First Expert tests Audioscripts

Progress test 1 L: The thing is, with my subject, the workload is

very high, so a job would mean very little time
(P = Presenter; L = Leanne)
for a social life. So I just cut costs by sharing
P: Today we’ve invited into the studio a university books with friends, shopping in charity shops,
student in her final year, Leanne Wilson, to give eating cheaply, that kind of thing. Although I do
tips on surviving those first few weeks. Were get a job in the holidays at home, so I can save
you nervous about going off to university, up.
Leanne?
P: And is going to lectures very different from
L: In a way. I’d been really looking forward to it being at school?
but my main worry was that I didn’t know
L: It is, really. Where I went wrong at first was
anyone.
trying to write down every word the lecturer
P: But you made friends fairly quickly? was saying and not really listening. In fact, you
L: Oh, absolutely. Many of my friends initially can normally get the notes online later anyway,
were on my course but you’ve got to be careful so it’s really not worth it – unless it helps you
you don’t stick with just them all the time – you concentrate. Some of my friends don’t bother
really miss out if you do. And try and be open- going much at all, actually, but personally, I
minded. Just because people don’t speak to you think that – even though you only get a basic
doesn’t mean they’re unfriendly. They could overview in an hour – it makes you aware of the
just be shy. The main thing is to get involved main areas that you need to read around.
with anything and everything. Even if you can’t P: Is it difficult to get used to structuring your
play tennis to save your life, have a go. Join the day?
Scrabble club, drama society, whatever – just so
L: I found it’s very easy to waste time unless
you meet a wide variety of people.
you’re disciplined. It’s not that you aren’t
P: Which clubs did you join? interested in the subject but life has a habit of
L: Well, that’s the silly thing. I didn’t! And I really getting in the way and it’s tempting to stay in
wish I’d taken more advantage of the social life bed late and have a coffee with friends instead
in that first week and enjoyed myself more. I of getting stuck into what you have to do.
think I was a bit scared of getting left behind in P: I can imagine! And the worst aspect of
my work – when, really, that shouldn’t be a university life?
priority at first. I didn’t have a lot of cash to
L: Mmm ... I thought it would be the cooking and
splash around either. But the thing is, you have
washing and so on but that’s not been too bad –
to remember that it won’t be such a social whirl
although I do appreciate my mum more in the
for the whole term – things do calm down and
holidays! Probably, it’s getting totally stressed
you won’t be spending money like this all the
as the work piles up. To be fair, that’s only at
time. The first week you need to get out and
certain times of year – exam times – but terms
enjoy yourself and not worry about it.
are short, so it feels as if it happens more.
P: While we’re on the subject of money, how did
P: Well, thanks very much, Leanne, and good luck
you manage on your student budget?
in your final exams.
L: Well, some people choose to save on food and
accommodation by living at home. I live quite
Progress test 2
near York, so that was an option but I felt it was
important to stand on my own two feet, so I was Thanks, Paul, for the introduction, and hello,
in a hall of residence for my first year. My everybody.
parents didn’t put any pressure on me either Well, when I first went out to the Brazilian
way but it was tough at first because our family rainforest, I certainly never intended to stay there
is quite close. It was the right thing to do for me for any length of time. It was meant to be a quick
to leave, though. visit to research and write a piece about tropical
P: So did you have to get an evening job in York? birds for the nature magazine I worked for. While I

