Unit 1 Lifestyles

Warm-up

Tapescript

1 Football player: Being famous isn’t easy, you know. I travel a lot – I have matches in different countries. But my job is exciting, very exciting! I love the matches, the people cheering, know what I mean?

2 Student: My dad says these are the best days of my life –but I’m not so sure! You know, I’ve got lots of work to do and there’s not much time really. I also play football for the school team and we have to do training three nights a week.

3 Shepherd: I love the animals and I love nature. It’s peaceful, and there’s no one to tell me what to do. But it’s not so good when the weather’s bad!

4 Business manager: I’m very busy, and I don’t have time to see my husband and children. Mmmm and my life is very stressful, I suppose. I mean, I have to deal with lots of money. But I find it really exciting.

1 A Perfect Day?

A Couch Potato

Forty-three-year-old Brian Blakey from Birmingham is sitting on his sofa and telling me about his perfect day.

When I wake up I don't get up immediately. I turn on the television and watch the children's programmes and old movies until about half-past ten. Then I get up, go downstairs and switch on the TV in the living room. For lunch, I have biscuits and a glass of milk, and I watch the news. In the afternoon, I often watch another old film – they're showing some good ones at the moment. In the evenings, I often watch TV series or sport and the news again. I like the main news at six o'clock. At nine thirty, if there is a good play on BBC 2, I switch over and watch it. Then at night, I watch more films and I usually switch off the TV at about two o'clock. I never watch TV all night.

I watch TV for sixteen or seventeen hours a day. I also do some exercise every day. I take Tina, the dog, for a walk every afternoon. I don't go far, of course. I walk to the wall outside my house. I always take my portable TV and I sit on the stone wall while the dog walks round in a circle.

Of course, I couldn't live this lifestyle without a good wife. She's not here now because she's working, but she always makes my meals. We haven't got much money, you know, but we're happy. Sit down and watch TV. Here's the remote control. You've got the world at your feet. And in your hand. Great!

A Workaholic

Thirty-six-year-old Bob Black is sitting at his desk and working his way through his paperwork. I normally wake up about five minutes before my alarm clock goes off. As soon as I hear my alarm clock, I jump out of my bed. It takes me less than fifteen minutes to wash, get changed, have breakfast, leave home and get on a bus.

I am always the first person to get to the office. The mornings are always very busy and the afternoons are even busier! Meetings and phone calls take up a large part of the day. Every minute of the day is filled with urgent matters. By around eight o'clock, I usually find some time to do my own paperwork and answer some personal e-mails.

When I get home at about ten, I look at some documents that I bring back from the office so that I can be ready for the next day's work. I get to bed around midnight when my wife and children are already asleep.

I seldom have time for fun and other activities with my family. My family complains about it.

But I try to work hard so that I can make more money for them. Besides, I get bored if there's nothing to do. I like being busy.

2 Relaxing

Tapescript

Presenter: Good morning and welcome to Lifestyles. Today we're going to look at stress – what causes it and what we can do to relax and prevent it. We have in the studio Dr Klinsmann, an expert on stress. Good morning, Dr

Klinsmann.

Doctor: Good morning.

Presenter: Dr Klinsmann … er … what kinds of people often suffer from stress?

Doctor: Well, anybody can suffer from stress. There are certain jobs that are very stressful, like some jobs in business or the police. But, probably everyone suffers from stress at some time in their life – students, doctors, factory workers– anybody.

Presenter: But, what really causes it?

Doctor: There are different reasons. One is time and the pressures of work and study. At school, for example, students can become very stressed when they have a lot of homework to do and they feel they haven't got enough time to do it all. Other reasons can be social – if you have a problem with your family or friends or at school. And it has something to do with the person – if you're shy, social situations like parties can be very stressful too.

Presenter: And what can you do to stop stress and worry? Because stress is very bad for you, isn't it?

Doctor: Yes, it can cause a lot of health problems. But to answer your question, there are lots of things you can do to reduce stress. You can organise your work or studies. For example, you can make a list and do all the important things first. You must eat well – have a good diet – and of course do exercise often. Finally, you can talk to people about your problems – talk to a friend, someone in your family or, if you're studying, talk to a teacher. You can also do special exercises.

