LISTENING SCRIPTS

SET 2
PART 1
QUESTION 1
Speaker: I’m afraid it looks like there’s quite a storm heading towards western and northern
areas, and that will arrive about dawn tomorrow. The rest of the country will start off cloudy
with a few showers, but by lunchtime there will be clear skies and the bright weather will last
well into the early evening, apart from in the south where there might be a few foggy patches
once the sun goes down. At around the same time, bad weather will reach eastern regions,
bringing high winds and heavy rain, with the possibility of flooding in low-lying areas.

QUESTION 2
Speaker: I sometimes think back to when I used to drive to work in the morning, looking at
my watch and worrying in case the traffic made me late, and though I still have to ride
through it and I still get held up by the lights, I much prefer going on two wheels. By the time
I arrive I feel pleasantly tired, almost as if I’d been for a light workout at the gym, and that’s
a good way to start the day. I hardly give any thought to my work until I actually sit down at
my desk, because nowadays I feel much more relaxed and able to cope with whatever might
come up during the day.

QUESTION 3
Speaker: We’re looking for good short stories to read out on next week’s programme, so if
you think you’re capable of writing an interesting tale in less than 750 words, either send it in
as an email attachment or post it to us and you may be one of the lucky five prizewinners.
Unlike in some competitions, as long they are original pieces of writing you can send in as
many as you like and there’s no upper or lower age limit. In fact, last year’s first prize was
won by a seventeen-year-old, and the winner of the second prize was just sixteen.

QUESTION 4
Speaker: Yes, it’s an awful feeling and I’ve been kicking myself here. It’s never happened to
me before, though I’ve had a few near-misses. Like the time I got stuck in traffic on the road
to the airport and only just made it in time; or when I got off the Underground at Terminal 5
rather than 4, and had to race back to the station when I eventually realised my mistake. On
this occasion I got there on time but there were just too many people waiting ahead of me,
and when I finally reached the desk I was told the flight had closed.

QUESTION 5
Speaker: When I first saw the ad in the employment section of the paper, it wasn’t the fact I’d
be earning far more than I am now that caught my attention, it was the chance to achieve my
full potential doing something relevant to the experience I’d gained before I took up my
current post. In fact, though the job description in the ad talked about good prospects of rising
within the company structure, that’s never really been an ambition of mine
QUESTION 6
Store Assistant: Good afternoon, Madam. Welcome to Everest Stores. Is there anything I
can help you with today?
Customer: Oh, hi, yes, erm, I have a few things I need to buy today and this is my first time
here, so I'm not sure where everything is.
Store Assistant: That's fine, that's what I'm here for. Now, what do you need first?
Customer: I have to buy a hat for my sister. She's going to a wedding in New Orleans next
weekend and asked me to get a new hat for her. Do you sell hats?
Store Assistant: Yes, we do, Madam. All women's clothing is on this floor, the first floor. If
you go in that direction and go past the jackets, you'll find the hats over to the left.
Customer: OK, great. Then I need to get a toaster. Ours caught fire yesterday morning and,
you know, my kids can't live without toast in the morning for their breakfast!
Store Assistant: Our kitchen appliances are up on the 3rd, no sorry, the 4th floor. If you take
the elevator from this floor up to the 4th floor, turn left when you leave the elevator and walk
through the pictures and framing section. You'll see small kitchen appliances on the left with
larger items such as ranges and fridges on the right.
Customer: My husband wanted me to see the cost of a new fridge-freezer so I can do that
too.
Store Assistant: Was there anything else, Madam?
Customer: Yes, my daughter wants a DVD for her birthday. Where can I find them?
Store Assistant: Our home entertainment section is on the second floor. Perhaps it would be
a good idea to go there before you go and look for the toaster. There is an escalator that joins
all the floors so after you buy your hat, you can go up the escalator to the second floor where
you will find books, CDs, DVDs as well as all our television and video equipment.
Customer: The last things on my list are a CD for myself, which I can get on the second
floor, and a chair for the kitchen. My husband broke a chair on the weekend so I need to get a
new one.
Store Assistant: Let me think...ah yes, you can find all chairs, stools and tables in our
furniture section but that's right up on the sixth floor. If you go there immediately, you can
ask them to take the chair down to the first floor and you can collect it when you are ready to
leave.
Customer: Thank you ever so much. You have been very helpful. I will go up to get the
chair now and get the other things as I come down.
Store Assistant: No problem, Madam. We hope you enjoy Everest Stores.