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was there though, I also became fascinated by many Unfortunately, in recent years, more and more of
of the other inhabitants, such as the huge variety of the forest has been destroyed, meaning that cattle
monkeys and snakes. However, the reason I stayed are being bred in the open spaces which are left
on was my love affair with the jaguar. behind. This is seen as a source of food for jaguars
and as a result, landowners have no hesitation in
I must admit, at the beginning I found the rainforest
killing them if they see one near their farms.
environment quite hard to deal with. OK, I knew
the forest was going to feel a bit claustrophobic. Even if they escape being shot, there are many
What I hadn’t quite realised was how little daylight reported cases of jaguars picking up diseases – not
actually gets through the trees, which means you so much from sheep or cows but from dogs and
spend much of your time in semi-darkness – that other domestic pets. In the interests of survival,
took some getting used to. The other challenge was therefore, it is much better if jaguars avoid areas of
the insects. You get bitten by them all the time! human habitation completely but this is easier said
They’re massive noisy creatures – a bit like flying than done these days, if their own habitats are no
motorbikes! longer available to them.
Anyway, the first time I saw a jaguar was very early Since being back from Brazil, I have replaced
in the morning and it was totally unexpected. This journalism with lecture tours as I think they are a
awesome animal just emerged from the forest and more effective way of educating people about the
started walking towards me. It must have been about dangers that these magnificent creatures face unless
60 metres away. Time seemed to stand still and I we act now. Jaguars are an endangered species and
couldn’t breathe. Not because I was terrified but I if we allow the rainforests to disappear completely,
just felt emotional – she was so beautiful it brought we risk losing them altogether.
tears to my eyes. She had a drink from a nearby
river and disappeared into the forest again, so I Progress test 3
didn’t get a photograph that time, but I went on to
have five more encounters over the next four years. 1
Hi, Rachel. Thanks for phoning back. Listen, you’re
This may not seem much to you, but remember the going to see the New York City Ballet, aren’t you?
jaguar is a threatened species, so it lives mainly in ... Have you still got the brochure there? ... Great.
the most remote areas. The Amazon forest extends So do they give the exact dates? ... Oh, really? I
for thousands of kilometres and the territory of a didn’t realise it was so soon. Thank goodness I
typical male jaguar is something like 170 phoned you because I’d hate to miss it. I’d better
kilometres – in exceptional cases as much as 300 or give them a ring. ... You’re going next Friday, you
more. It’s rare to see one because they are such say? Shall I see if they’ve got any for then because
solitary, shy creatures and move incredibly quietly. that would be nice, wouldn’t it?
To have a better chance of seeing another jaguar, I
2
went inland into a less populated area, where I met To start with, I must admit that I had my doubts. I
some of the local forest people. By that time, I’d didn’t think Alex Casey would be able to leave the
tried all sorts of the local food: monkey’s brains, film-script style behind. But even though the
alligators – you name it – but it’s the spider I was characters are a bit predictable, they are so
given as an honoured guest that stands out in my colourful that you can’t help but engage with them.
mind on that first visit. It was the size of a small rat, And they’re portrayed with a good deal of
had eight eyes and looked and tasted revolting. But sensitivity, so you really care what happens to
it would have been very rude to refuse to eat what them. Then there’s the very unusual plot, which
for them is a special food. keeps you gripped until the very last page. In fact, it
The forest people themselves don’t see jaguars very would probably transfer very well to either stage or
often because until recently, the animals have screen and because it’s Casey, you immediately
tended to avoid places where humans make their think of that. But actually, it works well enough as
homes. They are rarely a danger to human life and it is.
it is interesting that forest people tend to respect
rather than fear these powerful animals, regarding
them as fellow hunters rather than potential prey.
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3 6
A: Can I help? Don’t get me wrong. It’s mostly worthwhile stuff
they’ve got there. It’s just the way it’s been put
B: Yes, I’d like to move to the back, so I’m not
together that I don’t like. I mean, it would be much
disturbed so much by the noise of the traffic.
better if all the works were grouped in some kind of
A: Well, it is the holiday period, Madam, so we’re logical way – you know, according to period, theme
fully booked and ... or whatever. You can’t argue with the amount of
B: I appreciate that. But if I’d known how much background information available, which is very
noise there’d be, I would’ve gone elsewhere. I thorough, but if all you want to do is see a
might as well put my bed on the motorway. particularly brilliant painting or watercolour or
whatever, you’ve got to go past all this other stuff
A: I’ll see what can be done. Would you like to to get to it. Some people will be exhausted by the
take a seat in the bar over there while I have a time they’re half way round, if you ask me.
word with the manager?
7
B: I’m just on my way to the dining room, A: I was a bit surprised, really. I was expecting
actually. something more – I don’t know – progressive, I
A: Very well, Madam. suppose, this time.

