CD 1-1
Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a university office worker and a student. Office worker 1: Foreign Students Office. How may I help you? Student: Oh, may I speak with Linda Gardner? Office worker 1: Hold on a second. I'll see if she is in ... Office worker 2: Hello. Studnet: Oh, hi, Linda. This is Bob Barnes. Office worker 2: Hi, Bob. How are you? Student: Fine. How are you? Office worker 2: Very good, thank you. It's been a while since we played last. What have you been up to today? Student: Been keeping myself busy with school and work. The same old story, you know! Office worker 2: Me too. I've been meaning to call you to set up a match after work. But the last couple of weeks they were running us all ragged at the office. This week, finally, we're able to see the daylight. Student: Well, I can identify with that. But if you want a rematch of the last one to even it up for you, I'm game anytime. But seriously, Linda, the reason I called is I need to find a Spanish tutor yesterday! I remmebered that you work at the Foreign Students Office. I thought you might know somebody who speaks Spanish. Office worker 2: Oh, yeah, as a matter of fact, I know a lot of Spanish speakers. What exactly do you have in mind, though? I mean, you need to learn speaking only, or grammer and everything? Student: Actually, it would be good if I found somebody who could teach me the whole thing. The mid-term exam is coming in a week. I need somebody to go over the textbook with me and answer my questions. You know, Linda, memorizing vocabulary is hard enough, but I've really run into a stone wall with conjugations. But it is Spanish 101, the very basic course. So I suppose anybody who speaks Spanish will do. Office worker 2: Well, don't jump to conclusions. Sometimes it is the hardest to teach the very basics. But don't worry. I know somebody just right for the job. Student: Phew! I'm lucky. Another thing is I can't pay very much. Actually, I've tried to find a tutor through the Student Aid Office, because they are usually the cheapest way to go. But they said there is nobody available at present. So I'm all on my own and you know how well I'm paid the library! Office worker 2: As a matter of fact, I don't think you need to pay anything. I can do the job. I used to teach Spanish in high school before I got married and moved here. Unless you want somebody else... Student: Wow! That's great. Of course, I want you. But I didn't know that you were a teacher. Office worker 2: Yeah. I spent two years roaming around in Spain, especially Barcelona, after graduation from college. After I came home, I taught five years in Bloomington before I married John. Student: I'll take you up on your offer, but insist on paying you at least the rate for a campus tutor. I don't want to take advantage of you. I really appreciate it, Linda. Office worker 2: Well, we can talk about that later. I'll see if we can use one of the conference rooms upstairs. Studnet: You mean, we can meet there? Office worker 2: Uh huh, I don't see why not. Most of them are usually empty by three or so. I can start any time; you say the word. Student: Great. Do you think we can start tomorrow? Office worker 2: Sure. Then, tomorrow it is. Just come by here after school and we'll start right away. We can dicusss an overdue tennis match afterward, too! Ha, ha!
CD 1-12
Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and a worker in a university office. Office worker: Yes, how can I help you? Student: Uh, well, I need to get a temporary permit. I've lost my parking permit. As I was parking my car just now, a parking meter guy came up to me and pointed out that my car had no permit displayed. Office worker: Oh, so you had one. Which was it, a hangtag or windshield decal? Student: A hangtag. I've never removed it from the rearview mirror, but somehow I've lost it. It's gone. I can't find it. When the guy said I have to buy a permit, I was a little miffed, I was a little miffed because I paid a lot of money already for it. What a bummer! Office worker: Relax. If you registered for a permit this spring, it will be valid until the fall. So I should be able to find your registration and issue a replacement. Show me your ID, please.Student: Phew! That's good. I mean, it was recently expensive, like, you know, way expensive. Here you go. Officer worker: Yeah, I know. You're lucky if you have one, though. It's getting more and more difficult to get assigned to a space. Student: That's right. I notice that. But what I really don't get is why I can't park my car right outside my dorm. I mean, I pay for my dorm room. Don't you think parking should come with it? Instead, I had to pay close to $200 for parking. Office worker: Um, but, you see, that includes parking other places on campus, too. Still, I know what you mean. But it's unrealistic to assume that you will be able to park right outside your dorm or building. A campus size of this university makes it necessary for us to manage the transportations of everybody, you know?Student: Well, that makes sense, I suppose. But the thing is, you know, the parking-lot assignment can sometimes be really ridiculous. I park my car in the dorm lot next door and the guys in that dorm park in