QUESTION 7
Gavin: My boss wants me to write an article about Queen Elizabeth for the magazine. I don't
know anything about her!
Deborah: The Queen of England? I read a book about her last year. She's a fascinating
woman.
Gavin: Oh, that's great! Can you help me, Deborah?
Deborah: Sure, why not?
Gavin: Thanks, let me get my notebook and pen and I can ask you a few questions.
Deborah: I don't know everything about her!
Gavin: You know more than me!
Deborah: Did you know she became Queen more than sixty years ago?
Gavin: Wow, that's incredible! Okay - first question: where does the Queen live?
Deborah: That's a difficult question because she has more than one house.
Gavin: Well, she is very rich...
Deborah: When she's in London, she lives in Buckingham Palace, but she also spends some
time in Windsor Castle, which is outside London or in Balmoral, which is in Scotland.
Gavin: Great. How many children does she have?
Deborah: Four: Charles, Andrew, Anne and Edward.
Gavin: I'm impressed! You know everything! When did she become Queen? Was it in the
1960s?
Deborah: No, it was before that. It was in 1952. The Prime Minister in Britain when she was
first Queen was Winston Churchill.
Gavin: That is a long time ago! Okay another question for you: what hobbies does the Queen
have? I mean, what are her interests?
Deborah: She loves horses. She goes to horse races when she can. She also loves other
animals. She has all of those cute little dogs.
Gavin: The corgis! I see them on TV all the time. How many corgis does she have?
Deborah: I don't know, three or four I think.
Gavin: Okay, just a couple more questions. In what year did she get married to her husband,
Prince Philip?
Deborah: It was before she became Queen, in 1947 when the Queen was only twenty-one.
Gavin: Right, this is my last question. What does the Queen watch on television? Does she
watch soap operas or movies or reality TV shows?
Deborah: Gavin, that's a very strange question. Why do you want to know that?
Gavin: So my article is more interesting!
Deborah: Well, the book I read about the Queen said she likes watching quiz shows, I don't
know if that's true.
Gavin: Deborah, thanks very much for this information. You can read my article when I
finish it.
Deborah: You can send it to the Queen and then she can read it too!
PART 2
Presenter: So, we’re back in the studio. Welcome back, everyone. My name’s Rick Walker.
From our laptops to our televisions, from the displays on our smartphones to those on our
satnavs, we are in front of screens all the time. Have you ever wondered what it would be like
to disconnect completely? To choose not to have access to the internet? If you have, you may
be in need of a digital detox – a total switch-off from all things digital. The idea of people
taking a digital detox is becoming more and more popular, especially amongst young people
– and today we’re joined by someone who’s tried a number of digital detox activities and is
here to give us some advice about it. Amanda Vince, welcome to the studio.

Amanda: Thank you very much.

Presenter: So, Amanda, you work for a fashion magazine in London, right? I guess your
work means you need to be online a lot.

Amanda: Oh, yes. Apart from the hundreds of emails I get every day, I’m always browsing
fashion websites, as well as online videos. I also need to be very active online, especially on
Twitter and Instagram – sharing what we’re doing in the magazine, interacting with
designers, photographers, influencers … it never stops, literally. Then of course there’s my
friends and family to keep in touch with online too, and for me, my work grew out of my
passion, so friends and work colleagues aren’t two totally separate groups of people and it all
gets a bit messy online sometimes. I think I’m online for at least 12 hours a day.

Presenter: So, how did you get the idea for a digital detox?

Amanda: I read a book about it, called Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnecting.
The author’s name is Blake Snow. That book gave me some really good advice and made me
think about trying to change some of my digital habits. I started with removing distraction.

Presenter: What do you mean by that?

Amanda: That means turning off alerts, buzzes, alarms or notifications of any kind. I had
notifications set up for everything, and it meant I was always being forced to look at my
phone. Removing all of them except for important contacts helped me focus immediately.
The book also made a really good point, that we should ask ourselves ‘Why?’ every time we
take out our phone. I realised that most of the times I looked at my phone were because I was
trying to avoid or ignore something else happening right in front of me. It was an automatic
habit.

Presenter: I have to confess, that happens to me too. But what else are you going to do when
you’re standing in line at the bank or waiting for your train?
Amanda: OK, yes, I’m the first to admit that it’s great for helping time go by. But speaking
personally, I found I wasn’t just checking my phone to kill time when I was alone. I was also
doing it with friends or family around.

Presenter: Hmmm … right. Well, so far, this doesn’t sound too drastic. Turning off
notifications and becoming aware of when we use our devices. That sounds easy.

Amanda: Yes, it’s the first step. Once we begin to realise just how much of a grip our
devices have on us, then we’re ready to really take the next step. First, my partner and I did a
weekend with absolutely no screens. She found it easier than I did. For me, it was a little bit
scary at first but it turned out to be a pretty rewarding experience.
Presenter: A whole weekend, huh? I don’t know if I could ...
Amanda: I think everyone has to do this at their own pace. If a weekend feels too much,
maybe just try for an evening. Then work your way up to more. I guarantee, once you’ve
tried it, you’ll want to try it again. We’re going to try for a whole week in the summer.
Presenter: OK, let’s pause there then and see what our listeners have to say. You can call us
here directly, or send us a message on any of our social media channels ... oops, should I be
saying that? Anyway, more after the break.

