1.
John: Oh hi it’s me, John. Sorry to miss you – you must’ve already left for work. Look, I wondered if you wanted to come away for the weekend. There’ll be about 10 of us including someone called Sam Brent who says he was at college with you – and he remembers that you were brilliant at rock and roll! They’ve decided it’ll be on October 9, Friday night till Sunday. Anyway, I’ll put the details in the post. I know you’re busy at the moment, so don’t feel you have to come, but just let me know one way or the other when you can. Talk to you soon. Bye.

2.
Woman: So how did you like the new sports centre?
Man: Well, there’s a wide choice of things to do… It’s just that their advertisements said ‘something to suit all the family’. I wish they’d had water games for the under fives. There was nothing really suitable for them. But you can learn to windsurf or sail, and you have the freedom to go anywhere in the lake …
Woman: Isn’t that a bit dangerous?
Man: Not really. Nobody’s allowed in the water without a lifejacket, and a rescue boat is on hand all the time.
Woman: Sounds great.
Man: It was

3.
Interviewer: Are you ever annoyed by interviewers?
Star: Well, I’m often asked about the financial side of things. I don’t mind, but I can honestly say, for many tournaments, I don’t even know what the prize money is. I just focus on playing to my full potential. They must find that answer disappointing! No, the ones I have a problem with are those who assume it’s all about partying and gossip. I wish they’d ask about the real lifestyle: practising day in, day out, and getting from tournament to tournament. I probably do around a hundred long-haul flights a year. It sounds exciting, but it wipes you out and actually ruins your social life!

4.
Poet: I’ve been slowly writing more and more poems for kids over the last few years. Talking to young people in schools, which I’ve been doing for some time now, reinforces my belief that they need and want the same range of subjects that older people do – relationships, work, family, etc. Often it’s something that only emerges after my poems are finished, but quite a few of them in my new collection were first thought of as poems for adults, until I realised that they might work just as well, or better, for kids. But I hope it’s a book that adults will enjoy too.

5.
Woman: Did you watch that programme about the Gobi Desert last night? I thought it’d be really interesting because it’s a part of the world I know very little about.
Man: The photography was brilliant, wasn’t it?
Woman: Yes, you could really feel how harsh the life was there.
Man: Overwhelmingly grey, I thought. It’d be hard to feel cheerful living in that landscape.
Woman: It was a bit short on facts though, wasn’t it?
Man: I don’t think it was that kind of programme. They just wanted you to be amazed at the fantastic landscape. I guess that’s why there wasn’t much commentary.
Woman: You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that.

6.
Man: So, your first live ice-hockey game. Glad you came?
Woman: Well, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but it was so cold – I had no idea that it would be like that. I wish I’d brought my thicker coat!
Man: That’s normal! At least it was a really exciting game – our team was doing much better than usual.
Woman: Well, perhaps that accounts for the noise! I knew it would be loud, but it was incredible.
Man: What do you expect? We have to support them!
Woman: Well I can say I’ve done it – just don’t expect to see me here next week!

7.
Man: I can see why people really rate the place.
Woman: Yeah. They really know how to bring out the flavours in the different dishes. They also put a lot of thought into combining unusual ingredients. And as a restaurant it’s not too stuffy and formal. It’s got a really lively feel about it.
Man: Perhaps a little too lively. It was quite hard to hear each other above the din. I’m not sure it’d be the place to come for a romantic dinner. Great food though, and so visually appealing on the plate.
Woman: They’ve made a lot of effort with that. It really adds to the experience, doesn’t it?

8.
Radio: As a result of heavy snow, there has been major disruption to rail services this morning. A number of breakdowns have been reported in the west, with people stranded on some trains. In this region blizzard conditions are making driving conditions hazardous. A severely restricted train service will be operating within the next few hours into the capital and delays are expected on all lines in the south of the country.  In the north, there is some snow, but services have been able to continue, with only a few cancellations reported.

