SECTION 1

1 truck
2 technology
3 bird
4 8.99
5 boxes
6 temperature
7 RIMONA
8 postage
9 gift
10 message

Section 1
Hello, Ramona Toys. You're through to Tracy. How can I help you?
Good morning. I want to buy birthday presents for my sister's children. She's very keen on
educational toys. Do you sell that sort of thing?
Yes. Actually, we specialize in those types of toys. How old are the children?
Well, Peter, he's the oldest. He's going to be 9 next week.
Did you have anything particular in mind for him?
I got him a jigsaw last year, but I'd like to get him something a bit more challenging this time.
Perhaps something he could make himself.
How about a model truck? Might that be any good? It's made of wood. It comes in a kit, so you
get all the pieces. And then there are the electrical components.
Oh, it's not just mechanical, then.
Oh, no. It's quite sophisticated. It's recommended for children over 8. And you also get a sheet
of stickers to decorate it.
That sounds just up his street. And I'm sure it'd help him to understand technology, even if it's
only basic.
Well, yes. And it is a change from the chemistry sets we used to get.
You had one of those too, did you? What about price?
It's 17 pound 50.
It's not too expensive then. I could get him something else as well. He's always been interested
in animals.
How about a book about jungle animals?
I think he's already got one.
OK. how about a bird feeder instead? That's a kit as well. You even get some paints and a brush
so you can decorate it how you like.
Well, that sounds just the thing. And it'll give him contact with wildlife.
Oh, I've just noticed something else in its favour. It's only 8.99 now. It's been reduced from
14.50.
Even better. I'm sure my nephew would like both those things. Now, I've also got to find some...
Something for Natalie. That's his sister. She's going to be sick soon.
Well, one item that we've just added to our catalogue is a chocolate pack.
That doesn't sound very educational. Don't you just eat it?
Not straight away. It's a kit for making individual chocolates. You heat the chocolate and pour it
into special moulds. They're provided as well. And you also get some little boxes to put the
chocolates in once you've made them.
Oh, I see. I suppose it helps to develop artistic skills, then.
Yes. And it says here that it helps children to understand how temperature can affect things.
Seeing chocolate melt and solidify, I suppose. It's just six pounds.
OK, that's great. Thank you for all your suggestions.
___
Can I just ask you about ordering?
Well, you can order by phone if you like, or we have a website.
Oh, can you give me the web address, please?
Of course. It's very simple. It's just [Link].
How do you spell that? Is it R-E-M-O-N-A?
It's R-I-M at the beginning.
OK.
And then, as you already know what you want, you could just do a search.
OK.
Oh, and I've just seen here... If you order the things before Friday, you don't have to pay for
postage. There's a special offer on at the moment.
Oh, good. And I'd probably get the presents sent straight to them. So can I get them wrapped?
You can. Click on packaging options and you just select gift by ticking one of the boxes. Then it'll
be wrapped specially.
OK, but how will they know who the things are from? Will I be able to send a message?
Yes, you can. That option's on the same menu.
Okay. Well, thanks very much. I'm sure they're going to love all their...

Section 2
Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14. Hello.

(9:17 - 9:52)

Listeners to this programme will know that we're very keen to foster links within communities,
and we think we've hit on a winning idea. I'm going to tell you about a scheme which has been
set up as part of our Communities in Action programme for those who'd like to be put in touch
with people from different countries and cultures. As the name Connections suggests, we're
hoping that the scheme will introduce people who live in this country who will act as hosts to
people who've recently arrived here to study or to work for a limited period of time, who will be
their guests.

(9:53 - 10:21)

Now, if you've got a spare room in your house or flat, you might like to be a host and have
someone stay for a weekend. I should point out that no money is involved as all our hosts are
unpaid, but you should not have too much extra expense other than one more person joining
you at mealtimes. In the course of their studies or work in this country, some people rarely get
the opportunity to socialise.

(10:21 - 10:55)

There may be language problems or feelings of shyness, which mean that whatever their age,
people can become quite lonely or isolated. If you're prepared to invite someone into your home,
you can rely on Connections for a personal introduction and the timing of the invitation will be to
suit you. As I said, the stay is always over a weekend for two or three nights and, as the host,
the arrangements you make for your visitor will depend on your other commitments.

(10:56 - 11:35)

If you're listening to this programme and you would like to take advantage of what Connections
can offer a guest, then what I'm going on to say will apply to you. So, what will you, the guest,
get out of a visit? You'll gain an insight into the customs and way of life of the country you're
staying in and you'll enjoy home-cooked meals and be able to ask questions about things which
interest you or perhaps even puzzle you. It's early days, but if a weekend stay goes well,
relationships might develop over time and turn into lasting and genuine friendships.