PART 3
Speaker 1
It starts as soon as I get home in the early evening. I have a quick snack and then log onto one
of my favourite sites. Soon I’ve filled up my basket with all kinds of things – whether I
actually need any of them is irrelevant – and then head for the check-out. It’s all so quick and
easy. Sometimes I’m watching TV and there’s an ad for a tasty-looking ready meal and I’ll
log back on for a minute and order that, too, though when it’s actually delivered it usually
turns out to be just junk food and it ends up in the bin.

Speaker 2
I first realised something wasn’t quite right when I kept falling asleep at all hours of the day.
Getting up around seven isn’t easy when you’ve been up till two the night before, but
somehow I never manage to log off until then. There are just so many great sites, particularly
news and sports and also shopping, though I rarely end up buying anything. According to a
quiz I did, I do seem to have an addiction, though compared to things like overeating I don’t
think it’s a particularly harmful one. I mean, I’m quite fit and – unlike some of my colleagues
– I always get to the office on time.

Speaker 3
I always feel I have to be doing something. I just don’t feel right if I’m not working on my
fitness level, and the possible long-term, effects of that are beginning to concern me. It also
affects my life right now in various ways. For instance, I always go to bed late and get up
early. I also need bigger meals than less active people, and although I always choose food
that’s good for me, it can be rather expensive and hard to find in the shops. At least, though,
the fact that I go everywhere round town on foot means that I’m never held up by traffic!

Speaker 4
It was on all the time in my parents’ home and it’s like that here in my own flat. Usually the
same channel, too, because to tell the truth I’m totally hooked on the same kinds of series. It’s
odd in a way, because most people of my generation spend all their time on the Internet, or,
in the case of the fitter ones, doing sport every evening and weekend. I know my own
lifestyle isn’t particularly healthy, though at least nowadays I’m up reasonably early, unlike
back in my student days when I often had trouble getting out of bed before noon.

Speaker 5
It’s always my intention to set off in plenty of time, but somehow there always seems to be
something that holds me up. It may be a job that needs finishing off, an email that has to be
answered – or even a TV programme that hasn’t quite ended. Then I end up literally running
to wherever I’m going, always the last to turn up and also often the most stressed one, too.
I’ve tried getting up earlier in the morning so that I have more hours in the day to get
everything done, but the lack of sleep just makes me feel tired later on and doesn’t help at all

PART 4
In today’s lecture we’re going to be talking about experiments, and I thought it might be
interesting for you all to learn about the world’s oldest continuously running laboratory
experiment that is still going today. In fact, it holds the Guinness World Record for being the
longest-running experiment. This experiment began in 1927 and has been going ever since.
It’s called the ‘pitch drop’ experiment and it was created by Professor Thomas Parnell at the
University of Queensland, Australia. Parnell was the university’s first physics professor, and he
wanted to show in this experiment that everyday materials, such as pitch, can have quite
surprising properties.
You see, when pitch is at room temperature, it feels solid. You can easily break it with a hammer.
However, it isn’t in fact solid. At room temperature, pitch is many billions of times more viscous
than water, but it’s actually fluid.
In 1927, Professor Parnell took a sample of pitch. He heated it and poured it into a glass funnel.
He allowed the pitch to cool and settle – for three years. He then turned the funnel upside down
and cut the top off it.
Since then, the pitch has slowly dropped out of the funnel. How slowly? Well, the first drop took
eight years to fall. It took another forty years for another five drops to fall. Today it’s been almost
90 years since the experiment started. Only nine drops have fallen from the funnel. The last drop
fell in April 2014 and the next one is expected to fall in the 2020s.
The experiment has a tragic story associated with it. Professor Parnell died without seeing a pitch
drop. His replacement, Professor John Mainstone, became responsible for the pitch drop
experiment from 1961. He held the job for 52 years, and missed seeing the drop fall three times –
by a day in 1977, by just five minutes in 1988 and finally in 2000, when the webcam that was
recording the experiment suffered a power outage for 20 minutes, during which time the pitch
dropped.
The pitch drop experiment is something we can all participate in now. There’s a live web stream
that allows anyone to watch the glass funnel and wait for the fateful moment. A similar
experiment to the Queensland pitch drop was set up in Dublin, and the video of the moment
the pitch actually dropped went viral on the internet. It’s interesting to see how a very slow
event can spread news so quickly.