UNIT 2

Sample 1:

Chris : Hi there, Alison. How are you getting on with your tutorial paper?

Alison : On, I haven’t finished yet. Chris, could you tell me how Parliament makes new laws?
This may help for my tutorial next week.

Chris : OK. I’d be glad to help. You know, new laws can start in either the House of Lords or the
House of Commons, They are usually purposed by the Government although they may be
proposed by ordinary members. A law which is being proposed is called a “bill” until it is
passed: then it becomes an “act” of Parliament.

Sample 2:

Victor : Right, so let’s design a plan. What ideas have you got so far?

Fumiko: Well, I wondered about doing something about relationships in the wild first – you
know, may be starting with animals

V: That’s quite a good idea… but I think the very first thing you need to do is give a definition of
what you mean by your key terms

F: Oh , so I need to say what terms like “relationship” mean?

V: Yeah. Um, you could just do a diagram – you know, like you do when you brainstorm
something

F: Oh yes – Ok, I‘ll do that first

V: Right. After that, you could do a bit of background on the animal world… Yes, a quick look
at relationship among ape groups would work.

F: Yeah –interesting – just to show that relationships are part of life… So that’s the definition
and background – what next?
V: Well, then you have to move on to people. Are you going to target a particular age group?
Or something else?

F: Well, I thought that first I would look at different… Well, there are so many places, aren’t
there. Where we form relationships? In the office

V: Yeah…within the family. Even toddlers aged 18 months or under have relationships

F: Yeah… so I’ll present those

V: You mean the ‘contexts’ for relationships

F: Yes, that’s the word

V: You do have to find a way to limit the scope of the study

F: Yeah, I could examine the 21-to-30 age group

V: Or the next thing might be to select one type of relationship and go with that

F: Good idea! Um, I’ll pick friendship and look at what makes that type of relationship work
and …

V: Well. Why don’t you go through the stages in a friendship? But I would keep it simple – just
select six

F: Six. Ok I guess I could fit my practical work in here

V: Yes, it’s the sort of area that you can canvas people’s opinion on. Ah, it might be good to get
some opinions from people over the age of 60

F: And – as a contrast – why don’t end by looking into the future? Maybe the future changes
in…

V: Yeah, or better still, the influences – you know, with all the social networking that goes on
now

F: Ok, influences… Oh, that’s been such a help, Victor. Thanks so much
V: No problem…I’d better go and get some work done myself

Exercise 1:

Firstly, if you do find any nuts which you think have been opened by dormice you need to record
their location as precisely as possible. You can use the grid references on a map, or you can
sketch your own map, but if you do, be sure to include landmarks or road names. It’s very
important that we know exactly where the shells came from. Then put the nut shells in a small
container. Any kind will do – a film box or match box – anything that prevents them from being
crushed in the post, And then finally, give them a label – just your name and contact details –
and send them to Action for Wildlife. When we receive them an expert will look at the shells to
confirm your identification. The address to send them to is …

Exercise 2:

ANDREW : What about the “ modular” course? What would I have to do for that?

MONICA : That’s where you get the opportunity to study full-time for short periods. That way
you can cover a lot of coursework and attend lectures and seminars during the day. And each
module lasts for one term, say, about twelve weeks at a time. There are obvious advantages in
this – the main one being that you can study in a much more intensive way, which suits some
people much better

ANDREW : And how many of these ‘ modules’ would I have to do to get the diploma?

MONICA : The current programme is two modules – and then you have to choose a topic to
work in more depth – but you can base that on your job, and so you don’t need to be away from
the office, and how long it takes is up to you

ANDREW : The important thing is that you don’t have to study and work. You can focus on one
thing at a time.

MONICA: Yes, I can see that. It certainly sounds attractive! It would be more expensive, though.
I mean, I’d have to support myself without pay for each module
ANDREW : That’s true, so that might be a problem for you. Look, why don’t you talk this over
with your employers and …

Exercise 3:

Riverdance is not just an expression of self-confidence, a kind of culturally interesting pop song.
It tells the story of a people through song and dance. It tells the story of the people whose spirit
was broken by an event which occurred in the middle of the last century but continued to affect
the society until 1961, the Great Famine.

What is a famine?

In 1840 the official population of Ireland was 8,000,000. They were largely poor, and living in
the countryside. They were beginning to have an interest in independence and perhaps had things
been different Ireland might have been independent much earlier, but there was a serious
problem in the agricultural system. All crops were grown to pay the rent of the land, and all that
was grown to eat was the potato. This was fine until the potato crop failed as it did from 1845 to
1848. The stories of what happened in those times live on in the popular culture of Ireland and I
won’t tell them here but the result was that 2 million people died or left the country by 1851.
When you realize that the population continued to go down until 1961 you can realize what a
disastrous effect this famine had on the people.

