VOCABULARY

Recording 1a
Speaker A:
On Mondays at school a group of us always
talk about whatever movies we saw at the
weekend. On Saturdays I often get together
with my classmates and we see all the latest
releases together. I can’t remember the last
time I saw a film with my parents – we just
don’t have much in common any more.
Speaker B:
My parents are both teachers so you’d
imagine I’d have no trouble at all
academically. When I was little it was great
because we had a really great relationship.
But nowadays all we seem to do is argue and
that causes a lot of conflict between us, so I
don’t really feel I can go to them for help. My
friends aren’t much help either as they’ve all
got the same problem. Thank goodness I get
on really well with my tutor at university.
She’s very approachable and, if I’m
struggling with an assignment, I find her
advice really helps me.
Speaker C:
My parents are quite old so I feel as though
they’re out of touch with the modern world.
They don’t seem to have any idea of what
things cost. I’m hoping to get a car in the next
few months but I’ll be taking my older
brother along to help. We used to fight a lot
when we were growing up but there’s a really
close bond between us now. He’s already had
a few cars so I’m sure he’ll be a great help.
Speaker D:
I play the violin and the piano and my
grandad is a great cello player. A lot of my
friends at school listen to all the popular
bands and singers, but my tastes are totally
different. I prefer classical music and they
just don’t understand it at all. Luckily
Grandad shares my taste, so we often buy
CDs and talk about them together.
Recording 1b
Teacher:
Tell me about your family.
Student:
Well, my immediate family is relatively
small, just my parents, my two brothers and
me. But both of my parents come from very
large families so my extended family is very
large – I have 25 cousins! Our family
gatherings are pretty chaotic, but fun. We’re a
very close-knit family. Even though we don’t
live together any more, the family ties are still
very strong. When we were little there wasn’t
very much sibling rivalry between us. I think
it’s because we had a very stable upbringing.
Both of my parents played a very active role
in our school life, and our home life, and they
taught us to resolve our conflicts in a very fair
way. I consider myself very lucky.
Teacher:
Who are you most similar to in your family?
Student:
Well, you can see a very clear family
resemblance between my brothers and me,
but everyone tells me that the physical
resemblance between me and my maternal
grandmother is very striking. Sadly, I never
got to meet her because she died before I was
born. But I’ve seen photographs of her at my
age and we’re quite alike. Other than that, I
think I have my father’s temperament – we’re
both very stubborn! But, thankfully, I also
inherited his mathematical brain!
Teacher:
And what do you think it takes to be a good
parent?
Student:
Well, I don’t think just anyone can be a good
parent. Not everyone has the right instincts. I
think I have a very strong maternal instinct,
because I love taking care of small children.
So I hope to become a mother one day. I
think it takes a great deal of patience and
love.
Recording 1c
Narrator:
You will hear the director of a child-care
centre talking to the parent of a new child.
Director:
Good morning, my name is Bob Ferguson
and I’m the director of Ascot Child Care
Centre.
Mother:
Good morning, I’m Sallyanne Cullen. I made
an appointment to enrol my daughter.
Director:
That’s right, I’ve got the application form
right here. Now, first I need some personal
details. So the family name is Cullen, is that
right?
Mother:
That’s right.
Director:
Now, what about your daughter, what does
she like to be called?
Mother:
Oh, her name is Alexandra, but we all just
call her Alex, A-L-E-X.
Director:
Great. As you know, we organise the
children into different age groups. There’s the
babies’ group, the toddlers, aged 2 to 3, and
the pre-schoolers – they’re aged 4 to 5. How
old is your daughter?
Mother:
Well, she’d go into the toddler group – she’s
just turned three.
Director:
And we always like to make a note of our
children’s birthdays so we can celebrate it all
together if they are at the centre on that day.
When was she born?
Mother:
Oh, erm, the 8 of November.
Director:
Fine. And we also find it’s a great help to
know about siblings – sometimes, a problem
at the centre can be related to problems with a
sibling. Does she have any brothers or sisters?
Mother:
Yes, a brother, Fraser. He’s two years older.
Director:
So that would make him five, is that right?
Mother:
Yes, that’s right.
Director:
Fine. Now, we also need a contact address.
Where do you live?
Mother:
It’s 108 Park Road, that’s P-A-R-K,
Maidstone.
Director:
Good. Now, last of all, we need a telephone
number we can call if there are any problems.
Mother:
Oh, well, I’ll be at work and so will my
husband, so the best number to call is
34678890.
Director:
Right, and is that a close relative?
Mother:
Yes, it’s my mother-in-law’s number.
Director:
We prefer to make a note of how the person
is related to the child, so I’ll write down
‘grandmother’.
Mother:
Yes, that does make more sense!
Director:
Now, that’s all of the personal details. We
also like to try and get a picture of your
child’s personal development. Can you tell
me if there are any specific problems she’s
having? For example, does she get on well
with other children? Is sleeping a problem?
Mother:
Oh, she gets on well with others, I think, but
she does have trouble sleeping. We gave up
her daytime nap a long time ago!
Director:
That’s good to know, I’ll make a note of that.
She can just have some quiet time while the
others are resting if she likes.
Mother:
That should be fine. She enjoys drawing
quietly.
Director:
Right. Now what about other skills? We
occasionally take the children swimming,
fully supervised of course, and we only go in
a paddling pool as we don’t expect them to
swim by themselves yet. Does your daughter
need a lot of help getting changed?
Mother:
No, not at all. In fact she’s been able to get
dressed in the mornings for over a year now,
so no problems there!
Director:
That must be a big help for you! Now, what
about the child-care arrangements? Are there
any specific days you require?
Mother:
Well, I work Monday to Wednesday, but my
mother-in-law has agreed to look after her on
Wednesdays.
Director:
So does that mean that you’ll just need
Monday and Tuesday for now?
Mother:
That’s right.
Director:
And what about the pick-up time? We offer
extended hours for parents who work a great
distance away.
Mother:
Hmm ... I work until 3 o’clock, but it takes
me about half an hour to drive home, so
ideally I’d like to pick her up at four if that’s
OK.
Director:
That will be fine. Now is there any other
information you’d like to...
 GRAMMAR

Recording 1a

Interviewer: Excuse me. I’m conducting a

survey on how people spend their free time.
Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?

