Perspectives 3 AUDIO SCRIPT

Track 1

Hi there, and welcome back to another one of our weekly podcasts. Today we’re talking
about study-abroad programs, which, as you probably know, allow high school or
college students to study abroad for anything from a week to a year. What you may not
know, though, is that the roots of the present system date back to the end of World War
II, when it was hoped that the experience of living overseas would increase participants’
understanding and tolerance of other cultures while also improving their language. So is
this really what happens? Well, we decided to talk to two students who have taken part
in study-abroad programs to find out what their experiences were. First we’ll hear from
Kenji in Tokyo, Japan, and then Catalina, who’s in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Track 2

Kenji: My name’s Kenji. I spent six months in Germany last year. My dad’s American, so
I’d been to the US with family a few times, but I hadn’t traveled on my own before. I was
actually thinking about canceling my trip before I left. I remember as my departure day
got nearer, I got really nervous, but I’m so happy I didn’t cancel because it completely
changed my life. I stayed with a host family in Munich and they were really welcoming.
When I wasn’t in school, they showed me all the sights, took me hiking and skiing, and
really helped me get a feel for the country. I have become far more fluent in German and
feel as though I have matured a lot. I miss my host family, but we still talk a lot online
and I’m actually planning to visit again in the summer.
Catalina: My name is Catalina. I went to Italy last year as part of the Summer Explorer
program. I have an Italian grandmother, so I’d been wanting to go there for ages. I’d
never left Argentina! I’ll never forget the feeling I had as I was stepping off the plane and
into Palermo airport! It all took a while to get used to and I got a bit of a culture shock to
begin with, but I soon started making new friends. After the first month, I could get by in
Italian and by the end of the second month, it had got way better. By the third, I didn’t
want to leave as my Italian was really improving, and I’d made loads of new friends. All
in all, it was a great experience and I’m keen to go back sometime in the future to live
and work for a few years.

Track 3

Hitchhiking: Where Did All The Hitchhikers Go?

I was driving along the other day, and I passed a man sticking his thumb out. He was
asking for a ride. When we had gone past, my daughter, who is 15, asked me, “What
was that man doing?” The question surprised me because hitchhiking used to be so

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common. I used to do it all the time when I was a student going home to visit friends,
and I also spent one summer hitchhiking around South America. Often when you went to
some hitching spots, you’d have to line up behind several others already waiting for a
ride—it was so popular. So what happened? Why is it so rare now? The authors of
Freakonomics, Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt, have also asked this question in one of
their regular podcasts. They suggest that it probably comes down to five main reasons.
Fear
Several horror movies have shown psychotic drivers who kidnap and murder the
hitchhiker they pick up (or vice versa). This has been reinforced by certain stories in the
media of people getting robbed and being left in the middle of nowhere. Unsurprisingly,
this has caused trust to break down. Some people believe that the chances of these
things happening are small. The website Wand’rly, for example, suggests people are far
more likely to die by tripping and falling than hitchhiking.
Legal Restrictions
There are more major roads now than there used to be, and hitching is either banned or
drivers are not allowed to pull over on these roads.
Greater Access To Cars
Alan Piskarsi, a transportation expert, points to the fact that cars last longer so there are
more of them available at a cheaper price. What’s more, many more people have
driver’s licenses than they used to.
Low-Cost Flights
In the past, young people simply couldn’t afford to fly long distances, and traveling by
train wasn’t necessarily much quicker than traveling by car. Now, however, we have
budget airlines, making air travel more accessible.
More Wealth
Along the same lines, people’s standard of living has increased. Perhaps people opt for
higher levels of comfort, privacy or reliability when they travel.
New Needs And Opportunities
The trouble is that privacy comes at a cost. Levitt and Dubner state that in the United
States, 80 percent of passenger space in cars is unused, which makes them more costly
to operate and creates unnecessary traffic and pollution. The solution could be more
hitchhiking! They give the example of a city in Virginia, where commuters have
organized a spot where they meet to hitch a ride so drivers with no passengers can use
carpool lanes on the highway that are reserved for cars that contain more than one
person.
Fresh Fears
But what about general travel? I often argued with my parents about the dangers of
hitchhiking, and I would tell them about all the amazing experiences I’d had and the

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generous, interesting people I’d met. I think it genuinely gave me a different perspective
to other travelers and tourists. But now, I look at my daughter and I wonder about her
going on a trip. Would I want her to go hitchhiking?