Compared with China, imagine if the famine of 1960 reduced the population by ¼ and it kept
falling to less than half of its pre-famine figure

Anybody with ideas left and went to England, America or Australia. The people left behind were
broken by their experiences and, in effect, the famine and its consequences put an end to all
serious development in the country until well into this century. The Irish in Ireland lost all hope
and self-confidence and much of our modern culture is about the sadness of that time and the
sorrow of saying goodbye to those who left and left well into this century. Ireland has the highest
emigration rate of any country in Europe for the last two centuries. We even have an expression
for this saying goodbye. It is called the “ American Wake” It means the

Exercise 4:
Alison : I see. What is the procedure that a “bill” has to go through?

Chris : The bill first of all goes through its First Reading as we call it. This just means that the
title of the bill is announced and a time is set for it to be discussed.

Alison : Yes, and then what is the next stage?

Chris : And the bill will go through the Second Reading which is really the Debate stage. The
bill may be rejected at this stage. If it is an important bill this may cause the Government to
resign, On the other hand, it may be passed, or there may be no vote

Alison : If the bill is passed, what will happen?

Chris : If the bill is passed, it goes on to the Committee stage where a small group of members
meet and discuss it in detail.

Alison : Do all the members have to attend the meeting?

Chris : It depends. For certain important bills the whole House can turn itself into a committee
which means that the detailed discussion is carried on by all the members. When the committee
has finished its work it reports the bill with all the changes that have been made to the House.
The bill is discussed again at this stage and more changes can be made. This is called the Report
stage

Alison : And then the bill becomes an “act” of Parliament?

Chris : No, the Report stage is not the last stage. The bill is taken for its Third Reading which is a
debate, just like the Second Reading. A vote is taken and the bill is either passed or rejected. If it
is passed, it goes the other House, not the one it was started in. So if the bill started in the House
of Commons, it would go at this point to the House of Lords

Alison : I see. The bill has to pass by both Houses no matter which house proposes the bill.

Chris : Yes. When both Houses have passes the bill., it goes to the Queen for the Royal Assent.
A bill may not become law until the Royal Assent has been given, but this does not mean that the
Queen decides on what will become law and what will not. It is understood that the Queen will
always accept bills which both Houses have passed. When the Queen gives her assent, the bill
becomes an act, and everyone that it affects must obey the new law

Alison : I see. Thank you for all that information

Exercise 5:

Hello, and thank you for asking me to your teachers’ meeting to talk about the Dinosaur Museum
and to tell you a bit about what you can do with your students there

Well, let me give you some of the basic information first. In regard to opening hours, we’re open
every day of the week from 9.00 am to 8.00 pm except on Mondays when we close at 1.30pm.
And in fact the only day in the year when we’re closed is on the 25th December. You can book a
guided tour for your school group any time that we’re open

If you bring a school group to the museum, when you arrive we ask you to remain with your
group in the car park. One or more of the tour guides will welcome you there and brief you about
what the tour will be about. We do this there because our entrance is quite small and we really
haven’t got much room for briefing groups in the exhibition area

As far as the amount of time you’ll need goes, if you bring a school group you should plan an
allowing a minimum of 90 minutes for the visit. This allows 15 minutes to get on and off the
coach, 45 minutes for the guided tour and 30 minutes for after-tour activities

If you’re going to have lunch at the museum you will, of course, have to allow more time. There
are two cafes in the museum, with seating for 80 people. If you want to eat there you’ll need to
reserve some seating, as they can get quite crowded at lunch time. Then outside the museum at
the back there are tables, and students can bring their own lunch and eat it there in the open air

Exercise 6:

Good morning, everyone. Today we’re going to make Apple and Blackberry Crumble. So, I hope
you’ve all bought your ingredients. Ready? Now, let’s get straight on with cooking. First, you
peel the apples, and cut them into slices. Ok ? Don’t forget to take the middle out of the apple.
Now, put the sliced apples in a pan and cook them with some of the sugar. In about 10 minutes
they should be nice and soft. Right? Now, mix the blackberries and apple together and put them
into the bottom of a baking dish. That’s fine…Now, the next thing to do is rub the flour, sugar
and butter together with your fingers until it’s in tiny pieces, like breadcrumbs. When it’s ready,
put it on the top of the apples and bake it all in the oven to 30 minutes

Homework 1:

Tutor : Morning, everyone. I thought we’d get together today and just talk about exam
techniques. I’m sure everyone has different ideas about them. So shall we find out what you do
first when you get into an exam?

Gerry : Check that you have the right exam paper?

Tutor : It sounds funny, but students do actually answer the wrong exam paper sometimes! So,
check that it’s your exam, first. Then what?

Gerry : Write you examination number on the answer sheet?

Tutor : Well. It might sound obvious, but writing your examination number at the beginning of
the exam can be a good idea. Apart from making sure the examiner knows who wrote the exam,
can anyone say why?

Mac : It can be help you relax

Tutor : Yes, that’s right. Doing something easy like that gives you chance to calm down. Right,
so what do you do next?

Barbara : Read the questions carefully?

Tutor : Well, before you read the questions, what should you do?

Mac : Read the instructions

Tutor : Yes. You should read the instructions next. You need to know how many questions you
have to answer, and whether you have to answer all the questions, or only some. What other
important information do you need to check before you start?

