Task 2. Retell the text (Time for preparation-2 min., time for answering-1 min.).

SPEAKING (10 min.)

Task 1. Discuss on the given situation. (Time for preparation- 2 min., time for answering- 2 min.)

Think about Kazakh literature. Which outstanding writers and poets can you name? What do you think about Kazakh literature in general?

Task 2. Speak on the given topic (Time for preparation- 5 min., time for answering- 1 min.)

“My favorite film”

READING (9 min.)

Read the text (by yourself - 1 min., aloud - 2 min.)

Holidays

The first celebration of the year of course Nauryz. This holiday of spring and the renewed life of the Earth is celebrated for over five thousand years by many cultures of the Middle and Central Asia. This holiday is celebrated on the 22nd of March. There are a lot of holiday activities around the city, most of which represent Kazakh national traditions. Asians really enjoy this day, while for others it may be no more than an official holiday. Walk around downtown to listen to akyns (national poets/singers), see national contests, folk games, dancing, etc. Kazakh national food is everywhere, but cooking Nauryz kozhe is a must. Nauryz kozhe (a special holiday dish) consists of seven components wheat, oats, rice, barley, raisins, wild apricots, and millet. It symbolizes the hope for well-being in the coming year.

Together with these official holidays, religious holidays are widely observed: Kurban Ait among Muslims. Kurban Ait is a holy Muslim holiday. If translate from Arabic language, it is holiday of sacrifice something. Muslim people make ceremony, named kurban - shaly. During it they sacrifice one of the animals: sheep, caw, ram or camel. It is considered that if a man did all the ceremony right, he would bring prosperity to his family for all the year, until next Kurban Ait holiday. Kurban Ait is the most important Muslim holiday, which is celebrated on 70-th day of moon calendar, after Oraza ended. Each year this date changes, with the small difference in 10 days. The most important day of the Kurban Ait holiday is the very first day. In this day all believers invite each others to have a meal together, in all mosques mullahs offer up a holly prayer ait namaz.

Task 1. Make a plan of the text (Time for preparation- 1 min., time for answering- 1 min.)

Task 2. Translate the 2d paragraph of the text (Time for preparation- 3 min., time for answering- 1 min.)

WRITING (14 min)

Task 1. Write an essay to the given situation. Write at least 80 words. (Time for preparation – 13 min., for answer – 1 min)

Happiness is considered very important in life. Why is it difficult to define? What factors are important in achieving happiness? Write the reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Texts for Listening

Tapescript 1.

J When I arrived I was shown into Sally’s office - which was much more normal than I'd expected. Sally looks like a kind and sincere woman. She says that she inherited from her grandmother the ability to “see” the past and future of other people. However, her next questions rather surprised me…

S Who's Caroline?

J I'm afraid I don't know. I don't know anybody called Caroline.

SWell, somebody called Caroline is going to have a powerful and positive effect on your finances. Australia is very important in your life.

J Is it? I've never been to Australia.

S Well, you'll be going there very soon.

S Another place which is very important in your life is Ireland.

JYes, that's true. Ireland does play a big role in my life. In fact, I g.rew up there. Ah, very interesting! What does he look like?

S He's very tall.

J That's good - I'm 1 metre 90 myself.

SAnd he's highly intelligent; in feet it's his brain that will really attract you to him. He is a distinguished public figure – perhaps a professor?

JI immediately started thinking about all the people I know, but, to be honest, I couldn't think of anyone who fitted the description.

Tapescript 2.

When I saw the lady's face, I knew it was really serious. Her face was starting to turn blue. I put my arms around her waist and I pulled hard in and up three times and the piece of steak came out. Then I just put my arm round the lady and gave her a hug. I knew exactly what to do because before I started to work as a television presenter, I used to be a flight attendant. We were taught a lot about first aid. The technique I used is called the Heimlich manoeuvre and it's what you should do when someone is choking. I must admit I was a bit embarrassed by all the attention I got in the restaurant and then the next day the story was in all the newspapers. But I'm very glad I was there to help. And maybe this story will make people think about learning first aid. I really think it's something which should be taught at school. It's so important!

Tapescript 3.

1 I think above all we are strong individualists. We want as few rules as possible governing our lives. We are also very hard-working. People here live to work and don't work to live. We are also very optimistic, and we think that if we work hard, we can achieve anything. On the negative side, I think we are extremely materialistic. The measure of success for most people here is money. We are extremely concerned with 'things' - possessions and the bigger the better. Personally, I think I have inherited the typical optimism and drive, and I'm also an individualist.

2 Generally speaking, I think we're very sociable and easy-going, and we're great storytellers. People are also quite religious and family oriented, we're also very patriotic. Maybe this is because we're a small country and so many of us live abroad. Historically there has always been a lot of emigration. Weaknesses? I think we can be very melancholic and nostalgic, you only have to listen to our music to hear this - it's often quite sad and slow. It's probably because of our climate and our history. The stereotypical image is that one minute we're laughing and telling you a funny story.

Tapescript 4

I: Have you ever had a problem with a famous person as a passenger?

R: I’ve carried a lot of famous people and they are usually very well behaved. But I remember once I had the actor Steven Seagal as a passanger – and the cabin crew told me that he had just got on board and he was carrying an enormous samurai sword. Weapons aren’t allowed on board, of course, so I had to go and speak to him. He looked very imposing standing in the cabin. He was nearly 2 metres tall, dressed completely in black, carrying a sword and he is – as you proboably know –a martial arts expert. But in fact he was very happy to give us the sword, which was gold and which had been given to him as a present in Bali.

I: What’s your most frightening experience as a pilot?

S: Crossing the road outside the airport terminal! That’s certainly the most dangerous thing I do. Probably in connection with flying, my most frightening experience would have to be a near miss I had when I was flying a Boeing 747 at night. A small aeroplane passed in the opposite direction just 15 metres below my plane. Just after this happened , a flight attendant brought us some hot snacks and I distinctly remember how good they tasted!