(11:36 - 12:39)

This would undoubtedly be of advantage to the whole community as we all become more aware
of the ways in which people in different countries live their lives. There's also the possibility that
when you return to your own country, you might one day want to invite your hosts to stay with
you. Before you hear the rest of the programme, you have some time to look at questions 15 to
20 on page 4. Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.

(12:43 - 13:00)

Right, I hope I've given you enough information on the scheme and what we're setting out to do.
I'll now deal with the process for applying, if you'd like to be involved from the point of view of a
guest. So have a pencil and some paper ready to jot down what you need to do.

(13:01 - 13:20)

Connections is broken up into various small sections which will deal with your application
through the different stages. To begin with, we ask you to make a phone call to our vetting
people. We need to know some basic information about you, like how long you're intending to be
in this country.

(13:21 - 13:37)

The minimum time limit is three months. Whether you're working or studying, we require a
reference, which must be from the person in authority who you're working with or studying
under. This will be used for an identity check.

(13:38 - 14:01)

Once that's been sent to the authorities and approved, we'll email you an application form which
you can download. You should complete this and return it with two recent passport-sized
photographs of yourself. One photo will be held in our records and the other will be sent to your
host family prior to your first weekend visit.

(14:02 - 14:32)

Our centre manager will get back to you within a week of receiving your form to let you know
that we have it, and if we think there's a suitable match on our files, someone from our interview
team will contact you for a face-to-face meeting with a member of staff. At that point, you should
have some idea of weekend dates when you're free, which we can put to the host family.
However, decisions are not made at the meeting, but you can expect to hear the result from us
in a couple of days.

(14:33 - 16:21)

Now, the process for those of you interested in welcoming... That is the end of Section 2. You
now have half a minute to check your answers.

Section 3
Now turn to Section 3 on page 5. Section 3. You will hear two health science students called
Elliot and Beth discussing research on climate change and allergies. First, you have some time
to look at questions 21 to 25 on page 5. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.

(16:25 - 16:46)

Have you had a chance to look at the information for our project yet, Beth? I've had a look at
most of the stuff on the relationship between climate change and allergies and at the role played
by pollen from flowering plants and trees. Yeah, me too. The main message is that seasonal
allergies seem to be getting worse.

(16:46 - 17:28)

In just the last 20 years, the amount of pollen that's produced by the flowers on birch trees has
tripled and one in four people suffers from either hay fever or asthma, which is triggered by
pollen. I read something about allergy sufferers being more likely to have a vitamin D deficiency
because we no longer take cod liver oil as a vitamin supplement like many people used to do in
the 1950s in Britain and since then allergies have quadrupled in most European countries. But it
was only in Britain that cod liver oil was so popular so that argument doesn't really make sense.

(17:28 - 17:43)

No, it doesn't seem that relevant. What seems to be happening now is that an increasing
number of people are getting their first attack in their 40s and 50s. That must be because of the
link with climate change causing rising temperatures.

(17:43 - 18:12)

But CO2 levels are seriously affecting pollen counts too. As much as milder winters. Definitely.

CO2 helps stimulate plant growth and several recent studies have shown that when plants are
exposed to more CO2, they produce more pollen. Really? So people might experience more
severe allergic symptoms in future? That's right. And another factor is that the pollen season is
changing.

(18:12 - 18:25)

Yes, scientists are predicting spring will come five weeks earlier by 2130. That's in the long term.
But that doesn't mean that spring will come earlier every year.

(18:26 - 18:36)

Look at last winter. That was really cold until March and the pollen season was delayed.
Whereas this year spring came earlier and lasted longer.

(18:37 - 18:47)

Right. And another thing we should mention is ragweed. As an example of a plant species
moving into new areas as a result of climate change.

(18:47 - 19:02)

Yes. In the US it's already the major allergen affecting millions of people in August and
September. But we're starting to see it grow in Europe for the first time, which is really worrying
because it's so allergenic.

(19:02 - 20:21)

The problem with tree pollen is also worse in cities because there are so many hard surfaces
around and the pollen doesn't get absorbed so much, just stays in the air. Yeah. Wasn't the
pollen shown to be three times higher in one city? I think so.
So because of this, many cities have started to ban the planting of certain types of trees. Before
you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30 on page 6.
Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30. So shall we look at the different data tables for
seasonal changes for pollen in Europe? OK, but I think we should just focus on the trees and
plants which we have the most data for.