Track 4

1 I make the mistake of asking him “So where are you staying tonight?”
2 And I’m thinking “Oh man! What do you do?”
3 And the voice in my head goes, “Wait, what?”
4 I’m staring at the ceiling, I’m thinking, “Oh my god, what have I done?”

Track 5

S1 I’m thinking of seeing some sights today. Can you recommend anywhere?
S2: Well, the Old Town is well worth a visit. There are some amazing buildings there.
S1 OK. Well, I’ll check that out this morning, then. And do you know anywhere good to
have lunch?
S2: Well, there’s a great steak place down by the river.
S1 Oh, right. Well, actually, I don’t eat meat, so ...
S2: In that case, you’d be best off going to Madragora – a nice little vegetarian place
near the park.
S1 Great. Thanks for the tip.

Track 6

The number of entrepreneurs has been growing ever since the arrival of new technology
and online services. This new technology has reduced the barriers that previously
discouraged people from setting up a business. Now, a company does not have to be
based in an impressive office or employ lots of people. It could be just one person at
home with a computer – like Nick D’Aloisio. He created an app in his bedroom to
summarize news articles and then sold it to Yahoo for 30 million dollars – all before he
reached his 18th birthday! Or it could be someone like the best-selling author Amanda
Hocking. Rather than finding a publisher to market and distribute her work, she self-
published her fantasy-thrillers as e-books. She has since sold over a million copies of
them on Amazon. This new style of business particularly benefits people like Nick and
Amanda: young people or people from other groups who have been under-represented
in corporate leadership. Technology has also changed how businesses are funded.
Previously, people trying to raise money to develop their ideas had to go to a bank or
negotiate a deal with an investor. Bankers and investors often only supported people like

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themselves – older, wealthy men in suits. In contrast, D’Aloisio’s first investor contacted
him by email from Hong Kong and had no idea that the company was run by a 15-year-
old boy out of his bedroom. Crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter allow
entrepreneurs to avoid banks or having to sell part of their business to an investor. They
provide a place for anyone in the world to give small or large amounts of money to a
project in return for the future product, a gift, or even a simple “thank you”. While
traditional banks focus on future profits, many Kickstarter entrepreneurs and investors
are more interested in having a positive impact on the world. Kickstarter has been
running for several years now and has raised over two billion dollars to develop more
than 300 thousand projects that include everything from hi-tech smart watches to Oscar-
winning films and projects to save the rainforests of the world.
So the new entrepreneurs may be younger, more diverse and more socially aware than
in the past, but there are some things that don’t change. 50 percent of new businesses
never make money. Over half of the campaigns on Kickstarter don’t receive any funding
because they fail to reach their set target. Most successful entrepreneurs have failed at
least once: Amanda Hocking had 17 books rejected by publishers before she found
success herself. Entrepreneurs have always needed the confidence to recover from
failure and maintain a passion for what they do – and it’s still key.

Track 7

Online Crime
The world becomes better connected every day. It’s now easier than ever to keep in
touch with friends and family around the world. Online banking allows people to access
their accounts from anywhere that has an internet connection. People don’t even have
to leave the house to go shopping! However, with greater connectivity comes greater
risk. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people become victims of online crime. We
asked our readers to share some of their terrible tech tales while we examine where the
crimes originate.
Laura
One day last year, I got a call from what I thought was my bank. They said someone was
trying to take money from my account without my permission and that they needed to
confirm my personal details to stop it. I’ll be honest – I didn’t really understand what was
going on and wanted to stop anything bad from happening, so I gave them my name
and address and date of birth. I didn’t hear back, but a month later I got my credit card
statement and found someone had spent over $11,000 on flights and luxury hotels!
Bruno
I was surfing the web one day when I found a site selling Xboxes and PlayStations. I
couldn’t believe how cheap they were. They had stuff on there for half the normal price! I
clicked on one item and bought what was advertised as a “PlayStation 4 original box and
receipt”. I assumed it was second-hand and, as it was only €150, I bought it without

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checking the details. You can imagine how I felt a few days later when the postman
brought me just the box and the receipt!
Janella
Looking back, it was my own fault, but when I got an email saying a distant relative had
died and left me millions of dollars, common sense went out of the window! It was from
someone claiming to be a lawyer in West Africa. I know my dad’s side of the family had
connections there, so I thought it must be true. They attached documents that looked
official and kept writing, so eventually I sent them $8,000 to pay the legal fees. Of course,
it was a scam and I never heard from them again ... or got my money back!