I: Have you ever been taken ill during a flight?

R: Once I was flying from Hong Kong to London, that’s a 13 hour flight , and I got food poisoning after six hours. I felt terrible-incapable of doing anything at all for the rest of the flight. Luckily though, the rest of the crew were fine because on all flights the crew are given different meals, just in case.So as my co-pilots had eaten a different meal and felt fine, the flight was able to continue safely.

Tapescript 5

Road pollution is a serious danger to children’s health. That’s the worrying conclusion of the longest and largest study* ever undertaken into the effects of traffic fumes on child development. Researchers from the University of Southern California spent 13 years studying children who lived within 500 meters of busy highways. They found that most of the 3,600 children in the study had significantly weakened lungs. Researchers said this meant the children could have breathing problems for the rest of their lives. The main author of the study W. James Gauderman said: "Someone suffering a pollution-related deficit in lung function as a child will probably have less than healthy lungs all of his or her life.” He added: "If you live in a high-pollution area and live near a busy road, you get a doubling of the damage.”

Gauderman and his team conducted their research on youngsters who lived near busy roads. Once a year, the team measured the children's lung power. It checked how much air the children could release in one breath and how quickly it could be released. The team found that by their 18th birthday, children who lived within 500 meters of a highway exhaled three per cent less air compared with children who lived one-and-a-half kilometers away. Further, the highway children’s lung power was seven per cent weaker in the rate at which they could exhale. Gauderman said that: "Even if you are in a relatively low regional pollution area, living near a road produces lung problems." About a third of the children moved away from busy roads during the study but stayed near the same community. Their lungs developed more healthily.

Tapescript 6

Int: On the morning of May 18^th ,1980, Liz Nielson was camping with a friend about 18 kilometers from Mount St.Helens in Washington State in the United States. She was making coffee and her friend Dave was fishing. So, Liz, when did realize that something was wrong?

Liz: Well, Dave lost the fish and came up to replace his line. He Looked up and saw a small black cloud on the horizon and said there must be a forest fire. Within 30 seconds it was absolutely enormous and then it just kept getting bigger and bigger, and coming at us faster, and it was very dark and black. The cloud of ash was the first sign we had that anything was happening.

Int: Was it difficult getting out of the valley?

Liz: The ash was nearly a metre deep and it was so hot underneath you could only stay in it for a short period of time. Then we had to get up on a tree stump and take our shoes off and unroll our trousers, but within a few minutes they would be filled up again. It gave off a terrible smell-like rotten eggs. Anyway, we were really lucky. A falling tree could easily have crushed us. I wish now that we’d taken a radio with us, then maybe we would have had some warning. Even a couple of hours warning would have helped. We went back a few days alter and found the site where our tent had been. Thank goodness we fell in that hole instead of reaching the tent!

Int: A lucky escape indeed. Now in the studio we also have…..

Tapescript 7

China is building up a large collection of the biggest things in the world. The latest addition is the world's largest building. It is called the New Century Global Center and it opened this week in Chengdu, Sichuan province, in China's southwest. It is 500 meters long, 400 meters wide and 100 meters high. The area inside covers an amazing 1.76 million square meters. The building is so big that 20 Sydney Opera Houses could fit inside. It is almost three times the size of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. It took thousands of workers just three years to build the enormous structure. The center is an important part of plans to make Chengdu a 21st-century city. It fits with the city's slogan, "Chengdu – Can Do".

The inside of the center is almost like a small city in itself. There are around 400,000 square meters of shopping space, a 15-screen IMAX movie theatre complex and an ice rink big enough to hold international competitions. There are also offices, hotels, a replica Mediterranean village and a water park. The building's owners hope it will attract business and tourists from across China and the world. It is all part of a wider plan to put Chengdu on the global map. Around 14 million people currently live in the city, but that is set to increase. The city is also a magnet for investment and is one of China's most important industrial regions. The area is also home to the world's largest giant panda nature reserve.

Tapescript 8

Presenter: Good evening. With me on tonight’s edition of Challenge the expert are Julia Ralston and Gareth Webster. Julia is a fully-qualified architect, who works for a well-known architectural practice in London. Facing her is her challenger Gareth Webster, a student at the university of London, who is surrounded by, in his own words, those eyesores that pass for modern buildings. Gareth, over to you.

Gareth: Right, well can I start with 1960s architecture? I walk past some awful 60s concrete blocks every day and I just can’t believe how people were uprooted and forced to live in high-rise buildings against their will. Why was this aver allowed to happen, Julia?

Julia: Gareth, you’re describing a time when many people wanted to be rehoused, because their living conditions were so bad. And this was a policy upheld by government, rather than decided by architects.

Gareth: But why don’t planners and architects talk to the public? It’s as if they feel they have the right to decide what’s best for us.

Julia: The situation has changed and in my view, Jack of consultation over new buildings is rarely an issue with the public. There are much tougher planning regulations nowadays.

Gareth: But the fact is that many people still have ti live in high-rise accommodation. How can you expect people to enjoy life on the 23rd floor with a lift that’s out of order? If we were meant to live up in the sky, we would have been born with wings.

Julia: Well, joking apart, I was in a tower block in a run-down part of Bristol for six years of my childhood, so I don’t know what it’s like. That’s largely what drove me to become an architect, actually/ Yes, some 60s architecture is poor, but the point is, if it hadn’t happen, we would be making similar mistakes today, whereas, as it is, we have been able to learn from the recent past.

Gareth: How, exactly?

Julia: Well, for one thing, the buildings being put up today generally have better materials than in the past, certainly in comparison to the 1960s. A lot more thought goes into this aspect, with the upside that new buildings look more attractive as a result.

Gareth: What about environmental issues, are there any special requirements for architects to meet there?

Julia: Yes, indeed. We have to design buildings that are environmentally efficient, so for us in Britain that means paying particular attention to things like heating. Of course, that particular requirement wouldn’t be an issue for architects in southern Europe.