(20:22 - 20:55)

So that's oak trees and birch trees and grass. Yes, that makes it more manageable. Shall we go
through the data for each country in detail and pick out anything interesting? All right.

So starting with Austria. Well, here we've only got data for birch pollen. I wonder why there's no
data for oak or grass? Hmm.

It would be interesting to compare with neighbouring countries. True. The picture in France is
unusual.

(20:55 - 21:10)

Yes. The pollen season starts earlier for both oak and birch, but it doesn't start any earlier for
grass. I wonder why that is? In the Netherlands, we've got complete data for all three plants.

(21:10 - 21:56)

So what does it show? Grass and birch pollen are only starting a few days earlier, but oak pollen
is starting much earlier. Eighteen days, in fact. Hmm, that's unusual.

There's not such a big difference in other countries. No. Switzerland's an interesting case.

The pollen season starts here earlier than in the past for oak, birch and grass. Yeah, from 21
days to 14 days earlier. Yeah.

The UK shows a different picture again. Yeah. Here the problem is that wet summers have
extended the grass pollen season from five weeks to eight weeks, which is bad news for allergy
sufferers.

(21:56 - 23:50)

Right. Well, I think we should have another look. That is the end of section 3. You now have half
a minute to check your answers.

Section 4
Now turn to section 4 on page 7. You will hear a student who is studying food science giving a
presentation on a spice called saffron. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

(23:53 - 24:33)

For my investigation into the history and uses of plant products, I have focused on the cultivation
and production of saffron, an expensive bright yellow spice made from crocus flowers. Unlike
most other species of crocus, the saffron crocus doesn't flower in February or March, but in
October, when it produces fragrant lilac-colored flowers, which are harvested at that time.
During the harvest, the flower petals are discarded and only the stigmas, the three dark orange
or red-colored reproductive parts of the flower, are commercially used.

(24:34 - 25:12)

One person must pick for almost 400 hours to produce just one kilo of saffron, and amazingly, to
produce just 50 grams, it takes about 14,000 individual stigmas. No wonder the spice is so
expensive! After this painstaking harvesting, and to preserve the intensive taste, smell, and color
of the product, the stigmas are subject to a process of drying, by which some 98% of their
moisture content is removed. This makes it possible to keep saffron on the shelf to be used for
many years.

(25:13 - 25:37)

The highly prized spice is famous for the flavor and aroma it imparts, which are often compared
to that of honey. Saffron is also prized for its rich golden color, which makes food look so
tempting and indulgent. If you want to buy some of this fabled spice, you will find that saffron is
either sold as whole stigmas or ground up as a powder.

(25:42 - 26:21)

Today, saffron is used in both Eastern and Western cuisines, to add both color and flavor to an
enormous range of recipes, though cooks would agree that it is most commonly added to
recipes for the cooking of rice, because somehow it seems to complement such dishes
perfectly. It is found to varying degrees in Italian, Spanish, Indian, and Iranian food. Although
food preparation is its most common present-day use, medical research indicates that saffron
may have important applications as a drug in the clinical treatment of a number of eye disorders.

(26:22 - 26:52)

Patients given saffron in their regular diet seem to show remarkable signs of recovery from
serious conditions. And although scientists are still unsure of exactly why, recent experiments
with laboratory rats have shown saffron to be effective in protecting the animals from damage
caused when they are exposed to potentially harmful lights. Now, I'd like to give a few examples
of how saffron has been used since ancient times.

(26:53 - 27:25)

Some of the earliest evidence of saffron cultivation comes from archaeological excavations
dating back 4,000 years on the island of Crete, where paintings and other artifacts have been
found indicating that women wore beautiful saffron-colored clothes. This is the earliest evidence
of saffron being used as a dye. During the Roman Empire, saffron oil was produced, which,
because of both its color and aroma, was used to create cosmetics.

(27:26 - 27:40)

But only the wealthiest citizens could afford these. Another use of saffron was to be found in the
public baths. There, saffron was used as a perfume to keep the places smelling fresh and
aromatic.

(27:40 - 28:10)
It is even said that the streets of Rome were strewn with saffron threads to greet Emperor Nero
as an extravagant and sweet-smelling gesture when he made a triumphal entrance into the city.
Other parts of the ancient world used saffron extensively. One of the most well-known examples
was in Persia, which is modern-day Iran, where saffron was a vital part of the process of
manufacturing carpets.

(28:10 - 28:31)

Being used as a traditional dye, along with other natural products like berries and minerals. To
end my presentation, I'd like to read out a recipe written by… That is the end of Part 4. You now
have one minute to check your answers to Part 4.