Track 8

A: We can start with 50 kilograms as a trial shipment.

B: Fifty kilograms? There’s no point doing this unless you’re shipping at least a metric
ton.

Track 9

1, Shelley: She’s retired now, but I’ve always really admired Mia Hamm. She used to be a
forward in the US women’s football team, and she’s one of the most successful football
players ever. I mean, she’s won Olympic medals, World Cup medals ... she played for her
country 275 times – and scored over 150 international goals. No man has ever managed
that! And they were some of the best goals I’ve ever seen as well. She really had
everything: awareness, technique, skill, stamina, everything. And she was so consistent
too – always an eight or nine out of ten performer.
2, Luca: Not many people can claim to have made a sport popular more or less on their
own, but Valentino Rossi is one of them. In my eyes, he’s the greatest MotoGP racer of
all time and, without him, fewer people would watch motorcycle road racing. And I’m
not just saying that because we’re both Italian! He’s won the World Championship nine
times, but I won’t bore you with the details because actually what I love most about him
is both his passion for racing and the fact he seems so decent, so humble. He has no ego
problems and a great personality. I love watching him ride and his celebrations when he
wins are always really entertaining as well.
3, Carlos: I love diving! A great hero of mine is Joaquín Capilla because he was Mexico’s
most successful diver. He competed in three Olympic Games and won many medals,
including one gold. And, you know, that was at a time when there were few competitors
in the Olympics from Mexico and very little support for them. My coach has shown me
some videos of Joaquín when he was at his best. Obviously, things have moved on and
the dives we do now are more di cult, but you can still appreciate his amazing technique.
I also admire him for his later life when he managed to overcome a lot of personal

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problems. I think he serves as a great lesson about what you can achieve in both sport
and life.
4, Endang: Susi Susanti was a national hero when my father was at high school. Ask any
Indonesian of his generation, and they’ll know her. Before the 1992 Olympics in
Barcelona, we’d never won any gold medals. I guess you could say we were lucky the
International Olympic Committee decided to introduce badminton as an Olympic sport
that year because Susi won the women’s singles – and her future husband, Alan
Budikusuma, won the men’s. Susi is not very tall – maybe one metre 60, something like
that – but she was so energetic and determined, always moving, almost floating!
Another thing I love about her is her attitude. She always fought right to the end, even
when it seemed there was no hope, and I admire that.

Track 10

Olympic Gold
When Baron Pierre de Coubertin set up the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, he
declared that “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but
taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.” Sometimes,
these days it can seem that this core principle has been forgotten, overtaken by the
other motto de Coubertin is known for: “faster, higher, stronger”.
The hosting countries spend huge amounts of money to hold the 16-day event. Many of
the countries taking part invest huge sums in programs for elite athletes. And that
money is not spent to come fourth; the only thing that matters is having “the best
Games” and winning medals – preferably gold.
The figures are enormous! Depending on who you ask, China spent $40 billion on the
Beijing Olympics, Russia invested $50 billion in Sochi; while Rio and London each cost
between 14 and 18 billion dollars. In terms of money for athletes, the UK spent over
$400 million on supporting 1,300 top competitors. This funding is directly linked to
success: those who fail to achieve their targets will have their funding cut and in some
cases completely removed. So much for the value of just “taking part!”
Similarly, some years ago, China established a system known as Juguo Tizhi (“whole
country support for the elite sport system”) for developing athletes. Children are
identified as potential sports stars at the ages of six to nine and are sent to special sports
schools run by local government, where they train for up to 15 hours a week. Those who
prove to have talent move on to a semi-professional schedule of four to six hours a day,
five or six days a week. After some years, the top performers then move on to provincial
training centers. Students there live and breathe their sport and hope to be selected for
their provincial team and then to be full-time professional athletes representing their
country. There are around 400,000 young people in this system whose main purpose is to
“win glory for their nation” and, in the years before Beijing, it accounted for a very large
percentage of all sports funding.