Tapescript 9

Speaker 1My favorite city in central Europe on the banks of the Vltava River. It’s one of the three Imperial Cities together with Vienna and Budapest, and it’s well known for its architecture and historical importance. The Hradcany Castle in the district of the same name overlooks the city centre, and the main square is called Wenceslaus Square. Culturally, it’s famous as the birthplace of Kafka, Dvorak, and Smetana

Speaker 2 the most beautiful city I’ve ever visited is on the Pacific coast of Canada. It’s surrounded by water on three sides, and has the Coast Mountain Range on the other. There’s a large island opposite the city where Canadians often go on holiday. It also has the largest urban park in North America, called Stanley Park, which has a zoo, a marine science center, and famous gardens containing native trees. It’s known as one of the cities in the world with the highest quality of life.

Speaker 3My favorite city is the capital of a South American country. It’s on the banks of the Rio de la Plata and is famous for being the birthplace of the tango. It’s one of the world’s busiest ports and the residents often refer to themselves as Portenos. The main square is called the Plaza de Mayo, and one of this city’s streets, the Avenida 9 de Jolio is said to be the widest boulevard in the world. Although it’s not in Europe, it actually feels quite European – bits of it remind me of Paris and other bits of bits of Italy. In fact one of the districts is called Palermo Viejo, like the capital of Sicily.

Tapescript 10

Charles's is a very masculine room, with no personality. He has chosen white walls - very unadventurous. I think he should have painted them a softer cream colour. The whole room looks more like an office than a living room. He should have put the computer in a corner somewhere, in a less obtrusive position. A computer reminds you of work and makes it hard to relax. And then electrical items like the huge TV and video are never attractive – they are always difficult to hide. The wooden blinds are fashionable and practical but they do have quite a clinical appearance. I think he should have had curtains. The sofa is also a bit old-fashioned and seems to be out of place in this modern room. He should have got rid of it, I'm afraid, even if it was a present from his mother. I think Lucy has created a more comfortable, more co-ordinated living area. The classic cream curtains go well with the cream sofa; they are both fashionable choices. And she has made the fireplace much more interesting. But she should have put a large picture or a mirror above it. It would make more of a focal point. The large pot with the willow branches is a marvellous idea. I love it. But the rug is too big and rather dark. She should have chosen a smaller, lighter rug. On the whole, I have to say I think Lucy seems to have thought more about the decorating than Charles.

Tapescript 11

1 I think it's what people want, isn't it? I mean, if nobody watched the matches, TV companies wouldn't show them. And you can see other sports like skiing and volleyball on the satellite channels. I personally think there should be more, not less. I'd be happy to watch a match every night.

2 I'd say the problem is parents, not TV. People are always complaining that children don't read enough today and are more violent than they used to be, but I don't think it's the TV's fault. I mean, all you have to do is switch it off. The real problem is that parents use the TV as a king of babysitter because they're too tired to play with their kids.

3 It depends, I mean, it's true you can watch TV in different languages now so I suppose that gives you more choice-if you can speak the language that is. But the programs themselves are really all the same. Quiz shows, old films, things like that. So they're not really more varied, it's just that there's more of them.

4 Well, I watch the news on TV and I sometimes get sports results on the Internet, but I still get a newspaper every day. I mean, it's not just news, it's opinion. Anyway I like to buy a paper and read it on the train on the way to work.

5 Well, I know a lot of people think that, but personally I don't. Partly because I think the breaks give you a chance to go and make a cup of coffee or go to the toilet or whatever, and partly because nowadays the commercials are often better than the actual films. Have you seen the one about the...

6 I absolutely hate these programs where they talk in great detail about people who are only on TV because they're married to or going out with someone famous, or are the son or daughter of someone who's famous. And most of these people are either completely uninteresting or completely stupid, but because of TV they become celebrities.

Tapescript 12

Speaker 1I was giving a talk to about two hundred people in a large hotel room in Poland. About halfway through the talk, I realized that something was flying around the room. At first I just ignored it, as I thought it was probably a bird that had come in through the window, but after a while I noticed that the women in the audience were following its movements with their eyes and were not looking very happy. It was then that I realized that it was a large bat. The next moment I could see from the audience's eyes that it was directly above my head. I'm really frightened of bats, and I just panicked. I tried to carry on, but I couldn't concentrate and I kept forgetting what I was going to say. So I hurried through the last part of the talk and then as soon as I finished, I rushed out of the room. It was awful, I'll never forget it!

Speaker 2I get invited to talk to teachers all around the world, and this time I was in Mexico giving a talk to some English teachers. Though I say it myself, I think I'm a good speaker and usually the audiences enjoy my talks and are interested in what I'm saying. But after about ten minutes, I realized that something was wrong. The audience wasn’t laughing at my jokes and some people were looking very unhappy. Then I saw several people get up and walk out of the hall. I just couldn't work out what was going on. I'd given a presentation there the year before and the audience had been really enthusiastic. In the end, I just stopped and asked them. 'Is anything the matter? You don't seem to be enjoying this.' And one teacher said 'Actually the problem is that you gave exactly the same talk last year, so we've heard it all before'. I didn't really know what to do at this point. I just apologized profusely and invited the people who had already heard the talk to leave, which, unfortunately, was almost everybody.

Speaker 3I was giving a presentation to a rather serious group of businessmen in Germany. They listened politely for 45 minutes, and at the end I asked for any questions. Nobody said anything. Then a young man stood up and said to me, 'Sir, you are open.' I looked down at my trousers and realized that I was.

Tapescript 13

InterviewerHow did you become thepickpocket consultant for Oliver Twist?

JohnWell, I'm the director of a company which supplies magicians for live events, and for TV and films. Roman Polanski, the director of the film, he was looking for someone to train the actors - the young boys - to teach them to be pickpockets. He wanted them to be able to pick pockets so fast and so skillfully that it would look like they'd been doing it for years, so that they would look like professional pickpockets. So anyway, the film company got in touch with my company, and then 1 flew to Prague where they were shooting the film, to meet Polanski.