4 B: What, you mean like their last album? That

A: So what did you think of it? went in a very different direction to their first
one.
B: It was all right but, you know, it ... it didn’t
really live up to the hype, did it? A: Yes, it was more a mix of genres, wasn’t it? It
was brilliant and groundbreaking in many ways
A: Oh I thought visually it was really good. but this has a completely different feel. The
B: Well, the special effects were OK, I suppose, lyrics are really interesting – it has more in
but I hadn’t really expected all that in this sort common with their original one around ten
of film. If you ask me, though, they’d have years ago.
done a lot better to stick to the plot of the B: That’s what I thought – kind of more confident
original a bit more closely. Much as I liked and relaxed. It’s no bad thing, though.
Julia Roberts, it just didn’t hold my attention,
I’m afraid. A: Absolutely. It could be their best one yet.

A: Well, I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know, 8

but I think she was just brilliant. A: I love going to the cinema but the popular films
5 get booked up so fast – it’s totally ridiculous! I
A: I lent him that CD ages ago. I keep dropping mean, if you phone, it’s just engaged all the
hints whenever I see him in the canteen but time and by the time you get through, there are
either he’s forgotten or just doesn’t want to give no decent seats. You have more chance for
it back to me. afternoon performances and they’re cheaper but
not everyone can go then, can they?
B: Some people are very thoughtless, aren’t they?
B: Wouldn’t it be quicker to book online?
A: Well, I wouldn’t mind, except it was a birthday
present and I haven’t really listened to it myself A: I suppose so but not everyone of our age is that
yet. My son bought it for me. If I knew him good with computers. And that’s if they’ve got
better, I’d ask for it straight out but I don’t want one in the first place.
to fall out with someone new like that. B: That’s true. They should really make sure they
B: It’s difficult to know what to do, isn’t it? have more people manning the phones.
A: Or hold back a certain amount of seats for
retired people who can then just turn up on the
night.

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Progress test 4 bring along board games and play them

together. They all seem to take it very seriously
(P = Presenter; S = Simon)
and are all determined to win – maybe it takes
P: Most of us have an interest of one kind or their minds off the acting and makes them less
another, whether it’s keeping an unusual pet, nervous.
collecting stamps or gardening. Simon is
P: What else do people’s hobbies tell you?
interested in learning about other people’s
hobbies – both ordinary people’s and those of S: Well, whether you are intellectual or creative,
celebrities. Why is this, Simon? or practical. For example, the Dalai Lama will
spend ages, you know, repairing an old film
S: Well, the thing is, if you tell me that the bloke
projector which has no instructions, or with his
sitting opposite me in the train is a teacher or
head under a car bonnet, or taking clocks to bits
engineer or whatever, I might be able to guess
and putting them back together. He is
what sort of things he can do – what he’s good
completely in his element.
at – but really, I haven’t the faintest idea what
he’s really like, you know, what makes him P: You wouldn’t really expect that of a Nobel
tick, whereas if you tell me he’s a stamp peace prize winner, would you?
collector or a leading light of the local drama
S: Not really, and rock star Bill Wyman, of the
society, you’ve pretty much drawn a map of his
Rolling Stones, is also interesting. He goes
personality for me.
around with his metal detector – so far he’s
P: You think people reveal their souls through found about 300 old coins and even a couple of
their hobbies? Roman necklaces. But it’s not the actual
treasure itself that motivates him – I don’t think
S: Absolutely. One of the things you can see
he even keeps it – he’s just fascinated by the
straightaway, for example, is whether people
process of archaeology. I’ve heard that a friend
are happier in company or whether they prefer
is trying to get him to photograph the things he
solitude. So if they enjoy, let’s say, being in a
finds so he can publish a book about his
choir, it’s often as much the belonging to a
findings one day.
group with shared goals as about the singing.
P: Let’s hope he does!
P: And is the same true for people who like curling
up with a good book or knitting jumpers? It’s S: But perhaps the most interesting thing is the
not so much the activity itself but the fact they hobbies of leaders and presidents and so on.
want to get away ... The ex-Japanese prime minister, Koizumi, is
fanatical about Elvis Presley. No, really – he
S: Escape from the world for a bit, yes – be on
has released a CD with his favourite Elvis tunes
their own, usually in the fresh air, actually.
on and used to sing Elvis songs at karaoke, even
Look at Jarvis Cocker from the band Pulp – he
when he was on official visits, to the discomfort
likes nothing more than being out bird-
of his advisers, one imagines. The late North
watching. Or Brian May – he used to be with
Korean leader Kim Jong-il collected movies
the band Queen but he spends hours looking at
and was so mad about them he even kidnapped
the night sky through his telescope, being on his
an actress once so that she would make movies
own. Other famous people fly kites or model
for him! These interests completely take over
aeroplanes – I suppose it’s a release from the
their lives!
tension of being in the public eye all the time.
P: What does that tell us about our leaders?
P: And what about actors? I suppose they need
activities to occupy them while they’re filming. S: Probably that they have very addictive
personalities. Still, it’s better than doing
S: There’s a lot of hanging around, yes. You get to
nothing, I suppose, although we are difficult to
see some very glamorous film stars doing
live with. I say ‘we’ because I’m as bad – I
crosswords or Sudoku, or knitting quietly by
follow a rather indifferent football club around
themselves to pass the time. What seems to be
the country and it drives my wife mad. The
the most popular at the moment though is to