1.
Climber: It’s not for everyone, but I love the physical aspect. I started almost  by accident – my uncle took me to an indoor climbing wall and I was  hooked. The start of any climb still gives me a real buzz. I’ve never  settled for being less than the best at anything I’ve tried, and that’s  what pushed me to the standard I am now – which doesn’t mean  I don’t think I can still improve! I get a huge sense of achievement  when I finish a particularly demanding climb, and though other  climbers get nervous sometimes, like when there’s ice, or the  weather’s bad, that never puts me off.

2.
Sonia: Attention, everybody. This is Sonia Lee and I’m events manager for  today at Seaworld Centre. If you hurry to Zone D you can catch  the spectacular ‘riding with dolphins’ event. The next one’s on at 5  past 11, but don’t worry if you miss that, because you’ve got three  more chances to see it today. We’ll now be feeding the sea lions  at 2.15, that’s 45 minutes later than scheduled according to your  programmes. And whatever you do, don’t miss the ever-popular Penguin Walkabout. That starts in half an hour. You’ve never seen anything like it! See you there!

3.
Woman: I enjoyed that.
Man: It was a bit too businessy for me. I know everything’s about profits these days, but I still think producing books should be more about creativity than making money .
Woman: Everything’s going the same way, whether you like it or not. A friend of mine did a course on book illustration, and she said the first lecture was about costs.
Man: Anyway, this speaker said if we’re going into the book trade, we should get practice in as many aspects as possible .
Woman: I agree with that. They need an editor for the sports page on the student newspaper, and I think I’ll go for it.

4.
Woman: Well, what did you think of that film?
Man: I had mixed reactions really. From what I’d read, I expected it to be funnier.
Woman: I know what you mean – just shows how different people’s tastes can be I guess.  Good twist at the end though. I wasn’t expecting that, were you?
Man: I kind of guessed what was coming to be honest. There were a lot of references to other films in the storyline I thought.
Woman: Oh, you think so? I wasn’t quite sure what message it was trying to convey, though. One minute it seemed to be saying one thing and the next it was saying the opposite.
Man: Yeah, I agree.

5.
Woman: Steven, this new environmental project you’re running, what are you hoping to achieve?
Man: Well, Susie, the town I live in, Melbury, is a very pleasant place to live – clean and tidy. The problem really isn’t with Melbury as such but is a wider problem – that of the dangers of rubbish to wildlife. So I got all the retailers in the town together and showed them a film I’d made on this subject and as a result they’ve agreed to use paper bags instead of plastic ones.  Recycling was introduced very successfully last year so I’m hoping that my new project will have similar success.

6.
Man: Professional salespeople can sell anything to anyone and they do this by using very basic psychological techniques. Buyers normally have certain requirements by which they will judge the suitability of a product. The seller therefore attempts to find out what these conditions are by building a bond – asking questions about hobbies, family and the like; but you need to remember, the seller is only interested in ‘closing the deal’.  At its most extreme, salespeople will even attempt to mirror the body language of the buyer. If the buyer laughs, then so will the seller.

7.
Man: The college website is up again. Have you seen it?
Woman: Yes, they’ve been working on it for a month and it’s better now. I thought, if they’d got sponsorship from local companies, there’d be too many advertisements, but it’s OK.
Man: Yeah. That’s not a problem. They must’ve got someone in from the design department to work on it, because there’re some real improvements, it’s not so dull.
Woman: Especially the artwork on the home page.  They want people to send in ideas so they can change the layout regularly.
Man: OK, so long as it doesn’t get too complicated and you waste time figuring out how to get to the page you want.

8.
Woman: How did you find the competition?
Man: Tough, but I really enjoyed it. I was convinced the dishes I’d chosen to prepare would go down well. I decided to focus on using local ingredients as people nowadays worry a lot about what they’re eating and it’s really important to know where the food comes from. It was my first time competing against others and it was fun being under pressure to come up with things under strict time limits. I hadn’t expected to be so worn out though, I think it was having to be on my feet for so long , but it’s definitely something I’ll do again.