Gerry : How much time you have?

Tutor : Yes, Gerry’s right. You need to make sure that you know how long the exam is, so you
can manage your time properly

Homework 2:

Most of our exhibitions are free, but you will need a ticket for some of the specials ones, like the
3D film shows. So let me explain how you get a ticket online. Of course, you can do this directly
at the ticket office, but if there’s a long queue, you can book online on your mobile. So, go to our
home page and choose the ‘events’ button. Then click on the film title. That’ll take you to the
next window. In the right hand corner you’ll see a little calendar. Choose the date on the calendar
and then go to the next window. There’s a drop down box there for you to choose the time and
another one for the number of tickets. Careful on that page… there are different prices for adults
and children. When you’ve done that, go to the final page and choose your payment method

Homework 3:

Reza : Hi Mike

Mike : Hi Reza, this is Helen

Helen : Hello

Mike : we’re really pleases you’ve agreed to join us on this firm project.

Helen : Yes, your experience is going to be so useful

Reza : Well, I hope so. It’s the technical side I know best – lighting, sound and stuff

Make : But you think the script is OK?

Reza :Yes, I think it’s great! Um, have you decided where you’re going to shoot?

Helen : Well, there’s the water-mill scene at the end. And we’ve thought about some locations in
town we can use. They’re behind the shopping mall and on a couple of residential streets. And in
an empty shop on campus. It means we don’t have to worry about getting permission from shop
owner

Mike : So do you think we should go to all the locations with you?

Reza : It would be a good idea. We need to talk about the levels of background noise so we know
they’re all going to be reasonable places to film

Mike : But the sounds of traffic will make it more natural

Helen : I think Reza means things like a aeroplanes, trains and so on that would mean we have to
stop filming

Reza : Exactly. And also I’ll make notes for myself about what lighting I’m going to need. I
think the university department has a good range of equipment, but I’ll need to make a list for
each location for my own reference. Anyway, once we’ve had a look round you can do the
roadworks check

Mike : What do you mean

Reza : You need to find out about building work and roadworks, because you could start filming
one day and come back in the morning to find one of the roads has been dug up. The local
council have to be informed about things like that so you can find out from them

Mike : Ok. Then I think we need to work from the script and put together a list of all the scenes
and decide which ones we’re going to film when. We need to prepare the shooting schedule, day
by day

Reza : You’re right. Then when you know how long filming is going to last, you can tell
everyone when they’re needed

Helen : Ok, so as soon as we can, we’ll audition, and then when we contact people to offer them
parts we can send the exact dates and make really sure they are free. Because often the actors are
all enthusiastic but then when you try to pin them down about whether they’re really free at that
time, you find they’ve got exams or something or they’re off to a festival just before and you
have to rush about looking for replacements
Mike : then, we need people who can take over the main parts if one of our stars falls ill or
something

Reza : Yes, I agree. So offer the main parts to the people we really want, and then look at other
volunteers who were OK.

Helen : Yes. We can select the understudies once the main roles have been confirmed, So, once
we’ve got that sorted and we’ve held all the rehearsals of the main scenes, we’ll be ready to start
filming

Reza : Yes, that sounds goof. Anything else?

Mike : Er, well, just housekeeping, really. We don’t actually need costumes because actors will
wear their own clothes. My family has agreed to lend us some pieces of furniture which we need,
so we’ll go and fetch those the weekend before we start

Helen : We’ll provide food and drink during shooting so I’m going to borrow some cool-boxes

Mike : and I’ve got a little van. Most of the locations are within walking distance of the halls of
residence anyway. The only one further away is the water-mill

Reza : Ah, yes, can you tell me about that

Mike : Um, ok. Er, hang on a minute, I’ll get my notes. There’s a plan in them

Homework 4:

Tutor : By the way, do you know about our Business Centre?

Brian : No. What’s that?

Tutor : It’s training resource – a collection of materials for people to study on their own, or use in
their own organizations.

Brian : Uhuh. You mean books and videos?

Tutor : Yes, and manuals for self-study. Plus a lot of computer-based materials, so people can
work through them at their own speed, and repeat anything they aren’t sure about. And you can
hire laptops to use in your own home or workplace as well as printers that you can take away.

Brian: Does it have anything that I could use to improve my study skills? I don’t have much idea
about report writing, and I’m sure I’ll need it on the course

Tutor : Oh, yes, there’s plenty of useful material. Just ask one of the staff

Brian : Does the centre cover all the main areas of business?

Tutor : Yes, topics like finance and of course marketing – that’s a popular one. Local managers
seem to queue up to borrow the videos!

Brian : So, it isn’t just for students, then?

Tutor : No, it’s for members only, but anyone can join

Brian : How much does it cost?

Tutor : £100 a year for a company, and £50 for an individual, with no discount for students, I’m
afraid

Brian : That’s very helpful. Well, I think that’s all. I’d better go home and fill in the enrolment
form. Thanks for all your help

Tutor : You’re welcome. Goodbye

Brian : Goodbye