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thing is, you’d be surprised how many 4

otherwise normal people have a really weird
A: Right. Here we are ... I’m not so sure that this is
compulsion – buying rare books, bungee
a good idea, Miriam. They did say on the phone
jumping – you name it, somebody will do it!
that there wasn’t one. Why don’t we go to a
shop and buy a map of the area and then get
Progress test 5 someone to mark the bus routes on it for us?
1 B: Oh honestly, Tom, why should we spend money
How’s your general knowledge? Reckon you can needlessly? These places always have maps, it
outwit the competitors on the TV quiz shows? Well, stands to reason. I’m going to go up to that
Quiztime gives you the chance to show what you uniformed man over there and ask him to lend
can do. Beat the clock to answer questions on a me one, then we’ll take it next door to the
variety of topics, ranging from football to soap library and photocopy it.
operas, natural history to music, fashion to A: OK, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
computers. Throw the dice and race round the
5
board, collecting points as you go. Based on the hit
TV programme of the same name, Quiztime comes Look, I’m sorry. I accept it was a genuine mistake –
in both adult and junior versions and is guaranteed these things happen but surely, I’m entitled to some
to keep the whole family entertained for hours. kind of compensation. Had I known there was a
midday flight, I’d certainly have chosen it. But
2
when I spoke to your employee on the phone, she
A: All I can do is either give you a jacket in said there was only one flight a day and, as you
another size or issue a credit note. I can’t give know, with these cheap flights, once you’ve
you a cash refund unless the product is faulty in booked, you can’t change them. So we ended up
some way, I’m afraid, because you paid by having to get up really early in the morning in time
credit card. to catch the flight she’d booked us on, then had to
B: But supposing there isn’t a blue one in the wait ages at the other end because we were too
longer fitting? early – the rooms were still being cleaned.

