Long Conversations

0806 LC1 W: Gosh! Have you seen this, Richard? M: See what? W: In the paper. It says, there is a man going around pretending he’s from the electricity board. He’s been calling at people’s homes, saying he is coming to check that all their appliances are safe. Then he gets around them to make him a cup of tea, and while they are out of the room he steals their money, handbag whatever and makes off with it.

M: But you know, Jane, it’s partly their own fault; you should never let anyone like that in unless you’re expecting them. W: It’s all very well to say that. But someone comes to the door, and says electricity or gas and you automatically think they are OK, especially if they flash a card to you. M: Does this man have an ID then? W: Yes, that’s just it. It seems he used to work for the electricity board at one time, according to the paper, the police are warning people especially pensioners not to admit anyone unless they have an appointment.

It’s a bit sad. One old lady told them she’d just been to the post-office to draw her pension when he called. She said he must have followed her home. He stole the whole lot. M: But what does he look like? Surely they must have a description. W: Oh, yes they have. Let’s see, in his thirties, tall, bushy dark hair, slight northern accent, sounds a bit like you actually.

19. What does the woman want the man to read in the newspaper? 20. How did the man mentioned in the newspaper try to win further trust from the victims? 21. What is the warning from the police? 22. What does the woman speaker tell us about the old lady?

0812 LC2 W: Oh, where are we going? M: I want to show you something. W: I know, but what is it? M: A farm. It's just down this road. It's a small place, but at least it would be our own. W: A farm? How can we afford to buy a farm? M: It isn't very large, only 40 acres. We wouldn't have to pay very much right now. W: Is there a house on the place?

M: A small one, two bedrooms, but it needs to be fixed up a little. I can do the job myself. W: OK. Is there enough space for a kitchen garden? M: There is about half an acre around the house. That's plenty of space. W: Then we can grow our own fresh vegetables. And maybe keep a few chickens, couldn't we? M: Yes, and we can probably grow a lot of our own food. W: What are you thinking about growing, if we do take this place?

M: Well, it really isn't big enough for corn. I thought we might try to raise a crop of potatoes. W: Potatoes? There are a lot of work. M: We are used to hard work, aren't we? W: Yes, we are, but the money. Do we have enough to get started? It seems like a dream. M: I think we've saved enough. We can pay a little on the farm and maybe put a few dollars down on the tractor, too.

Q 22: What are the speakers going to do at the time of the conversation? Q 23: What does the man say about the farm? Q 24: Why does the man intend to grow potatoes rather than corn on the farm? Q 25: What is the woman's greatest concern about the man's plan?

0906 LC one W: Bob, do you know who I saw the other day? Old Jake, looking terribly depressed. Did he get pensioned off at last? M: Yes. They made him retire after 50 years at sea. He is pretty upset about it, but what can you do? He really is past it W: He is all alone, isn’t he? M: Yes, his wife has been dead for years. They had one daughter, Dories. But she went off to town as soon as she left school. And he hasn’t heard from her since. I hear she is making good money as a model.

W: Maybe someone could get in touch with her. Get her to come back for a while to help? M: I don’t suppose she come. She never got on with her father. He is bit of a tough character and she is rather selfish. Oh, I expect old Jake will get by. He is healthy at least, comes into a clinic for a check regularly. W: Are you his doctor? M: No, my partner doctor Johnson is. W: That bad-tempered old thing?

M: Oh, he isn’t really bad-tempered. He just looks it. He is an excellent doctor, taught me a lot, and he has a very nice family. His wife invites me over there to supper every week. Very pleasant. W: yes. I teach their daughter Pen at school. She is a bit careless and lazy about her school work, but a bright little thing and very popular with her age group.

19. Why does old Jake look terribly depressed? 20. What do we learn about Jake’s wife? 21. What does the man say about Jake’s daughter? 22. What does the man say about Jake’s doctor?

1006 LC one W: What sort of hours do you work, Steve? M: Well, I have to work very long hours, about 11 hours a day. W: What time do you start? M: I work 9 to 3. Then I start again at 5:30 and work until 11. Six days a week. So I have to work very unsocial hours. W: And do you have to work at the weekend? M: Oh, yes, that’s our busiest time. I get Wednesdays off.

W: What are the things you have to do, and the things you don’t have to do? M: Eh, I don’t have to do the washing-up, so that’s good. I have to wear white and I have to keep everything in the kitchen totally clean. W: What’s hard about the job? M: You’re standing up all the time. When we’re busy, people get angry and sharp. But that’s normal. W: How did you learn the profession? M: Well, I did a two year course at college. In the first year, we had to learn the basics. And then we had to take exams.

W: Was it easy to find a job? M: I wrote to about six hotels. And one of them gave me my first job. So I didn’t have to wait too long. W: And what’s the secret of being good at your job? M: Attention to detail. You have to love it. You have to show passion for it. W: And what are your plans for the future? M: I want to have my own place when the time is right.

19. What does the man say about his job? 20. What does the man think is the hardest part of his job? 21. Where did the man get his first job after graduation? 22. What does the man say is important to being good at his job?

1006 LC Two W: Now you’ve seen this table of figures about the pocket money children in Britain get? M: Yes. I thought it was quite interesting, but I don’t quite understand the column entitled “change”. Can you explain what it means? W: Well, I think it means the change from the year before. I’m not a mathematician, but I assume the rise from 72p to 90p, is the rise of 25%. M: Oh, yes, I see. And the inflation rate is there for comparison.

W: Yes. Why do you think the rise in pocket money is often higher than inflation? M: I’m sorry, I’ve no idea. Perhaps parents in Britain are too generous. W: Perhaps they are. But it looks as if children were a lot better off in 2001 than they were in That’s strange, isn’t it? And they seemed to have been better off in 2003 than they are now. I wonder why that is. M: Yes, I don’t understand that at all.

W: Anyway, if you had children, how much pocket money would you give them? M: I don’t know. I think I probably give them two pounds a week. W: Would you? And what would you expect them to do with it? M: Well, out of that they have to buy some small personal things. But I wouldn’t expect them to save to buy their own socks for example. W: Yes. By the way, do most children in your country get pocket money? M: Yeah, they do.

Q 23: What is the table of figures about? Q 24: What do we learn from the conversation about British children’s pocket money? Q 25: Supposing the man had children, what would he expect them to do with their pocket money?