InterviewerWhat happened when you met him?

JohnWell, he didn't give me a normal interview. He just asked me to steal his watch, without him noticing.

InterviewerAnd did you?

JohnYes, I did. So he gave me the job!

InterviewerHow long did it take the boys to learn to pick pockets?

JohnNot very long. They learned really quickly. To be a good pickpocket you need confidence and children have that confidence. In the end, they got so good that they were stealing from everybody on the film set, even from me. I started to feel a bit like Fagin myself.

InterviewerSo what's the trick of being a pickpocket?

JohnThe real trick is to make people notice some things but not others. Some magicians call it 'misdirection', but I call it 'direction' - you have to direct people towards what you want them to see, and of course away from what you don't want them to see. Let me show you. What do you have in your jeans pockets?

InterviewerEr just keys.

JohnCan you show me them?

InterviewerWow! That's amazing! You've stolen my wallet... and my pen. I really didn't notice a thing...

JohnThat's the trick you see. All I had to do was to direct your attention to your jeans pocket and your keys, and you forgot about your jacket pocket and your wallet.

InterviewerThat's incredible. I mean I was prepared -1 knew you were going to try to steal from me. And I still didn't see you. So if someone wasn't prepared, it would be even easier.

Tapescript 14

Presenter: Welcome to ‘Tech-Today!’ This week it’s National Science & Engineering Week, so to celebrate we asked Jed our science correspondent to give us a round-up of new inventions.

Jed: Hi, yes, I’ve got some very interesting things to tell you about today, starting with a fun one. Wing- suits, those suits that look like bats and allow people to fly, or glide, at least. They’re the ultimate in cool.

Presenter: But, they’re not very new, are they?

Jed: Well, no, but the modern ones are better than ever and last October was the first ever world championship in China. The price is coming down, too. Now you can buy one for 600 to 2,000 dollars. It’s still too expensive for me, but I suppose it’ll keep coming down.

Presenter: OK, what about useful new inventions?

Jed: There are lots of those. There’s a new solar water distiller created by Gabriele Diamanti aimed at parts of the world where it’s hard to get clean drinking water. You pour in salty water and let the sun do the work for a few hours. Then, hey presto! You have clean water! It’s a very simple device and fairly cheap to produce.

Presenter: Can I hear some doubt in your voice?

Jed: Well, they still need help with investment to start producing the distiller properly. So if anyone out there has money to invest in a great product …?

Presenter: Absolutely. Get in touch with the designers.

Jed: Another useful invention which it would be good to see in production are “enable talk gloves”. These were invented by some Ukrainian students to allow people with speech and hearing impairments to communicate with people who don’t understand sign language. The gloves use sensors to translate sign language into text, then into spoken language using a smartphone. A brilliant invention!

Tapescript 15

When Paul Feldman started his business, you know, he really thought that at least 95% of the people would pay for their bagels. This was presumably because that was the payment rate that he got in his own office. But in fact this rate wasn’t representative at all. I mean in his office, most people paid probably just because Feldman worked there himself, and they knew him personally, and probably liked him.

So when Feldman sold his bagels in other offices, he had to accept less. After a while, he considered that a company was “honest” if over 90% of the people paid. Between 80 and 90% was what he considered to be normal, you know the average rate. He didn’t like it, but he had to accept it. It was only if a company habitually paid less than 80% - which luckily not many did – that he would feel he had to do something. First he would leave a note, sort of giving them a warning, and then, if things didn’t improve, he would simply stop selling there. Interestingly, since he started the business, the boxes he leaves to collect the cash have hardly ever been stolen. Obviously in the mind of an office worker, to steal a bagel isn’t a crime – but to steal the money box is.

So what does the bagel data tell us about the kind of offices that were not honest, the ones that didn’t pay? Well, first of all, it shows that smaller offices are more honest than big ones. An office with twenty to thirty employees generally pays 3 to 5% more than an office with two to three hundred employees. This seems to be because in a smaller community people are more worried about being dishonest – probably because they would feel worse it they were caught.

The bagel data also suggests that your mood, how you feel, affects how honest you are. For example, the weather is a really important factor. When the weather is unusually good, more people pay, but if it’s unusually cold or rainy, fewer people pay.

Tapescript 16

InterviewerJohn Bigos is the managing director of London Duck Tours Limited. This company use Ducks, renovated World War II amphibious vehicles, which can travel on land and water. What makes a Duck tour better than a normal sightseeing tour?

JohnWhat makes Duck tours more interesting in terms of the tour as opposed to other tours is the ability to be able to go on the land and the river in one tour at the same time. That has a great benefit for all our clients. We also have a very small vessel which only takes 30 people and that allows you to have a much more intimate relationship with your clients, which makes it a wonderful experience, which you don't get when you go on ordinary, pre-determined computerized tours.

InterviewerSome people might say that taking tourists on such a busy river is a bit dangerous. Have you ever had any accidents?

JohnIn terms of accidents, we have had breakdowns, that means that we have to drop the anchor in the river which is similar to having to use the brake on the land and we've had to recover both our boat and our passengers, but that fortunately is quite a rare thing, but it adds to the fact that the tour is unique and no one else can do it. It's an experience, which can include being recovered by another Duck.

InterviewerDo you ever have to rescue other people on the river?

JohnWhen we are on the river, we are one of the most frequent users of this part of the river and people will often fall or jump off Westminster Bridge, Lambeth Bridge ... or indeed Vauxhall Bridge and therefore we will be within the vicinity and will often have to rescue people who have either fallen off accidentally or deliberately tried to commit suicide, so in terms of the river it is a very serious river with a very fast-flowing tide and we treat it with the utmost respect.