Presenter: Can you describe some of these …

Tapescript

Mark: Things I find stressful. Well, I really hate … mm …doing exams. Mm, I get very nervous the night before, you know. And I can't sleep, you know what I mean? I'm also shy and I don't like going to parties very much. I prefer meeting people in small groups, you know. Ah, there's another thing – in French lessons I can't stand talking in front of the class, er, I get nervous and mm, make lots of mistakes. Things I find relaxing? Well, mm, I like a lot of things. I love talking to my friends. And when I'm tired and want to relax I enjoy listening to music and I also like reading. Ah, I quite like sitting and doing nothing!

3 A Volunteer Teacher

Tapescript

I: Good morning and welcome to the show. This morning, I have Wang Shu here in the studio. She's going to tell us about her plan for the future. Good morning, Wang Shu.

WS: Good morning.

I: Wang Shu, tell us about your plan, please.

WS: I'm going to work as a volunteer teacher in a small country town in Inner Mongolia.

I: Really? You must be excited!

WS: Oh yes, I'm really excited about it. (Section 1)

I: But why did you make this decision?

WS: Well, I've just graduated from university. As a teacher, I feel it's my duty to do something for students in poor areas.

I: But life in Inner Mongolia is very hard and quite different from that in Beijing. Are you prepared for that?

WS: Yes, I know life there will be especially hard for me. You know, I'm the only child in my family and I've always lived in Beijing. So, teaching in Inner Mongolia is going to be a great challenge for me. Maybe it will be very cold and maybe I'll only have a small room with a bed and a basin to wash up with but I really enjoy meeting new challenges. That's why I made the decision to go. (Section 2)

I: What are you going to do there as a teacher?

WS: I'm going to teach middle school students. I'll have lots of lesson plans to make and homework to mark. I'll be very busy.

I: What do your parents think of your plan? Do they support you?

WS: To tell the truth, they didn't like the idea when they first heard about my plan. But we had a long talk, and I finally won their support.

I: And when are you leaving?

WS: The train leaves at 9 tomorrow morning. So I'm getting up at about 6 to get everything ready. The new school term begins the day after I arrive. I can't wait to meet the students there. They are said to be very good students.

I: I'm sure your parents are proud of you, and I believe you're going to have an exciting year. We're going to open our phone lines now. If you have any questions for Wang Shu, dial 555-6782 and she'll answer them for you. (Section 3)

4 City and Country

Debbie is an accountant in a large company in the centre of London. I need to be in my office by nine o'clock so I usually get up at seven o'clock. I travel to work on “the tube”. That's what people call the underground in London. It takes about fifty minutes. Usually, it's so crowded that I can't find anywhere to sit. I just stand. I'm always tired before I arrive at work. I don't like the underground!

I spend all morning checking numbers. Lunch is always simple. I often get a sandwich in a nearby sandwich shop or I just have some biscuits and a cup of coffee. Then in the afternoon, I return to the paperwork in the office.

On Monday nights, I have dance classes, and on Wednesday nights, I go to the gym. I need to do that because I don't get enough exercise otherwise. On Tuesday and Thursday nights, I have French classes. I work for a French company so I think studying French will help me in my job.

I go to the cinema almost every weekend. Sometimes, if the weather forecast is good, my friends and I drive to the countryside for a weekend break. We like to visit nice, quiet places far away from the city and go walking where there are no shops, crowds or the tube. That fresh air is so good for my lungs. I love it.

Paul lives in a small village in the north of England.

I usually get up at four o'clock every morning when it's still dark. I live and work on the farm so I don't need to travel. After a big breakfast in my house, I walk out of the front door and I'm already at work.

There are many things to do on the farm all day. We don't have the same work hours that office workers in the city have. We do jobs when they need to be done and that could be early in the morning or late at night. I have cows, sheep, pigs and chickens on my farm. I have to make sure they are free of sickness. I also grow wheat and vegetables so there are many things to look after.

In the evening, I like to play with my children. I have two children, a boy and a girl. They are six and eight years old. I also like to study. Right now I am studying Chinese by distance learning. I am very interested in China and it's my dream to see the Great Wall one day.

I love movies. My wife calls me a “movie fan”. But there isn't a cinema in my village so I don't get the chance to go very often. I go about twice a year, usually when I go to London with my family. We take a weekend break there when I am not too busy on the farm. My wife loves looking in the clothes shops and I like all the crowds and the noise. I also like to buy a few cigars. Unfortunately, my wife isn't as fond of them as I am. My son and daughter love to ride on London's red buses and they especially love to go on the tube!

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