AUDIO SCRIPTS
165
good friend, I’m pleased to tell you. The
country’s got thousands of islands and we
visited quite a few of them. I must say, I’ll
never forget Komodo – they have the largest
lizards in the world there, Komodo Dragons,
and one of them chased us across the beach.
It was absolutely terrifying, I can tell you!
L:
Wow! What an experience!
N:
Mmm, not to be forgotten. Who’s next?
A:
Hi, I’m Amina.
N:
Hi, Amina.
A:
What’s the longest journey you’ve been on?
N:
You mean, in time?
A:
Yeah, in time.
N:
Well, I’ve travelled for four months, three
times. During those trips, I visited, erm …
Mexico, Indonesia, India and many other
south-eastern Asian countries, like Thailand
and Vietnam. I loved Vietnam – the people
were so friendly, and the food was
wonderful. But it was a bit noisy in the
streets – you know, a lot of people travel on
motorbikes, and you hear them everywhere.
J:
Hi, I’m Jackie. Erm … what are the most
popular destinations for people from your
country?
N:
Depends a lot on the group, Jackie, but I’d
say older people, say the over-fifties, they
like to go to the Canary Islands, and young
people prefer Thailand, to really get away
from it all. Next question?
F:
Hello Nadia, I’m Fatima. People say that
people travel to broaden their minds. Is that
right? Do you think that travel broadens the
mind? What are the reasons why people
travel, in your opinion?
N:
Hmm, interesting question, Fatima. I
suppose there are lots of reasons. Some
want to see new sights and explore new
places, erm … meet new people and
experience different cultures. I certainly
wanted to do all those things. But I also
wanted to learn new skills, especially social
skills, and to do some voluntary work. I
wanted to become more self-confident. Oh,
yes, and I was also interested in learning a
new language, or at least getting some
knowledge of an Asian language. Now my
friend, Joanne, she just wanted to earn some
money while she was abroad, to finance her
studies. But there are lots of other reasons
why people travel.
F:
How do you mean, exactly?
N:
Well, how can I put it, erm … some people
travel to, erm … find themselves, I mean,
to learn more about themselves, perhaps
become more independent, or maybe just
generally broaden their horizons. Other
people may choose to do that by travelling
abroad to study for a qualification. Sadly,
some people may be forced to travel to look
for work, to escape poverty which is not a
good reason for travel, but perhaps
becoming common. One thing’s for sure,
Fatima, if you travel a long way from home,
for a long time, you’re a different person
when you return. It makes you into a …
LESSON 2.2 RECORDING 2.2
1
Ibn Battuta travelled through most of the
Islamic world.
2
He visited all the Arab lands.
3
He stopped off in Spain, Russia and Turkey.
4
Majid’s work included details and technical
instructions.
5
Ibn Majid produced many maps and books.
6
As a teenager she worked in a textile plant.
7
Tereshkova’s spacecraft lifted off on
16 June 1963.
LESSON 2.3 RECORDING 2.3
I = Interviewer, M = Martin Wells
I: Martin, thanks for coming in today.
M:
It’s a pleasure to be here and to be able to
tell people about the Universities Explorers
programme.
I:
So, Martin, could you tell us a bit about
your last year?
M:
Well, I’ve just returned from the forests of
the Amazon River Basin in Brazil and I’ve
had the most amazing year. Last year in
January, I won a scholarship on the
Universities Explorers Programme. Then
I raised a large sum of money, with the help
of some very generous friends. And then
I started travelling. This year I’ve explored
the ice-cut fjords of the South island in New
Zealand, I’ve climbed the Himalayas in
Nepal and I’ve met Inuit people in
Nunavut in Canada. I’ve also helped with
environmental projects on the Hawar
Islands in Bahrain, and I have to say it must
be one of the most beautiful places in the
world. I’ve never done so much in one year
before.
LESSON 2.3 RECORDING 2.4
I: That’s incredible Martin. What has been
your greatest travel experience?