Tаpescript 17

InterviewerSusie Dent is a well-known English lexicographer who also appears in the popular British TV Quiz Countdown. Could you give us an estimate of how many new words come into the English language each year?

SusieA lot of people ask me how many new words are born in any particular year and the quick answer to that is no one knows, because thousands and thousands and thousands of new words are made up every second. What we do know is that in the twentieth century about 900,000 new words went into the Oxford English Dictionary, which is the vast vast dictionary that Oxford keeps going, basically constantly, tracking current language and historical language, so that means on average about 900 words each year made it in a significant enough way to get into the dictionary.

InterviewerHow does a new word or expression get into the dictionary?

SusieNormally dictionary makers will wait about five years to see whether or not a word will survive before they put it in. So they have quite strict criteria. There are exceptions to that and 'bling' is a prime example. It went into the dictionary very very soon.

'Bling' is a wonderful word that is used by journalists particularly to sum up the sort of celebrity obsessed, very materialistic opening years of the 21st century, but in fact is was coined - in 1999 and it was coined by a rapper and I think it's an absolutely beautiful example of how US black slang particularly and hip hop and rap have had a major influence on British slang particularly today, and it was used by the rapper Baby Gangsta or BG and it was probably suggestive of light flashing off jewellery so it was 'bling' and that's how it was taken up and it went into the mainstream incredibly quickly.

Tapescript 18

I’m a great art lover. I look at beautiful paintings and sculptures and wish I could be artistic. I can’t draw or paint to save my life. I wonder why some people are so talented and can create amazing pictures, when other people, like me, can’t even draw good matchstick. I would like to fill my house with art from all over the world. It’s interesting to see how different cultures have different kinds of art. There’s nothing better than visiting art galleries when you go to another country. I prefer more traditional art. I don’t really understand a lot of modern art. I look at a pile of bricks in a museum but can’t see how it’s art. I always laugh when my children say, “Daddy, I can do better than that!” I often think they can.

Tapescript 19

Russian scientists have recreated a plant from cell tissue that had been frozen for 30,000 years. The research team from Russia’s Institute of Cell Biophysics team regenerated the plant from tissue found in the Siberian permafrost. It was a pioneering project that paves the way for other plant species to be revived. The plant the scientists brought back to life is called the Silenestenophylla. It is the oldest plant ever to be regenerated, beating the previous record for date palm seeds that were stored for 2,000 years in Israel. The plant had been stored away by squirrels during their hibernation 30 millennia ago, during the age of woolly mammoths. It froze and never thawed.

The scientists believe that the regeneration of the Silenestenophylla plant means the permafrost is a natural store of ancient life forms, many of which could be recreated. Lead researcher Svetlana Yashina said: “We consider it essential to continue permafrost studies in search of an ancient genetic pool, that of pre-existing life, which hypothetically has long since vanished from the earth's surface.” Dr Robin Probert, head of conservation and technology at the UK's Millennium Seed Bank, said: “There is an opportunity to resurrect flowering plants that have gone extinct in the same way that we talk about bringing mammoths back to life, the Jurassic Park kind of idea.”

Tapescript 20

Their story

IWho wrote Abba's songs?

JWell, Benny and Bjorn wrote the music together, Benny on the piano and Bjorn with his guitar. StigAndersson, who was their manager, usually thought of the titles, for example, SOS or Fernando and then it was Bjorn who wrote the lyrics for that title. At first, it was very hard for Bjorn to write lyrics in English - it's easy to forget that he was writing in a foreign language - but by their third album, his English had improved, because he was reading a lot and travelling, and he started to feel much more confident.

IWhy didn't they do many tours?

J There are several reasons. For one thing they didn't really need to - Abba's records were always number one in the charts without them going anywhere. But perhaps the main reason was that after Agnetha and Bj urn's children were born, Agnetha wanted to spend more time with them -she hated leaving them. And she also developed a bit of a phobia about flying. She became less and less enthusiastic about appearing in public, especially abroad.

IDid they have a lot of problems with the media?

J Well, I suppose like with so many famous people, the press were always making up stories about them - for example, when they arrived in Sydney at the beginning of their Australian tour the tabloids said that they were just actors who'd come over, not the real singers. There was also a story that they'd made a deal with a Russian record company to get paid in potatoes, because they didn't think the rouble was a stable currency! And then of course the press were always intruding in their private lives.

IWho was this most difficult for?

J Well, Anni-Frid had a hard time about her father. She thought her father had died when she was a baby, but then a German journalist claimed that he was in fact alive and living in Germany -which turned out to be true! But I'd say that Bjorn and Agnetha suffered most, particularly at the time of their divorce. They tried to make things easier for themselves by telling journalists that it was 'a happy divorce', but as Agnetha says in her autobiography, 'we all know there are no such things as happy divorces.'

IWhy did Agnetha become a recluse? J I think probably she had got tired of all the media attention and wanted to be left alone. And also she was really shocked by a serious car crash she had in the 80s. Nowadays she spends most of her time alone, especially now that her children have grown up. She lives on an island in Sweden, and there's a big 'Keep Out' sign outside her house.

IDo the members of the group still keep in touch?

JTo a certain extent. Benny and Bjorn still work together so they see each other a lot, but they don't see the two girls very often. Bjorn and Agnetha have two children, so they meet occasionally but not very often. Anni-Frid lives abroad but she visits Sweden from time to time and says hello to the boys.

IDo you think Abba will ever play together again?

J No, I don't think they will play again. There was a time once when it seemed possible - they came together once in 1986 to be interviewed on a TV programme, and there was talk of another Abba album, but it never happened. Bjorn said recently that for Abba to play again it would have to be something 'absolutely extraordinary' - and I can't think what that could be.

Tapescript 21

The film All Quite On the Western Part Front was made in 1930 with what was then an enormous budget of one and a quarter million dollars. It was based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque and was the first ever anti-war film in era of sound. The film came out only a dozen years after the end of the First World War and the film reflects the anti-war mood of young people in this period. The movie was successful commercially and it won Oscars in Hollywood for Best Film and Best Director. It still remains one of the few early sound films watched by modern audience.