front of my room!Office worker: Well, um, that kind of thing may happen once in a while. But, permits are distributed based on a priority system that takes into account factors like cumulative course hours for students, and years of service for employees. And, on top of that, a permit holder is expected to ride the campus transit but or walk from the assigned lot to wherever he's going on campus, you know. You're not supposed to be able to drive to your destinations, door to door, so to speak. See what I mean?Student: Uh, huh. ...Well...Office worker: What the University Parking Services Department has been trying to do all these years is to cut down, un, ...is to limit the amount of vechiles parking on campus. Student: Now that you mentioned it, traffic both on campus and in town is terrible.Office worker: See? We are trying to reduce traffic on campus. Less traffic means that we can have a more pedestrian friendly campus and protect and enhance trees, green space and whatnot. For that matter, since our campus transit system is connected with the city transit service, we are cutting down on traffic in town, as well. We're constantly improving -- uh, working on improving -- campus transit service so that it runs more efficiently and conveniently for passengers.Student: Okay. I've got it. Well, if you could pull my resigstration out, I'd like to get going. My class's starting in half an hour. Office worker: Let's see... Oh, yeah. Here's your registration... Okay. Now, you'll receive your replacement permit in the mail in two to three days. The number on it will be different from the old one, which will be invalid as of today. That's just so that nobody else can use it. In the meantime, you still have to have a permit to park on campus. No parking without a permit, you know. But we can issue you a complimentary permit that will be valid until Sunday. Student: You mean a temporary one? For free?Office worker: Yes and yes. If you please sign here, you'll be all set. Have a good day!Student: Thanks. You, too.
CD 1-24
Narrator: Listen as a professor leads a discussion in a biology class on muscles, bones and joints.Professor: Good afternoon. Well, as we talked about last Thursday, movement is a major characterristic of animals. This movement is a result of the contraction of muscles and the skeleton helps transmit that movement. Today, I'd like to discuss our body's muscles, bones, and joints in more detail. As you can see in the illustration in Chapter 4 in the textbook, under the skin, human bodies are covered with a lot of muscles. Under these muscles, we have bones of many shapes and sizes. These bones are connected with jonits, which are also of several different types. Now, let's start with muscles. We can group muscles into three types. Can anyone name these three types? Yes...?Female student: Um, yes... there are three main types of muscles in our body. Umm... one is skeletal muscle. The second type is smooth muscle. And the third is the specialized muscle tissue of the heart, called cardiac muscle.Professor: Very good, Betty. The first type of muscle is called by another name, too. What is it? And why? Anyone? Male student 1: Umm... Skeletal muscle is also called voluntary muscle, uh, because it can be consciously controlled. I mean... we can move it when we want to.Professor: Excellent. Then, how many skeletal muscles in the human body? ...John?Male student 2: Ah... let's see...um, about 300? But the number can change, though, can't it? I mean... say, by exercising and stuff. Professor: Uh-uh. And, with that few, you're missing half of our body. Anyone else? Female student: Uh, it has about 600 skeletal muscles, I believe.Professor: Actually, there are approximately 650 skeletal muscles in the human body, which differ in size and shape according to the jobs they do. Also, contrary to popular belief, the number of these muscles cannot be increased through exercise; the muscle can only get bigger, not more numerous. Well, these skeletal muscles are attached either directly to bones, or indirecly, that is via tendons. Okay, how about their movement? George, can you explain how they work?Male student 1: Certainly. They work in, uh, opposing pairs; one muscle in the pair contracts while the other relaxes. Professor: Yes, that's right. Controlled movements of the limbs indeed relies on coordinated relaxation and contraction of opposing muscles. For exmaple, to raise the forearm, the biceps, a two-rooted muscle, contracts and shortens while the triceps, a three-rooted muscle, relaxes. And the reverse occurs when the forearm is lowered. This intricate coordination produces body movements as diverse as walking, playing tennis, threading a needle, you name it. And, of course, a whole array of our facial expressions, too. Okay. Then, you may guess by now what the name for the other two types of muscles is. ...Yes?Male student 1: The second and third types of muscles are both called "involuntary" because they are not under "voluntary" control. What that means is we can't move them at will.Professor: Good. Smooth muscles, the second type, occur in the walls of internal body organs and perform actions such as forcing food through the intestines, contracting the womb in childbirth, and pumping