A: Well, I expect there will be if you look – or we 6

can order one in for you. A credit note would be We’re on the train and we’ll be arriving around six
valid for up to six months. o’clock but what I want to know is whether we’ve
B: But that’s no good to me, it’s a 100-mile round got time for a round of golf before dinner or
trip from where I live. whether we’re down to eat at a specific time. Yes, I
know that you didn’t make the booking yourself but
A: I apologise, sir, but those are the rules. I think I read something about the rest of the
3 conference delegates arriving tomorrow morning,
so I’m not sure what arrangements have been made
The thing is, last month I had a service done and the for tonight. I seem to have mislaid all the
work alone cost me well over £100. And that’s paperwork somewhere, it’s probably on my desk
without the parts. What worries me is whether you somewhere – can you have a look? Or perhaps you
can trust them or not. I mean, I don’t know a thing could check with the organisers and then get back
about what goes on under the bonnet. How do I to me, please? I’m on the mobile number. Thanks.
know they’re not just ripping me off and saying
they’ve put new bits in when they haven’t? I 7
suppose you’ll say I should go to an evening class It’s the latest idea to hit London. A company called
or something to find out how the engine works but Q4U has launched a new service that takes the
quite honestly, I haven’t got either time or interest. I tedium out of waiting around – be it for
just wondered if you had any ideas on what I could prescriptions at the chemist’s, picking up dry
do. cleaning or queuing for theatre tickets. Anything
that people waste their time standing in a queue for.

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Customers pay the company £20 an hour and one of prisoners’ meals than on those for kids in school –
their professional queuers does the boring bit on that’s how much of a priority they’ve been! Thank
their behalf. The idea has caught on fastest when goodness something is finally being done to
there’s something to be picked up, especially improve this situation. Although this does involve
holiday documents. The company says that, given spending more, it will save us money in the long
mobile phone technology, the idea can actually be run.
applied to any time-wasting task. Who knows?
In order for obesity to be reduced, it is clear that
Maybe even the dentist’s waiting room!
supermarkets also need to take more responsibility
8 for the contents of the products they sell. True,
there is much more availability of low-fat food on
For both customers and e-commerce businesses, not
the shelves these days. Now the World Health
to mention the mail-order industry in general, the
Organization has issued new guidelines suggesting
question of delivery has long been an issue. The
that we cut the amount of sugar we consume daily
problem is simply this: that the people most likely
by as much as a half to bring it to a recommended
to spend serious money having a purchase delivered
limit of 25 grams per day. Which is less than the
are the least likely to be in when it arrives. After all,
amount you will get in just one can of some fizzy
they are the ones most liable to possess a job and a
drinks or ready-prepared meals.
busy life. It makes you think that if e-commerce had
been around first, then the invention of the walk-in People often ask me how come the French manage
shop would have been welcomed as a brilliant new to remain relatively slim despite their love of high-
idea. But, fortunately, it looks like a solution is at fat cheeses and meat. I’m inclined to think that the
hand. Tanya Wilde went to investigate ... key is their approach to food. Because they still
tend to have proper sit-down meals, they seem to be
Progress test 6 less tempted by the high-calorie snacks that are the
downfall of many other cultures.
Thanks for that lovely introduction, Helen. You are
doubtless aware that obesity – being grossly Also, in my view, the fact that lunchtime tends to
overweight – is one of the greatest challenges of the be the main meal in France, rather than dinner, is
21st century. The instances of this have tripled also a contributory fact. The earlier in the day
since the 80s and continue to rise at an alarming calories are consumed, the more opportunity there
rate, affecting around one in four citizens in Europe is to convert them into energy, so we should follow
and the USA. As well as causing physical and their example and try not to have a heavy meal in
psychological problems, excess weight drastically the evenings.
increases a person’s chances of developing serious Moving on to other parts of the world, why is it that
illnesses. Which is why ministers from the in Japan, for example, life expectancy is much
European Union convened a meeting this week, higher than anywhere else in the world? One of the
specifically to address the issue of healthcare and reasons could be that their diet is built around rice
how long governments will be able to afford to fund and fish and plentiful fruit and vegetables. There is
this, given the mounting cost of obesity-related little meat, animal fat or sweets and two thirds of
diseases. their calorie intake comes from carbohydrates, as
It’s actually not so much overweight adults that’s opposed to the UK or the USA, where fat accounts
the issue for me; it’s the young people who are for much more than the recommended quarter of
growing up eating so much junk food. In my view, our daily calories.
it’s the advertisements for all this stuff that are You would think the Inuit in Greenland had very
partly to blame because they target kids. They little in common with the Japanese, wouldn’t you?
should be banned! And unlike the Japanese, 60 percent of the calories
Obese 12-year-olds are eighty-two percent more eaten in Greenland do come from fat – even more
likely to be obese adults. Which is why the quality than we consume – and they eat surprisingly little
of school dinners must also be addressed. Most of fruit and vegetables. However, as in Japan, heart
you will be shocked when I tell you that this disease there is not that common. The difference is
government spends four times more per head on that the fat they eat is from oily fish such as salmon