The film begins at the start of the war and shows examples of the enthusiasm for the war in 1914 whish persuaded millions of young Europeans to join up and fight for their country. It follows a group of young German soldiers from the moment they volunteer to the time when they actually go to the front in France. The young men are very soon disillusioned when they see the reality of trench warfare constant bombardment, senseless deaths, horrific living conditions, mud mad lack of food. In one scene, the French attack the German lines and are cut down by German machine guns. The Germans counteract but this time it is the turn of the French to drive them back. In the battles, the German soldiers lose a lot of men but find themselves in exactly the same trenchers as before. It is at this point in the film that the soldiers talk about the war.

Part 2

Soldier 1: There’s eighty of us left. The rest is in dressing stations or pushing up daises.

Soldier 2: Well, how do they start a war?

Soldier 1: Well, one country offends another.

Soldier 2: How could one country offend another? You mean there’s a mountain over in German gets mad at field over in France?

Soldier 1: Well, stupid. One people offends another.

Soldier 2: I don’t know any Frenchmen or Englishmen personally – nobody has offended me. Oh, that’s it. I shouldn’t be here at all. I don’t feel offended.

Soldier 1: It don’t apply to tramps like you.

Soldier 2: Good. Then I can be going home right now… The Kaiser and me… Me and the Kaiser feel just alike about this war. We didn’t neither of us want any war, so I’m going home. He’s there already.

Soldier 1: Somebody must have wanted it. Maybe it was the English. No, I don’t want to shoot any Englishman. I never saw one till I came up here. And I suppose most of them never saw a German till they came up here. No, I’m sure they weren’t asked about it… Well, it must be doing somebody some good.

Soldier 2: Not me and the Kaiser.

Soldier 1: I think maybe the Kaiser wanted a war.

Soldier 2: I don’t see that. The Kaiser’s got everything he needs.

Tapescript 22

Angelina was born in LA in 1976. She loved movies and started acting classes to follow her dream of movie stardom. She was rebellious and became a punk with dyed purple hair and tattoos. Her movie career took off in 1997 and within a few years she had won an Oscar. Her 2001 role as Lara Croft in the blockbuster “Tomb Raider” shot her to international fame.

Angelina hasn’t limited her career to acting. She became involved in humanitarian work while filming in Cambodia. She is now a UN Goodwill Ambassador, visiting refugee camps in poor countries. She donates large sums of money to help the plight of underprivileged people. She has effectively used her stardom to highlight world problems.

Unfortunately, Jolie’s personal life has come to overshadow her other pursuits. The tabloids are obsessed with her relationships, especially the current one with Brad Pitt. The couple is now referred to not as Brad and Angelina but as “Brangelina”. The media seem more caught up with what they eat and drink than the important humanitarian work Angelina continues to do.

Helping other people is what truly motivates Angelina. In 2001, she said: “We cannot close ourselves off…and ignore the fact that millions of people are out there suffering.” In addition to acting awards, she has received wide recognition for her humanitarian work. She became the first winner of the UN’s Citizen of the World Award. It seems likely more accolades will follow.

Tapescript 23

Rosa: Maybe I’d better go through the article again, just to be sure. Can you remember what it was called?

Mick: “Sample Surveys in Social Science Research”, I think. By Mehta.

Rosa: M-E-H-T-A?

Mick: Yeah. And he also recommended a more recent book, called “Survey Research” by Bell, I think. It’s in that series published by London University.

Pete: And if we try to use interviews instead, I saw a book in the departmental library that’ll be helpful: it’s called “Interviews that work”, by Wilson, published in Oxford in 1989.

Rosa: Right. I’ve got a tutorial now. Can we meet up again later this week? What about Friday morning?

Pete: Suits me. Eleven o’clock?

Rosa: Fine.

Mick: Before Friday, I think we should all look through the reading list.

Tapescript 24

I was at work when I heard the news on TV. It had been pouring with rain for several days and I could see that the River Vltava was swollen. Now It appeared that there was a real danger that the river would overflow. All of us who lived or worked near the river were being advised to get out and move to a place of safety. My office is in the Centre of Prague only a hundred meters from the river bank and I live in a flat in a small town just a few kilometers north of Prague, right on the banks of the River Vltava, so I was in danger both at work and at home.

My wife and baby were at my flat, so I did the sensible thing and went home immediately. I packed my wife and my child into the car and I drove them to her parent’s house. They would be completely safe there. So far, so good! But then I stopped being sensible, and I jumped back into the car and went back to our flat. Why did I do that? I told myself that it was because it was afraid of looters breaking into our flat and stealing things, but the truth was that I sort of felt that I wanted to be in the middle of things, to be involved in what was happening.

I stayed up all night watching the TV bulletins. They were giving regular reports on how fast the water level was rising at various places throughout the Czech Republic. There was a journalist reporting from just down the road from where I was, north of Prague, so I could sit in my sitting room and watch the danger increase as the minutes passed, but I still didn’t move. I suppose I had a kind of perverse desire to be the last person to leave our block of flats. I could hear cars starting up and setting off all evening, and from time to time I looked out at our car park and I could see that it was almost empty.

Tapescript 25

InterviewerWhat advice would you give to someone visiting London for the first time?

Sebastian It's often said that London is a city of villages, for example, Hampstead, even Chelsea, were all villages in the past; so take some time to get to know the village you are staying in before you start to explore the famous sights.

InterviewerWhat's the one thing you would say someone visiting London should do or see?

Sebastian Outdoors: walk up Parliament Hill - you get far and away the best view over the city. Indoors: the British Museum. When you see what the people of ancient times were capable of, it makes you feel humble about the achievement of our own age.

InterviewerAnd what's the best place to have your photo taken?

SebastianI've always liked the classic view of the Houses of Parliament either from Westminster Bridge or from the other side of the river.