blood through the blood vessels. Of course, cardiac muscle can't be voluntary, either. Okay? Then, let's move on to bones and joints. Bones: They from the body's hard, strong, um, skeletal framework. Does anyone know what bones are chiefly composed of? ...Yes?Female student: Well, um, bones are composed chiefly of calcim, phoshorus, and, let's see, a fibrous substance known as, um... collagen.Professor: Excellent! And bones meet at joints. These joints are also of several different types. Can someone name any example of them?Male student 2: The hip is a ball-and-socket joint that allows the femur, or thighbone, a wide range of movement. Finger joints, on the other hand, are simple hinge joints that allow only bending and straightening, but not rotating. That would be weird if they did, though. Anyway, these are some examples. Professor: Precisely. As you can see in the diagram on page 178, joints are held in place by bands of tissue called ligaments. Movement of joints is facilitated by the smooth hyaline, or glass-like, cartilage that covers the bone ends and by the special membrane that lines and lubricates the joint. I'm quite pleased that you prepared very well for the class today. Keep at it! We've covered the material quite thoroughly. If you don't have any questions, that's all for today. ...Okay, I'll see you all again Thursday. Oh, don't forget the reading assignment for next class, everyone.
CD 1-35
Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture on the Dreyfus Affair in a history class. Professor (male) : We've finished talking about the defeat of France by Prussia in 1871 and the Paris Commune. And we've already heard that political balance within the former nation began to fall apart after 1871 and that the death of Leon Gambetta in 1882 killed any chance for real political consensus in the country. And now we will move on to the so-called Dreyfus affair, which ilustrates how far political polarization had gone in the country. On October 15th in 1894 Alfred Dreyfus, a captain on the French general staff, was placed under arrest for high treason. After some weeks Dreyfus was found guilty at a secret military trial full of legal irregularities. And, uh, a few days later, on January 5th, 1895, he was deprived of his rank and sent for life to Devil's Island, in French Guiana. The conviction was based primarily on documents found in the waste-paper basket of a German military attache. The acrimony aroused by the case was to a large extent due to anti-Semitism, which was often related to Catholic, reactionary, and anti-Republican feelings. A Republican and a Jew, Dreyfus had been an outsider among the aristocratic, Catholic, and monarchist officers of the French general staff; therefore, his fellow officers were easily convinced to inciriminate him. Naturally, as their reasoning went, if there was a traitor among them, it could only be Dreyfus! So, even though his family... oh, by the way, he came from a wealthy Alsatian family...um, in any case, even though his family, especially his brother Mathieu, made every effort to obtain a new trail and some journalists came to Dreyfus's defense, for a long while no one could make any headway. Well, in the following year, the counterintelligence section of the French general staff received a new chief, Colonel George Picquart. This Colonel Picquart, a whistle-blower in the intelligence service, noticed that the removal of Dreyfus had not ended the leakage of military secrets. He also became aware that the handwriting on the incriminating documents wa similar to that of another member of the general staff, Count Esterhazy. On top of that, Esterhazy happened to be in continual financial difficulities. The plot thickenes, doesn't it? Um, as we will see, Picquart is the real hero of our story here. Well, when Picquart insisted on proceeding against Esterhazy, nobody on the general staff was willing to listen to him and he was summarily transferred from Paris to Tunis in AFRICA! But before leaving Paris, he confidentially informed several people of Esterhazy, including the vice president of the Senate. Shortly thereafter, two sides emerged on the issue: the pro- and the anti-Dreyfus. The pro-Dreyfus, called Dryusards, were Jewish, Protestant, anti-clericals, and liberals, and among them were the novelists Anatole France, Emile Zola, and Georges Clemenceau, the liberal politician, journalist and later premier. Interestingly enough, the Socialist leaders were reluctant supporters of Dreyfus because the Socialist leaders doubted that their adherents, the workers, percieved a connection between their own interests and the cause of a wealthly Jewish officer. On this other side were the anti-Dreyfusards -- Catholics, monarchists and many anti-Semities, veterans of 1871, frustrated nationalists and many rural elements. Of course, there was money involved in the whole thing, too, as you many suspect. In particular, what further fueled the hostility was the 1885 failure of a Roman Catholic banking firm, for which its Jewish rivals, including Rothschilds, with their superior resources and shrewdness, were blamed. In order to quell once and for all the agitation for Dreyfus, the French army ordered a trial of Esterhazy, and, lo and