
worked very patiently with her, (Q20) and now the girl is far better at expressing herself, and at
understanding other people.

OK, I hope that’s given you an idea of what volunteering is all about. Now I’d like …