Interviewer What's your favourite landmark?

SebastianSt Paul's Cathedral. It is so hidden-away that when you catch your first sight of it, it's always a thrill. You just turn a corner and suddenly there it is.

Interviewer What's the best place to watch the sunset?

SebastianWell, the views from the bridges are always spectacular. I imagine the London Eye, by Waterloo Bridge, would be a good spot, but I am ashamed to say I have never been on it. And on a summer evening I like the roof garden of The Trafalgar Hotel just off Trafalgar Square - you can watch the city lights come on as the sun sets.

Interviewer What's the best place to be at dawn?

Sebastian In the summer, almost anywhere. I love the city when it's completely deserted in the early morning light. One of my favourite places to be at that time is the all-night bagel shop on Brick Lane. I love queuing on the pavement outside for a salmon and cream cheese bagel in the early morning, because then it means I must have been out all night doing something fun or interesting. But in winter the best place to be at dawn is in bed - definitely!

InterviewerWhat would be a good thing to do on a scorching hot day?

Sebastian Getting a boat on the Serpentine or in Battersea Park is one of my favourite things, and another of my favourite places, the London Aquarium, is somewhere where you can escape from the heat into a world of water and air conditioning.

InterviewerWhat's a good thing to do which is absolutely free?

Sebastian Walking in the parks. London's parks deserve their fame. I love walking in Hyde Park. It always reminds me of my childhood - I have memories of feeding the squirrels there.

InterviewerWhat do you think is the most romantic place in London?

SebastianIn Kensington, Knightsbridge, and Chelsea, residential squares have enclosed gardens. They're magical places at any time of day, like secret gardens, but at night you can often hear nightingales singing - they're the only birds that sing at night. It's very romantic.

Tapescript 26

I.In today's edition of The Book Programme we're going to talk to Raymond Simpson, historian, and author of Race to the South Pole. Mr Simpson, the irony of the story is that although Captain Scott reached the South Pole one month after the Norwegian explorer Amundsen and died on the return journey, he got all the glory, but Amundsen, by comparison, has been largely forgotten. Do you think this fair?

RSAbsolutely not. Amundsen arrived first because he was better prepared in everyway. He had done all his research and planning before setting off. He had the right clothes; he had sufficient food supplies, and most importantly, he had the right transport, that is, skis and dogs. In contrast, Scott's decision to use ponies instead of skis and dogs was absolute madness. As well as that, his food supplies were very deficient in calories for such a hard journey, and he didn't take clothes that were warm enough for the awful weather conditions. In fact I'd say Scott's planning was so bad it undoubtedly resulted in his death and the deaths of all his men. I also think Captain Scott's personality was partly to blame for the tragedy. He was quite an arrogant man, you know, who didn't listen to advice. I think he was convinced that he'd succeed simply because he was an English gentleman.

ISo why do we remember Scott and not Amundsen?

RSI think we remember him principally because he and his men all died. It was a tragedy, a glorious failure. I think we always tend to remember glorious failures. But also I think we remember him because of his diaries. As you know they were discovered along with the frozen bodies of his men, and personally I think that they were written mainly to try to justify his own bad decisions.

I So you think Scott should be criticized rather than glorified?

RS In many ways, yes. Scott lost the race - and his life - because of his bad preparation more than anything else. He should have done his research better. He should have made sure that his team had the right food and clothes. And above all he shouldn't have taken ponies. They couldn't survive the freezing conditions as well as dogs could - in fact all the ponies died. Scott and his men were struggling on foot with their sledges, while Amundsen and his team had skis and dogs.

I Race to the South Pole is a great adventure tale as well as a story of human courage and incompetence. Mr Simpson, thank you very much

Tapescript 27

PTo begin tonight's debate, I'd like to welcome Greg Tyler, who is a well-known wildlife journalist. Greg, what do you think?

JTV channels nowadays are always showing documentaries about wild animals like the tiger becoming extinct, and we see horrible scenes of them being hunted and killed. When people see these programmes they immediately think 'Oh no! How terrible, we must do something.' But the documentaries don't usually tell us why the tiger is being hunted. If they did, we'd probably find that in most cases it's because the local people depend on hunting animals and then selling them to earn a living. Some of you may remember the film Gorillas in the Mist. It's a film about a young American woman, a conservationist, who was trying to protect some gorillas in a very poor region of Africa. At the end of the film the local people killed her. Why? Because they depended on hunting and selling the gorillas to foreign zoos and collectors. By protecting the gorillas, the conservationist was destroying the local economy. So I think it's all a question of priorities. We can't just say 'stop hunting wild animals'; first we have to solve the problem of how people in poor countries can live without hunting. You often see in the newspaper campaigns for 'Save the tiger' or 'Save the gorillas', but it really should be 'Save the people'. If we save the people first and make sure they can survive, then they'll be able to stop killing the animals.

P Thank you, Greg. And now, it's hello and welcome to Nina James, who's a biologist from California. Nina, what's your point of view?

BI'm a biologist and ecologist, and I can tell you that the most serious problem facing this planet today is the destruction of our ecosystems. For those of you who aren't quite sure what ecosystems are, let me just explain. By ecosystems I mean the relationship not only between animals and plants but also between them and their environment. There are many well known reasons why they are being destroyed, for example, air and water pollution and the destruction of the rainforests. But there's another very important reason and that is that thousands of species - birds, fish, and animals - are becoming extinct. They're becoming extinct mostiy because of too much hunting. Now, you may ask, why is this a problem? Does it really matter if some species disappear? After all, the dinosaurs became extinct, and that doesn't seem to have been a problem. But what people don't realize is that when one animal species disappears, this has a chain reaction. It makes other animal and plant species disappear too. It will eventually cause a complete collapse of our ecosystem. And if, or rather when, this happens, the results will be catastrophic. The more animals that become extinct, the less food there will be for man, and that will mean starvation on a world-scale, with millions of people dying of hunger. Although I agree that it's a question of priorities, the fact is that we have to protect animals first, not people, because if we don't protect the animals then we haven't got much of a future on this planet.