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and mackerel. This type of unsaturated fat, called jobs with them. Unfortunately, I wasn’t always
omega three, we already know has huge benefits for allowed to report the things I heard and saw!
the bones. What has only recently been discovered
I: Are there rules about what you can and can’t
and is therefore less well known is that it is also
report, then?
said to improve mental health.
M: There are legal issues, obviously, with privacy
And for those of us who are worried about
and national security and so on. But there are
forgetting things, scientists are also suggesting that
also unwritten rules. I remember when Prince
turmeric, a key ingredient of curries, may be a
Charles was at university, he had four
major factor as to why elderly Indian people are
bodyguards looking after him but he sometimes
less likely to lose their memory than someone in the
used to try and lose them so he could meet a
western world. So perhaps we can learn ...
girlfriend. So he might go to the toilet in a pub
or restaurant and then get out through the
Exit test window. We always knew what he was up to
(I = Interviewer; M = Mike) but we never printed it – all the journalists
sympathised with his situation and didn’t want
I: My guest today, Mike Morgan, has been a to spoil things for him. It was an unspoken
leading journalist on a national newspaper for agreement amongst us.
more than 40 years. Mike, what made you
decide to take it up in the first place? I: So, what makes a good journalist?

M: I kind of drifted into it. I was always good at M: Well, obviously, you need to be confident and
English and liked writing stories and so on at articulate and able to get on with all kinds of
school, but I was initially quite keen on a career people. Being able to write well also helps.
in business and, in fact, I’d accepted a place to However good you are though, this is not as
study that at college. It was my father who important as having bags of energy and
talked me into doing journalism. He just commitment. When a big story breaks, you
thought I’d be better at it than I would at going have to drop everything you’re doing and work
into business. all hours if need be, often under tremendous
pressure.
I: What training did you get?
I: And do you still enjoy it?
M: In those days, you were taken on by the
newspaper straight from school as a kind of M: I do, although I won’t be sorry to retire. In my
message boy. Rather than doing a diploma in day, it was all going out and meeting people to
journalism as you would now, you had to pick get stories. Now it’s much more office based.
up the skills you needed actually on the job. We have to be computer literate and we do a lot
You had to follow a senior reporter around and of stuff that printers used to do. In the satellite
if he went to court, you’d go too and then write age, everything has to be instantaneous. It’s still
up the same story. He would look at it just as exciting but quite honestly, it’s not what
afterwards and give you feedback. It was some I set out to do.
time before anything of mine actually appeared I: Would you encourage young people to go in for
in the newspaper. it?
I: What was your first real reporting job? M: Let’s face it. Even working on a best-selling
M: I was a crime reporter, which meant I had to tabloid paper, you’re never going to make your
spend a lot of time with the police. In those fortune but you can earn a decent living. No
days, you just hung around them to find out two days are the same and it’s great to be one of
what was going on. They were terribly the first to know what’s going on. In some
suspicious of us at first, I remember, but we ways, it’s competitive, like all jobs, but
were given an enormous expense account to actually, that’s not such a problem as people
buy them drinks, which helped! And after a bit, might think because there’s also a great team
they felt sure enough of me to let me go out on spirit when you’re working on a story. So, as

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long as your family commitments aren’t going

to be a problem, given the long and
unpredictable hours – which is something that
has to be borne in mind – then, yes, I’d say, go
for it!
I: Mike, thanks for joining us today.
M: My pleasure.

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