behold, he was acquitted. And, here is our hero again. Picquart, one of the witnesses against Esterhazy, was arrested and imprisoned. But rest assured, not all in vain. This whole arbitrary procedure provoked one of the great political documents of modern times -- J'accuse, which means "I Accuse!" In this open letter, addressed to the president of the republic, published in 1898 in Clemenceau's newspaper, Emile Zola stated the case against the army leaders briefly and succinctly. He singled our the responsible officers by name and devoted to each one of them a single paragraph beginning "J' accuse." Rightly expecting that he, too, would be condemned, Zola fled to London, where he continued to fight. Under these circumstances the highest court of appeals set aside the previous condemnation of Dreyfus and a new trial was set. On June 22, 1899, however, the new trial culminated in a bizarre verdict that confirm Dreyfus's guilt but, at the same time, pardoned him by conceding him "extenuating circumstances." Still, in September of that year, Dreyfus accpeted a pardon from the president of France. This brought his immediate release, although it implied a tacit admission of guilt. As a matter of fact, it took seven more years, until 1906, before Dreyfus was finally exonerated of the charges and readmitted into the army. Incidentally, afterward he fought at the Western Front during World War 2. All this is a thing of the past? Hardly. The factions in the Dreyfus affair remained in place for decades in its aftermath. As a result of the affair, the political right acquired an ideology and the left received a new sense of direction. The liberal victory played an important role in prompting liberal legislation such as a 1905 enactment separeting church and state. The anit-Dreyfusards have, on the other hand, remained a potent coalition and endured to the present time, as well. Even now, his statues and monuments are occasionally vandalized by far-right activists. Most importantly, the Dreyfus affair was symbolic of a whole series of unanswered questions in French society. Republic or monarchy? Catholic or secular? Liberal or authoritarian? These issues remained unsolved not just during World War 1, but also during World War 2, when, under Nazi auspices, the ghost of the anti-Dreyfusard movement was raised from the dead and placed in power. What is this resurrected ghost? Anyone? Yes... Student: Um, the Vichy government? Professor: Uh huh. Precisely. As you all must know from reading James Hall's articles, this week's reading assignment, the right-wing Vichy regime was composed mostly of old anti-Dreyfusards or their descendants. The more things change, the more they remain the same, as the French writer Alphonse Karr said. Well, that's why we're doing what we're doing here after all, isn't it, folks? Well, this is as good as any point to sugue into British reactions to this whole incidence. Before we wrap up for today, I'd like to touch on the affair's influence across the Channel.
CD 1-47
Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a zoology class.Professor (male): What do you think makes the owls such a good nocturnal hunter? Well, visualize it in the woods at night. The first thing you notice about it is its large round eyes. Those eyes are all so constantly vigilant from its perch on a tree. The secret of the owl's ability to hunt lies in its good night vision, which, in turn, lies in the size and construction of its eyes. In fact, its superb nocturnal vision involves two quite separate capabilities: the ability to discriminate fine details of the objects within the visual field, and the ability to perceive small quantities of light. Therefore, the owl's eyes are not simply giant versions of those o its day-living cousins, as you might suppose. During the daytime, there is plenty of light, and so the eyes of diurnal animals like gray, squirrels, mormots, most birds, and humans, have relatively small "windows" -- the cornea. Now, the amount of detail capable of resolution by the eye will obiously increase with the size of the image. In diurnal species of animials, the eye's lens tends to be flat with a long focal length, which means that a comparatively large image is brought to a focus on the retina way back from the lens. However, the larger an image gets, the dimmer it becomes, too. But, because of the high-intensity of light that enters through the pupil, the consequent loss of brightness of the large image doesn't matter; um, what this means is it will still be bright enough to register on the retina. In contrast, one of the first essentials for an eye that has to operate by night is that it must be able to collect and concentrate as much light as possible. The eyes of owl's are large, but size alone is not enough. Obviously, the design must differ from those of diurnal animals. One of the most striking features of an owl's eye is the relative size of the "window." In photographers' jargon, nocturnal eyes are "fast"; that is to say, size for size, they are capable of letting in far more light than diurnal ones. In practical terms, a "fast" lens is wider than a slow one. When there is not enough light for the slow lens to operate, the fast one can still collect enough to throw a