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In both sports and life, you tend to get what you pay for; the more money you spend, the
better the results. China came first in Beijing, and Great Britain got its highest ranking
for over 100 years in 2016. The question is whether this search for success at all costs
comes at the expense of investing in something which is arguably more valuable: local
clubs and competitions; facilities for people to stay healthy and play for fun. Seeing your
team win can obviously lift your spirits. However, this feeling is only temporary, while
taking part in regular exercise and sports has been shown to have long-term
psychological benefits, as well as having other advantages. Given this, surely spending
more money on increasing sports participation from the lowest levels up would be a
better way of tackling some of the health and social challenges that many countries face.

Track 11

The winner of the 2012 Olympic marathon ran two hours and eight minutes. Had he
been racing against the winner of the 1904 Olympic marathon, he would have won by
nearly an hour and a half.

Track 12

The Rio Carnival, one of the world’s leading festivals, is held every February in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. During the festival, organizers put on a huge number of parades and
parties all over the city, which attract almost a million tourists. The festival has a big
impact on the city, and on people’s cultural lives. The carnival involves around 200
Samba schools which compete to have the best costumes, dance routines, and musical
bands.
It generates over 750 million dollars in income locally in Rio, which comes from tourists
who attend the four-day event and the Samba schools, which can sometimes spend over
three million dollars on costumes and preparations. The festival also boosts Brazil’s
broader economy. But it’s not just about money. There’s wide support for the festival
because it brings people together and helps create a sense of pride in the country. Many
of the Samba schools are from the poorest neighborhoods in the city, and the festival
offers young people opportunities to take part in cultural activities and learn new skills.
In many ways, the festival has put Rio on the map as a world city and cultural hotspot.

Track 13

Host: Today on Arts Spot, we’re looking at some art projects aiming to make a
difference. I’m here with my usual guests, Holly and Mark. So Holly, if we can
start with you . . . I think you wanted to talk about the Favela Painting
Foundation, right?
H: Yeah. You may have seen these guys Haas and Hahn give a TED Talk on their
project in Rio.

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M: Yeah, they’re very cool guys. They created an incredible work of art by painting a
whole neighborhood.
H: Exactly. So their latest project is something similar, but in Port-au-Prince, the
capital of Haiti, which, as you know, has suffered a lot over the last few years
from an earthquake in 2010 and a hurricane in 2016.
Host: OK. So these paintings have a big impact on the eye – I mean, they’re really
colorful and beautiful, but what about their impact on the community.
H: That’s a di cult one. I mean, I think they have a positive impact. They certainly get
local people involved very early on so the community really supports the projects.
And in Haiti, the project is certainly going to create jobs, and it’ll be employing
local artists. I guess that work won’t last, but I think the locals are hoping the
project will attract interest in the area and bring in more investment long term.
Host: That’s always the hope, isn’t it? Mark, you have another city which is hoping to
put itself on the world cultural map – Birmingham!
M: Yeah, well that’s what they say.
Host: They’re looking for an artist to create a big innovative piece of public art, aren’t
they?
M: That’s the plan. It’s part of the continuing redevelopment of the city. The idea is
it’ll be part of a space local people can enjoy; a place they can hold events to
attract tourists and boost their economy.
Host: That’s very ambitious! So how much is it all going to cost?
M: Well, the budget for the selection process and the cost of installing the piece they
choose is set at two million pounds.
Host: Wow – and what about once it’s been completed?
M: Who knows? I mean, the idea is the piece should be low maintenance, so they
won’t be spending thousands of pounds every year to keep it in good condition.
Host: Yeah, that’s important. Part of me wonders about that with the Haiti painting.
What’ll happen when the paint fades?
H: I don’t know. Does it matter? I think in that case what matters is it’s bringing
people together and restoring pride in their community.
M: You’re probably right, but aren’t there cheaper ways to do that? For example,
we’re about to put on a community arts festival. We’re holding various shows
and events over a week with local people volunteering.
Host: That sounds interesting, but I’m afraid we’ve run out of time. You can continue
the discussion on the Arts Spot website and get information on Mark’s festival
which starts soon.
M: Yup.

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Host: OK. So thanks to Mark and Holly. Until next time.