M:
Well, in September… we travelled to the
start of the Salween River. We wanted to do
the same trip that Wong How Man, China’s
greatest living explorer, did. The river runs
for almost 3,000 kilometres and it starts in
Tibet. When we got near it I had to use a
walking stick so as not to fall over. We
climbed the last hill and saw the ice caves.
At that moment it was the most beautiful
sight in the world. On our return journey
the weather was very bad. We survived
because we found a hut to shelter in. I’ve
learnt a lot about exploring since
September.
I:
This programme sounds amazing. Would
you recommend it to other young adults?
M:
Absolutely. I’m quite young and I’ve already
done six expeditions. The programme has
given me and others a chance to experience
nature and discover its beauty. We’ve learnt
about the cultures and traditions of all the
places we’ve visited. I’ve had the best time
of my life. But the most difficult bit is having
to raise a lot of money at the start … and
I haven’t covered all my costs yet.
I:
Thanks, Martin. I’m sure our readers will be
fascinated by your experience.
LESSON 2.3 RECORDING 2.5
1
I’ve just returned from the forests.
2
I’ve had the most amazing year.
3
Last year in January, I won a scholarship.
4
Then I raised a large sum of money.
5
And then I started travelling.
6
I’ve climbed the Himalayas in Nepal.
LESSON 2.4 RECORDING 2.6
D = Douglas, K = Kevin
D:
Let’s talk about the problems we had on the
last trip. What went wrong, Kevin?
K:
Well, to start with, there was no team spirit
in the group, was there? They didn’t get on
well with each other, and some of them
ending up hating each other, there’s no
other word for it.
D:
Mmm, that was a big problem, I agree. It
took up a lot of our time to sort things out.
The students were continually asking to
change rooms and when I said ‘No’, they
got really upset. You know, we’re going to
have to review rooming arrangements for
this trip.
K:
Well, how about this? I suggest we ask
students if they want to share a room or not.
And if they don’t, they’ll simply have to pay
more.
D:
Mmm, yes, that’s worth considering. What
about hotels? I think we chose the right
ones, don’t you?
K:
Yes, definitely, no one complained about
them. But you know, the hotel manager
wasn’t happy with the students, the way
they behaved. It seems a group of them
made a lot of impolite comments about the
food in the hotel restaurant.
D:
Yeah, it’s true. That was a problem for us.
But you know, what upset me the most was
when we talked to them after the trip?
K:
Oh?
D:
Well, they said we tried to do too much
during the trip. They complained they didn’t
have enough free time. What do you think?
K:
I think we talked about this before the trip.
There are arguments for and arguments
against, aren’t there? On the one hand, it’s
good to give them free time, they get a
chance to explore places. On the other
hand, if you give them too much free time,
they say we haven’t organised enough trips
for them. You just can’t win.
D:
True, and don’t forget, Kevin, another
drawback of giving them a lot of free time is
that they get into trouble. K: Actually, I’ve
got a few suggestions for this next trip.
D:
Me too.
K:
Good. Well, I think we should have more
meetings with students before they leave.
The good thing about this is that they’d get
to know each other better.
D:
Yeah. That’s true. Also, it’d be a good idea
to give students maps of the cities we visit. I
suggest contacting the tourist boards and
asking them to send us some.
K:
And how about showing the students some
restaurant menus before they leave? That’d
be a big bonus for them. They won’t get any
surprises about the food then, will they?
LESSON 3.1 RECORDING 3.1
1
Well, the hours are very long and I have to
work shifts, but I like my colleagues and I
enjoy the variety of the work. You know,
every day’s different. I suppose the main
reason I like the job is the contact with
patients. I like to feel that I’m helping
people, and my colleagues are great, so that
makes the job very rewarding. It’s certainly
not the pay – that’s terrible!
2
I really enjoy my job, although there can be
a lot of routine paperwork and I have to
attend a lot of meetings. Preparing cases
takes up a lot of my time, and can be very
challenging. The best parts of the job are
meeting clients and going to court. I work
for a big prestigious international firm, so
there are good opportunities for promotion
and I get to travel quite a lot, which is nice.