bright image onto the film. The same analogy can be drawn between the eyes of owls and day birds. Now let's take a look at Figure 1 and compare the vertical sections of the eye of a diurnal species of bird and of an owl's eye. Since an owl's eye has a large cornea, the system would tend to throw a large image a long way back, just like in a daytime hunter's eye, with a comparable loss of brightness. At the same time, however, rounder and more powerful lenses bring the much brighter image back closer to the lens. In a word, their eyes give owls high resultion, with which they can see details of things even in the dark. The optics of their system, together with the fact that they have highly sensitive retinas, makes owls very well equipped to probe the darkest nooks by night. Well, um, this is why we can only stumble and grope in the dark, while owls are capable of an extraordinary feat of waving, er... weaving in and out of the trees at night with no trouble at all. There is another conspicuous difference between our eyes and owls'. Unlike the eyes of mammals, the eyes of these birds are reinforced by bony structures that bind the cornea in the tough outer layer of the eyeball. And these are fuesd to the skull. That's why owls cannot move their eyes inside the eye sockets and we can. They cannot "roll" or move their eyes -- that is, they can only look straight ahead! But their head can turn a considerable angle to accomplish the same purpose. Because the owl's eyes are separated by a significant distance, they also have good stereovision and depth perception. One last thing is, it's a popular misconception that owls are blind by day. After all, some species hunt by day and clincher is, eagle owls have been found to possess vision more acute than ours by day. Nevertheless, the relatively enormous tubular eyes of these birds are highly sensitive pieces of equipment, turned for nightlife. So they must be protected against the glare of daylight. Now in this function, their muscular irises play an important role.
CD 1-58
Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in an architecture class. Professor (male): Today we'll talk about the Georgian period in American architecture. As you read in the textbook, widely used architectural labels such as "Georgian" and "Federal" are derived from historical periods, and they have, in turn, come to elicit fairly specific visual images. No doubt you'd soon be able to visualize and cite examples of those styles yourselves, too. In any case, um, that's why ...um, say, Hampton Plantation in Towson, Maryland, was not built while the Georges of England ruled the American colonies -- between 1714 and 1775 -- but nevertheless is classified as Georgian. Well, the image runs ahead of reality, uh, actually, behind reality, in this case, doesn't it? Georgian style refer to a style originating in England in the 1600's based on forms following the classical principals of design developed by Andrea Palladio during the Italian Renaissance. In the mid 1600's, architects Indigo Jones and Christopher Wren began designing buidlings using Palladios' desing principals. This style became wildly popular in England, replacing the medival. The Georgian period in American architecture began about 1700 with construction of the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary. It was named after its architect. Although old architectural history books extended this period in American architecture until 1830 -- the end of the reign of George Ⅳ, most scholars now agree that in America the style generally ran its course by the 1780s. The eight-year hiatus of construction during the Revolutionary War essentially ended the Georgian period of architecture in irs original form. Later it would be renewed in revival styles. Thus, this is one of the longest-lived architectural styles in America. Well, many of the founders of the nation lived in handsome, capacious buildings along the eastern seaborad which were built in this style and the sites of historic events of the Revolutionary War that we can still visit were built in this style, too. Another noteworthy thing about his styles is that, while earlier styles were disseminated among craftsmem through the direct experience of the apprenticeship system, Georgian architecture was spread among builders through the new medium of inexpensive collections of engravings, as well. Leoni's first English publication of Palladio's work between 1716 and 1720 and a host of other handbooks from England all influenced American building arts and increased the academic former, uh, excuse me, the academic formal quality of the Georgian style. And, eventually, from the mid-18th century, Georgian styles were assmilated into an architerctural parlance so that they became part and parcel of the training of every carpenter and plasterer, from Edinburgh to Maryland. So, Georgian designs reached the American colonies in the form of architectural mannuals and pattern books by the mid 1700s when New England was enjoying its building boom. Wealth was accumulating along the Eastern seaboard. Wealthy captains, merchants, shipyard owners, and mill owners were developing new social classes. New standards of sophistication and elegance were being