Track 14

A System That’s Leading The Way

Jose Antonio Abreu trained and worked as an economist for many years, but his dream
was to have a life in music. He fulfilled that dream, first through individual performance,
but more importantly through founding El Sistema. El Sistema is an innovative program
for teaching music to children from diverse social backgrounds. It has been so successful
that an orchestra that is part of the program – the Venezuelan National Youth Orchestra
– has been named among the five leading orchestras in the world. Yet, 40 years ago,
such an idea seemed a long way off.
When he first started the orchestra, Abreu had managed to get 50 music stands for the
100 children he was expecting to come and rehearse. In the end, only 11 turned up.
What was he going to do? Give up? Try to get more children involved? In fact, he went
several steps further and promised those 11 students that he would turn the orchestra
into a world leader! So apart from this fierce ambition, how did it happen?
Obviously, the resources that the Venezuelan government puts into El Sistema are
important. It pays for instruments and teaching for over 500,000 young musicians who
are involved in the program and also provides monthly grants to older pupils as a reward
for their hard work. It also pays for performances and teaching younger children in the
program. Private companies often sponsor local groups and parents also raise funds for
tours.
However, money is not the only factor in its success. Central to El Sistema is a focus on
discipline and commitment. New students can start from as young as three, but students
and their parents must agree to a strict set of rules and attend classes and rehearsals for
between one and four hours a day, up to six days a week. Teachers may visit parents to
help them understand the hours required to improve and how to support their children.
While discipline is important, the musical training also emphasizes fun, team spirit,
physical expression and the value of performance. Students start in a choir and work on
rhythm and percussion before moving on to playing the recorder and then finally
choosing their instrument at the age of seven. Lessons are mainly conducted as a group,
with all the class working towards performing a piece in front of an audience.
El Sistema is seen by many people from low-income families as a way to stay in
education and escape poverty. It can present opportunities to travel via tours within
Venezuela and abroad. It has also been credited with improving relations between
different communities and saving many children from getting involved in gangs and
violence. No wonder many other countries have looked to copy the program.
Setting up a “sistema” is not a straightforward process and there have been mixed
results. However, it seems there are always individuals whose lives are changed. As one

9
parent from the Scottish Sistema put it: “My son was struggling, and I was worried he
was going to drop out of school and end up hanging out with the wrong kids. El Sistema
has made a huge difference. He’s gained confidence, learned discipline and he’s
definitely back on Track.”

Track 15

1 And by 1980, the last train rode. It was a train loaded with frozen turkeys.
2 I first read about it in the New York Times, in an article that said it was going to be
demolished.
3 And at the end of the meeting, we realized we were the only two people that were sort
of interested in the project.
4 And that’s really where we started ... the idea coalesced around ... let’s make this a
park, and let’s have it be sort of inspired by this wildscape.

Track 16

S1: So, hey, listen, I was wondering ... um ... Do you fancy going out somewhere with
me tomorrow?
S2: Yeah, OK. Why not? Where did you have in mind? Anywhere in particular?
S1: Well, there’s this new exhibition on in town that I’d quite like to go and see.
S2: OK. What kind of thing is it? I’m not really into art, so ...
S1: No, it’s all about technology and how it’s changing the world. You know – 3-D
printers and all that.
S2: Ah, it doesn’t sound like my kind of thing, to be honest.
S1: No worries. It’ll be running for a while, so I can always go and see it on my own
some time.
S2: Cool. Hey. How about checking out this band that are playing in the park tomorrow
night?
S1: Umm ... maybe. Who are they?
S2: They’re called Moral Panic. They’ve got this sort of alternative / hardcore / metal
sound.
S1: OK. Doesn’t really sound like my kind of music, I’m afraid. Metal just does nothing
for me.
S2: Hmmm. OK. Well, we’re a bit stuck then, really, aren’t we?
S1: I don’t know. What about just going to see a lm? Would you be up for that?
S2: Yeah. Maybe. Do you know what’s on?