Tapescript 28

I’m really interested in the culture of other countries. I don’t know why, but I always think other cultures are more interesting than my own culture. Every time I travel, I learn wonderful, strange, amazing and interesting things about other cultures. One of the biggest surprises I had was when I went to the USA as a child. I’m English so I thought Americans had the same culture as me. When I went to America I understood Americans and British are very different people. Understanding the culture of other people is very important. It helps us all to get along. If everyone really tried to learn about other cultures, the world would be a more peaceful place. The world is becoming smaller, so I think this is happening.

Tapescript 29

Interviewer... and with me I've got Emily and Alex. Emily, what kind of questions did you ask?

EmilyWell, the organizers of the event suggested a list of topics, you know, sort of pre-prepared questions, but I thought that they were very er artificial, you know strange. So I asked quite normal questions like, "Why did you come tonight? or 'Have you been speed dating before?' or 'What do you like doing in your free time?' I found that the conversation ran more smoothly when I asked people these kinds of normal questions.

InterviewerHow about you Alex?

AlexYes, same as Emily, really. I also asked quite normal things like, 'What do you do? Have you done this before? Do you enjoy living in Oxford?' Things like that.

InterviewerDid other people ask you interesting questions?

AlexYes, some were quite interesting. Ones I can remember are, 'If you were an animal, what would you be?' Or, 'If you had to choose a different career from your current one, what would it be?' One woman even said 'I've heard that you were in prison once - is that true?' I don't know where she got that from!

InterviewerAnd you, Emily. Were you asked anything unusual?

EmilyNot really! The most common questions were 'Are you American?' or 'Where are you from?' The second most common was, 'Why do you live in England?' Although one person did ask me, 'If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?'

InterviewerHow did you answer that?

EmilyI said I'd go to work and play tricks on my colleagues in the office like hiding things!

InterviewerHow many matches did you get?

EmilyI chose six men that I would be happy to see again, and of those six, four of them had chosen me too, so I got four matches.

AlexI got three.

InterviewerDid you go out with any of the people?

EmilyYes, Iwent on one date with a guy who teaches biochemistry at university. It was a bit of a disaster though, because earlier that morning I'd been to the dentist, and I'd had an injection, so by the time that we met for coffee I had terrible toothache and I was in agony. I had to go home after half an hour. We've exchanged a few emails since then, but we haven't managed to meet. We're both very busy. Also, to be honest, I don't think he's really my type. He seems to be really keen to get married and have children straight away and I'm not.

InterviewerWhat about the other three matches?

EmilyThe second man contacted me directly after the event and invited me to dinner. But then he sent me a text message the next day and cancelled. He said that he had met someone else. The other two have been in touch, but we haven't been able to meet yet. But in fact, I've decided that for the moment, I'm actually happy being single so I don't think I'll be speed dating again any time soon.

InterviewerHow about you Alex?

AlexI emailed one of the matches, a woman I quite liked and we met at a bar in Oxford. At the speed dating event she seemed really bubbly and good fun, but after spending a few minutes with her it was very clear that we had nothing in common. The atmosphere was awful and it was all very awkward and I think she felt the same so we just finished our drinks and left. We didn't contact each other again.

Then I arranged to meet another of my matches. We'd really got on well at the speed dating so I was quite excited about meeting her. Unfortunately, on that morning, I'd found out

that I'd lost my job and I was really worried that I would not give the right impression because I was feeling so unhappy about my work situation. But actually, Susanna quickly made me forget everything and we had a great evening. We then met up the next day and went for a long walk. And well, to cut a long story short, six months later I took her to Paris and proposed, and two months ago we got married!

EmilyAaaah!

InterviewerSo a real success story for you then?

AlexAbsolutely!

Tapescript 30

InterviewerHave you ever been to a music festival?

AnneIsle of Wight in the 70s.

InterviewerWhat was it like?

AnneThere were just thousands and thousands of people just chilling out doing whatever you wanted to do. And it was just great fun - there was music, dancing, a great memory actually.

Interviewer Have you ever been to a music festival?

JordanYes, we have a rock festival back home in Ohio that we go to, a lot of my friends and I go to.

InterviewerWhat's it like?

JordanI don't know what it's called but it's just like a whole bunch of alternative music, it's like two days long and you all go and it's just a fun time -all outside. There's a ton of people and they're all usually younger, from like college age usually, and they have a whole bunch of stages set up, and there's just bars in different places, and you can just go and hang out and listen to some music.

InterviewerHave you ever been to a music festival?

Mike Yes, I went to Glastonbury.

InterviewerWhat was it like?

Mike Incredibly muddy, incredibly muddy, but great fun, absolutely so much fun, I didn't get any sleep at all, it was, so much fun.

InterviewerHave you ever been to a music festival?

Ray Yes, not for many years. When I was much younger I went to Bath, Bath Music Blues festival, I've been to Reading Music Festival. I can't remember which other ones I've been to, but yes, in the 1970s and early 80s I went to quite a few.

InterviewerWhat were they like?

Ray From a 57-year-old's point of view? Well, at the time they were really exciting. I can remember a long journey down to Bath, sleeping in a field, I can remember expensive food, waiting up all night to the see the band that you wanted to see and then falling asleep. I can remember being taken back to sleep in somebody's tent then waking up and realizing we were in the wrong tent, and had no idea whose tent we were in the next morning. I can remember feeling slightly sort of sick and hungry all the time I was there, but yeah, it was good, it was exciting.

InterviewerHave you ever been to a music festival?

HarleyNo. Oh, yeah, actually. The Big Chill? Yeah, we went to the Big Chill.

InterviewerWhat was it like?

HarleyYeah, it was really good. I went with my dad and my sister, we went in a camper van. So we camped and yeah, it was good.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1678