established. In the colonies, style now mattered. Many of those in the burgeoning wealthy classes visited England and looked to England for precedents of fashion and taste. And those they found. They were eager to have the new Georgian style home that displayed status, wealth and taste. So, Georgian style was all over the place, from Maine to Virginia in the British colonies. Just as Palladio in the 16th century had freely adapted Roman classical forms and Wren and his fellowers did heavily emulate the work of this Italian achitect, so did American builders borrow the English architectural style wholesale and with a vengeance! This new style involved new concepts of living. The multiplication of rooms led to increaed specialization of rooms into separate rooms for sleeping, cooking, dining and so forth. Comfort, convenience and privacy were beginning to play a role in the colonies' lifestyle as they increased their wealth. After the Revolution, Georgian convetions were slowly abandoned as a number of Revival styles, such as Gothic revival, enlarged the design repertoire. Another reason for this was its association with the colonial regime. Curiously, though, Pennsylvanians continued building Georgian houses until the 1860s, the time of the Civil War, while New Englanders abandoned the Georgian style for the most part before 1800. By the way, in Canada, Georgian architecture was embraced as a sign of Canadians' loyalty to Britain, and the style was dominant for most of the first half of the 19th century. Okay, let's look at the distinctive features of the style. Georgian architecture is characterized by its sense of proportion and balance. Simple mathematical ratios were used to determine, for example, the height of a window in relation to its width or the shape of a room. "Regular" was a term of approval because it implies symmertry and adherence to classical rules. On the other hand, the lack of symmetry was felt to be a fatal flaw. Regularity of house fronts along a street was a desirable feature of Georgian town planning. Georgian designs usually include one or more of the orders of architecture and other elements derived from ancient Rome or Greece. Oh, what are orders? Yes. Student (female): Orders are formalized systems of proportions. And Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian are the major Greek classical orders.Professor: Yup. Now, look at Page 79. You can see these defining features of Georgian architecture: Renaissance-inspired rigid classical symmetry, axial entrances, geometrical proportions, and sash windows, in which the framing, the sash, holds panes of glass. You see what I mean? As you may also notice, a British Georgian building had a hipped roof sloping down on all four sides; an American one, side-gable roof. See? Now, look at the drawings on Page 81 and look for the features of the most dominant influence in Georgian architecture: namely, Palladian. Well, the features of Palladian design were especially prevalent in the mid-Georgian period. Look at the those of the Virginia governor's palace in Williamsburg and Drayton Hall near Charleston, South Carolina. Do you spot the Palladian influence? These buildings are the epitomes of American Georgian architecture, and you can distinctly see the hand of Palladio in them: the large classical column and the two-story portico, which is a large porch, usually with a roof tha is supported by those classical columns. And, of course, even now we often hear the term "Palladian window" -- a tall window with flanking two smaller rectangles and a arched top, which you can find on many, many buildings, most often on the second story, directly above the front entrance, from all the periods since then. After almost a century of reviving European styles, late 19th-century American architects began to look to their own national past for appropriate models in their creation. Architects and builders revived and modified the styles to accommodate the more modern lifestyle and taste of the new century. That is to say, they created their Colonial Revival styles from the Georgian style. In their eagerness to ensure that the design heritage would be recognized, the architects often exaggerated their case. They also had to find ways to apply 18th-century details to buildings that were decidedly 19th-century size and function, such as railroad stations and public schools. To accomplish this, elements of the Georgian style were emphasized in various ways -- by changes of scale, by combinations of features used in ways unknown to the 18th century, or simply by repetition. It is such emphasis that helps distinguish the parent from child. So, even though we now have examples of original Georgian and Georgian "revival" homes and buildings to consider, you will be able to spot the original from the revival with enough time and practice. Can we still find new buildings of this style? Certainly. Although the Georgian Revival enjoyed its greatest popularity and most vigorous expression in the last decades of the 19th century and the first of the 20th, it is still pretty much a part of our architectural scene. Well, unfortunately, however, most modern examples suggest that the creative revival of the Georgian style is a thing of the past.