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S1: Well, there’s The Gift, this new thriller that’s supposed to be really good.
S2: Oh yeah! I was going to go and see that last week but couldn’t get tickets in the
end. It looks amazing, though.
S1: So how about that, then? Let me just check (pause). Yeah. There’s a showing at
4:15. And another one at 6:45.
S2: Let’s go for the later one but meet a little bit earlier.
S1: OK. Shall we say six in the café so we can get a coffee first? And I’ll book tickets
right now, just to be safe.
S2: Brilliant. I’ll see you there, then. Bye.

Track 17

S1: Hi – and welcome to Life Hacks, the show where we help you deal with those
annoying everyday problems. And with me today to share the life hacks they’ve
picked up this week are Marie and Jamal. So Marie, what have you got for us?
S2: Well, I was recently given this lovely new smartphone for my 18th birthday and, if
you’re one of those people – like me – who finds it really hard to get out of bed in
the morning, there’s a hack for that.
S1: Interesting! Go on.
S2: Well, basically, if you use your phone as an alarm clock like me, you can create
your own loudspeaker by simply putting the phone speaker downwards in a paper
cup – a clean, dry one, obviously. And of course it works better as an alarm if the
cup is then left far away from your bed, as then you’ll be forced to get up to turn it
off.
S3: And how does it work, Marie? I mean, what’s the science behind it?
S2: Simple: the cup channels the sound in one direction, whereas normally it’d be
thrown around all over the place.
S1: You’ve actually just reminded me, Marie, of an app I came across recently. It’s
been designed to Track your sleep patterns and wake you up during light sleep
rather than deep, which is far less painful of course!
S2: Neat. I like the sound of that. I might give it a try. By the way, one other phone
hack I’ve learned recently ... you know, if your phone’s being charged and you need
it done ASAP, then what you need to do is put it in Airplane mode. That reduces the
energy the phone uses and so speeds things up a bit.
S1: Great. Thanks, Marie. Jamal. What have you got for us today?
S3: Something completely different, actually. An email has just been sent to me by
Maxine, who’s suggested a hack for anyone out there who likes a spicy curry from
time to time.

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S2: That’d be me, then.
S1: Yep, me too.
S3: Well, I guess you’ll know that burning sensation you get when eating spicy food?
S1: Oh yeah!
S3: That’s caused by a chemical that’s found in chilies, and once it’s in your mouth, it
attaches itself to the ends of the heat-detecting nerves, tricking them into thinking
the temperature has increased. To get rid of the burning feeling, you need to wash
away the chemical, but it doesn’t dissolve in water, so instead you need fat from
something like yogurt. The fat washes off the chemical and stops the burning.
S1: I’m sure there’ll be plenty of listeners out there glad to hear that one, Jamal.

Track 18

Back To The Future?

Curiosity allows us to embrace unfamiliar circumstances, brings excitement into our lives
and opens up new possibilities. But how curious are we in the 21st century?
Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying that claims “curiosity killed the cat”. It’s a phrase
that’s often used to warn people – especially children – not to ask too many questions.
Yet it’s widely agreed that curiosity actually makes learning more enjoyable and
effective. Indeed, research has shown that curiosity is just as important as intelligence in
determining how well students do in school.
Curiosity also allows us to embrace unfamiliar circumstances, brings excitement into our
lives and opens up new possibilities. Being curious requires us to be both humble enough
to know we don’t have all the answers, and con dent enough to admit it. Asking the
questions that help us bridge the gap between what we already know and what we’d
like to know can lead us to make unexpected discoveries.
In science, basic curiosity-driven research – carried out without pressure to produce
immediate practical results – can have unexpected and incredibly important benefits. For
example, one day in 1831, Michael Faraday was playing around with a coil and a
magnet when he suddenly saw how he could generate an electrical current. At first, it
wasn’t clear what use this would be, but it actually made electricity available for use in
technology, and so changed the world.
Unsurprisingly, there are chemical and evolutionary theories to explain why humans are
such curious creatures. When we become curious, our brains release a chemical called
dopamine, which makes the process of learning more pleasurable and improves memory.
It is still not known why learning gives us such pleasure, but one theory is that we may
have developed a basic need to fight uncertainty – the more we understand about the
world around us, the more likely we are to survive its many dangers!

