01_Biotechnology
Frank: So why are you so against genetically modified food, then? I think you’ve been taken in by all the bad press.Ann: No, that’s not true. I’ve read up on the subject and I think there are just too many risks.Frank: The GM foods that you get are probably safer than non-GM foods.Ann: Don’t be daft. Where’ve you got that from?Frank: Well, there are tighter controls for GM food. There are controls in each country and then at a European level as well. If they pass through all of those controls before they reach the shops they must be OK.Ann: I just don’t like the idea of having my food altered. What’s wrong with the food we’ve always had?Frank: We have to move with the times. The possibilities for GM food are endless. Ann: What – redder tomatoes or bigger strawberries? Frank: Yes, for one thing – but what about vegetables with a higher vitamin content or bananas with vaccines built into them?Ann: What? (laughing)Frank: It’s true. They’ve developed a way to produce bananas with the Hepatitis B vaccine.Ann: Mm, not sure what I think of that. We haven’t done enough research and playing around with crops is playing havoc with the wildlife. There are whole species of birds that are in danger of becoming extinct. Larks, for example, they are rapidly decreasing in numbers and it’s because of the chemicals they are using on GM foods.Frank: They haven’t proved that.Ann: Not yet, no. But it’s only a matter of time.Frank: Mm.Ann: And another thing that worries me is the power that a few food companies will have if we start to rely on GM food. They’ll dominate the poor countries even more than they do today.Frank: They’ll feed them.Ann: At a price, yes. Maybe. I’m worried about the food chain too.Frank: What do you mean?Ann: Well, playing around with nature causes no end of damage to some plants and animals. When a species dies out or mutates, it has a knock-on effect on the whole ecosystem.Frank: I think you’re being cynical. You’re not giving GM food a chance.Ann: Not cynical, just cautious.Frank: OK, consider this. Global warming is threatening to destroy the habitat of polar bears.Ann: What’s this got to do with genetically modified food?Frank: Everything. We could use GM food to change the polar bears’ habitat now. That way we can prevent them from becoming extinct.Ann: OK, I quite like that idea.Frank: Good. You’re starting to come round to my way of thinking.Ann: No, I’m just trying to understand. I don’t like being a guinea pig and we are all being guinea pigs for the experiments they’re doing on GM foods. I guess I don’t like the way things seem to just be happening without much of a debate.Frank: What do you mean? We’re talking about it all the time.Ann: Talking maybe, but nobody’s listening.

02_Advice on writing CVs
Interviewer: LearnEnglish Professionals is talking to John Woodrow, who works in the Human Resources department of a large UK-based company. John, tell us about your work ...John Woodrow: I work on recruitment, especially – so I’m the person who reads the hundreds of CVs we get sent each year!Interviewer: Do you accept CVs as part of your recruitment process?John Woodrow: When we advertise for a particular post, we send out our own application form, which is tailored to our company, and we can use it to make sure we find exactly what we’re looking for ...Interviewer: So a CV is useless?John Woodrow: No! Not at all – we’re happy to accept CVs from people even when we’re not recruiting. That way we can build up a database of possible candidates, and as our company is always changing – we’re very flexible in our needs right now (laughs) – it’s good to know what kind of people are out there. We do keep everything on file, and will get back to people who look promising.Interviewer: So we should be sending you our CVs?John Woodrow: Yes, absolutely, yes!Interviewer: What advice can you give us on writing a CV?John Woodrow: Keep it short, keep it simple, keep it relevant. Anything longer than three pages will automatically go into the bin. Just tell us what we need to know. Make sure it’s clearly written – and that there are no spelling mistakes on it! And no fancy fonts ... or photographs. We don’t need to know what people look like, just what they’ve done, and what they’re capable of ...Interviewer: So we’re going to look at a couple of CVs now ...John Woodrow: Yes – these are a couple that arrived just this morning, so let’s take a look ... (sound of paper unfolding) ... OK, I can see straight away that we have a good one and a bad one here ...Interviewer (laughs): How can you tell so soon?John Woodrow: Well, as I just said, this one here is ... how many? ... one, two, three, four pages long, it’s written in tiny type, I can hardly read it ... and, wait, yes, there’s a photograph attached to the front!Interviewer: Too much information?John Woodrow: Yes ... just leafing through it, I can see he’s written about where he went to primary school – that’s just not relevant.Interviewer: What kind of educational background should be included?John Woodrow: Perhaps your high school, but it’s mostly further education we’re interested in, university or college, then any professional qualifications you may have, as well as work experience, of course.Interviewer: That’s important?John Woodrow: Oh yes – placements or internships all count!Interviewer: What about personal information?John Woodrow: A bit is necessary ... but look, this guy has written he was a member of the stamp collecting society in secondary school! Not interested ...Interviewer: What about the other CV?John Woodrow: OK, again, I can see right away this looks more promising ... only two and a half pages, lots of space on the page, easy to read, well organised. Hmmm, a couple of impressive looking references, that’s good. And, yes, they’ve included language skills – very important ...Interviewer: What languages are you looking for?John Woodrow: Well, English, obviously, as we’re a UK-based company and English is still the language of global business, and then, well, anything really – Spanish is useful, Russian, Mandarin Chinese too ...Interviewer: OK, we’ll get studying! Thanks, John!