Pete: Oh, er, OK. I’m just waiting for my

friends – they’re always late, so I should have
a few minutes!

Interviewer: Right, now, can I have your

name?

Pete: It’s Peter, Peter Harley – H-A-R-L-E-

Y.
Interviewer: And do you work or are you a
student, Peter?

Pete: Well, both actually. I’m studying really

hard for my exams this month – I’m doing
maths at university – but I also help my
parents out. They own a restaurant and I work
there as a waiter in the evenings, so I don’t
get a lot of free time during the week.

Interviewer: It sounds as if you’re very busy.

Pete: Yes, I am, and my mum’s always

saying I don’t help enough in the restaurant!
But I do manage to find some free time most
days.
Interviewer: Great. Now, can you have a
look at this list and tell me whether you do
any of these things and if so, how often?

Pete: Sure. OK, well, I love music and I’m

learning to play the piano. I get up really
early and practise for an hour or so just about
every day. I also play the guitar in a band
with some other friends. We used to practise
together at least three times a week but these
days we only manage to meet about once
every two weeks.

Interviewer: What about the next thing on

the list: computer games? I assume you’re too
busy to play them.
Pete: Well, I used to play them all the time
but now I’m too busy studying and I don’t
miss them at all!

Interviewer: And do you use a computer for

other things?

Pete: I use the Internet just about every day

for my studies, and I also use it to keep in
touch with my friends and family. My cousin
is living in Thailand at the moment and he
sends me regular emails to let me know how
much fun he’s having! He’s always visiting
exciting places.
Interviewer: Yes, the Internet is making it
much easier for people to stay in touch with
each other. Now, how about team sport?

Pete: Actually, I joined the local football

team when I was at school and I still play
once a month provided I can get to training. I
much prefer playing football to watching it on
TV, though I do occasionally watch a match
if there’s a big final or something.

Interviewer: What about going to watch live

matches?

Pete: I’d love to be able to afford to go every

week because I support my local team, but
students don’t generally have much money,
you know! I can’t remember the last time I
went to a live match. Oh, sorry, I can see my
friends – I have to go now.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time.

Recording 1b

Man: Westfield Sports Centre, can I help

you?

Woman: Yes, I hope so. I’ve recently moved

to the area and I want to do some sports
activities.

Man: Well, we have excellent facilities,

including a new gymnasium and several
tennis courts. Our tennis team are always
looking for new people.

Woman: Oh, I was never any good at

gymnastics and I don’t think I’ve got the time
to put into learning tennis. No, I’m more
interested in swimming, and I’d also like to
take a few yoga classes if I can.

Man: OK, well, we have three swimming

pools: an Olympic size 50 metre pool and a
25 metre pool, which are both outdoors, and a
heated indoor pool, which is just 15 metres
long but is very popular with our members in
the winter!

Woman: I bet it is! Do members have to pay

to use the pools?

Man: Well, members don’t pay for the pools

if they just want to swim laps on their own.
We even offer complimentary classes for
beginners, but we do charge a small fee if you
want to take part in the advanced training
sessions, and there’s also a fee for our water-
based keep-fit class.

Woman: Right. And would I need to book

any of the facilities or can I just come
whenever I want?

Man: We don’t actually allow anyone to

book the swimming lanes or the gym
equipment, but for safety reasons we can only
have a maximum of seven people in the sauna
at any one time, so you do need to put your
name on the list for that.

Woman: Fine. Now, I’d also really like to

take a yoga class. Do you have any?
Man: Yes. There are classes on Monday,
Tuesday and Friday in the morning from ten
till eleven, and then every Saturday and
Sunday in the evening. Those classes are a bit
longer, starting at six and finishing at seven
thirty.

Woman: Right, I’ll just make a note of that.

So, does that mean that if I enrol I can come
on each of those days?

Man: No, each day is a different level, so you

only come once a week.

Woman: Oh, I see. Well, I’ve been doing

yoga for a little while now, but I am still
finding it quite difficult. Which level do you
think I should choose?

Man: Most people start at the lowest level,

and then you can talk to the instructor about
changing if you think it’s too easy.

Woman: OK. How much are the classes?

Man: They’re £1.50 an hour for members.

Woman: Great. Now, I’d like to come in and

look at the facilities. Would someone be able
to show me around?

Man: Yes, no problem.

Woman: Who should I ask for?

Man: Ask for me. My name is John Doherty
– that’s D O H E R T Y.

Woman: And should I just ask for you at the

reception?

Man: Actually, my office is on a different

level. Take the lift up to level one and you’ll
see my name on the door right in front of you.

Woman: Great. I’d like to come tomorrow if

that’s OK. What time suits you?

Man: Well, I have appointments from nine to

ten thirty, so could you make it eleven?

Woman: I’m sure that will be fine, but can I

just take your direct number in case
something else crops up?
Man: That’s a good idea – my number’s
0117 965 478.

Woman: Great. I think that’s everything, so

I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh, my name’s Alison
Martin, by the way.

Man: Thanks, Alison. See you tomorrow.