03_English for Medicine – A Doctor's View
Interviewer: Today I’m talking to Rajan Mehta, a retired doctor. Good afternoon, Rajan. Rajan: Good afternoon. Interviewer: Now, you’re originally from Mumbai and you came to work as a doctor in the UK. When was this? Rajan: In the early sixties, 1962 to be exact. Interviewer: And why did you come to the UK? Rajan: Well, it was quite common in those days. Experience of working in the British National Health Service was highly valued in India. I had just finished my medical degree, and I thought this would be a good way to get experience. I only intended to stay for five years, while I completed my postgraduate studies. Interviewer: So why did you stay longer? Rajan: Two reasons, really. The first is that I thoroughly enjoyed working for the NHS. The clinical training I received was fantastic, and I worked alongside some excellent consultants and learnt a lot. And the second reason is that I met my wife, who was working as a paediatric nurse. Interviewer: And so you continued working in the NHS until you retired. Rajan: That’s correct. First as a paediatrician, and then later I retrained as a GP. Interviewer: You must have seen a lot of changes in the National Health Service. What was it like when you first came here? Rajan: It was excellent. I think that there was a lot of respect for the medical profession, maybe more than there is now, and patients had a lot of faith in their doctors. There weren’t so many problems with long waiting lists, and new advances in areas such as organ transplants made it an exciting profession to be in. Interviewer: Yes, it must have been. Did you have any problems when you first started working in Britain? Rajan: Well, yes. My first placement was in a hospital in the north-east of England and I had real problems understanding what people were saying to me, which came as quite a shock as I thought I had rather good English. Eventually I confessed to a colleague that I sometimes couldn’t understand what my patients were saying. And she admitted that she had the same problem, as she came from a different part of the country. Interviewer: Yes, some regional accents can be quite difficult to understand. One last question – do you ever regret not returning to India? Rajan: No, not really. Of course, I missed my family, but my brother also came to England to live, and I returned quite regularly to visit my parents while they were alive. And I married an English woman and had children here, so England soon became home. Interviewer: Rajan, thank you very much for coming in and talking to me. Rajan: It’s been a pleasure. 

04_Motivation in the workplace
Interviewer: How important is motivation for a manager? Professor: Oh, motivation is extremely important. I’d say it’s the most important aspect of a manager’s job. A manager’s job is to get the job done, whatever that job might be. So a manager has to motivate the workers, both as a team and also on an individual basis. Without motivation, the job just won’t get done. Interviewer: So how do managers go about doing this? It doesn’t sound very easy. Professor: No, it is a complicated issue. But managers have special tools. They are trained to use them to boost motivation and increase production to a maximum. Interviewer: Tools? Professor: Yes, tools like praise, approval and recognition. And then there is trust and expectation. They are all important for workers. Interviewer: And money? What about money? Professor: Yes, money is a factor but you might be surprised to learn that it comes out last on the list of these tools that we are talking about. Interviewer: So, what comes before money? What sort of things are more important for workers? Professor: Well, all of the things that I have already mentioned, and then job enrichment and good communication between the workers and the bosses. Interviewer: And have you got any examples of real life situations to back up your claims? Professor: One good example is the firm Western Electric. When managers started taking an interest in their workers, there was a huge increase in production. They started to talk to the workers and encouraged them to get involved in decision-making. Workers began to feel that their contributions were important. And it paid off. Interviewer: Productivity increased? Professor: Yes, hugely. The Swedish company Kochums is another example. The company was on the verge of collapse when managers decided to try a change in motivation practice. Interviewer: What did they do? Professor: Well, basically it was a change in attitude towards their workers. Managers decided to stop giving orders and to try persuading them instead. Interviewer: And it worked? Professor: Absolutely. In just ten years they managed to turn a 15 million dollar loss into a 100 million dollar profit. Interviewer: So, let’s get this straight. Are you saying that workers are not interested in earning more money? Professor: I’m saying they’re not just interested in money. It is important of course. We need to enjoy a certain standard of living. But, as I mentioned before, there are other things that are just as important: praise, approval, recognition, trust and expectation, job enrichment and good communication.
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