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However, curiosity is currently under threat like never before – and perhaps the biggest
threat comes from technology! On one level, this is because technology has become so
sophisticated that many of us are unable to think too deeply about how exactly things
work anymore. While it may be possible for a curious teenager to take a toaster apart
and get some sense of how it works, how far do you understand what happens when you
type a website address into a browser? Where does your grasp of technology end and
the magic begin for you?
In addition to this, there’s the fact that we all now connect so deeply with technology,
particularly our phones. The more we stare at our screens, the less we talk to other
people directly. To make matters worse, all too often we accept the images of people
that social media provides us with, and then feel we know enough about a person not to
need to engage further with them.
The final – and perhaps most worrying – way in which technology stops us from asking
more has to do with algorithms, the processes followed by computers. As we increasingly
get our news via social media, algorithms find out what we like and push more of the
same back to us, meaning we end up inside our own little bubbles and no longer meet
ideas that challenge our pre-existing beliefs. Perhaps the real key to developing curiosity
in the 21st century, then, is to rely less on the tech tools of our age.

Track 19

What are you reading? There are no words there. I said, read what you’re seeing. Right?
It literally says, “Wat ar ou rea in?” Right? That’s what you should have said. Right? Why
is this? It’s because perception is grounded in our experience. Right? The brain takes
meaningless information and makes meaning out of it, which means we never see
what’s there, we never see information, we only ever see what was useful to see in the
past. All right? Which means, when it comes to perception, we’re all like this frog. Right?
It’s getting information. It’s generating behavior that’s useful.

Track 20

The Scientific Method is basically an organized way of designing and setting up

experiments that helps you answer questions or solve problems. It usually involves six
specific steps. First, de ne the purpose of your experiment. What question are you trying
to answer? Maybe you want to find out if the color of a light bulb affects plant growth,
for instance. Next, do your research: look for information in books, on the web, and so on.
Get as much information as you can before you start your experiment. Maybe someone
has already done a similar experiment that you could repeat or develop. After this, you
form your hypothesis. In other words, you predict an answer to your question. It’s best to
state your hypothesis explicitly. An example might be, “If I grow plants under red light
bulbs, they’ll grow faster than plants growing under white ones.” Then comes the fun
part – the experiment itself. Design a test to find out if your hypothesis is correct. In our

13
example, you could set up some plant seeds under a red light bulb and some under a
white one and observe each for a couple of weeks. During the experiment, keep a record
of what happens and then analyze this data before finally drawing your conclusions.
Review your data to see if your original hypothesis was correct. If the plants under the
red light bulb did actually grow faster, then you’ve proved your hypothesis. If not, your
hypothesis was wrong. Either way, you’ve discovered something!

Track 21

Interviewer: So today, inspired by the exhibition Extinction: Not the end of the world?
we’re talking about conservation – and here to discuss it is biologist and
conservationist Paloma Sánchez. Paloma, welcome.
Paloma: Pleasure to be here.
I: So Paloma, I suppose the first thing that will strike people is the statistic
that 99 percent of species that have ever lived on Earth are already extinct!
P: Absolutely. Extinction is as natural a part of our planet as death itself. We
all die, and all species eventually die out!
I: Indeed, but doesn’t that raise a huge question for you as a conservationist?
Should we even try to preserve endangered species? I mean, if evolution is
the survival of the fittest, then you might stop weak species going extinct,
which could be a bad thing. Maybe we shouldn’t interfere.
P: Well, I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding there. That phrase, “the
survival of the fittest” can suggest evolution is a kind of competition
where only the strong survive, but that’s a myth. The initial genetic
changes that lead to evolution occur purely by chance. Those changes
have a positive effect on a species” ability to breed, defend itself or get
food and, as a result, the genes get passed on. However, while the
changes must bring some benefit, the animal can be weaker in another
area which might actually leave it more at risk of extinction.
I: Really?
P: Absolutely. Say an animal adapts perfectly to one specific area. If that
habitat disappeared for whatever reason, they’d easily die out.
I: They couldn’t adapt to a new environment?
P: Not unless their existing features matched the new environment, because
evolution’s not a choice, and the chance of getting the right genetic
change is low.
I: And that’s why we’ve had mass extinctions like the dinosaurs?

14
P: Exactly. And the argument is that humans are now the equivalent of an
ice age. We’re causing so many changes so quickly that animals and
plants can’t adapt and are dying out at an incredible rate.
I: But that still doesn’t explain why we should protect them, does it?
P: Well, I suppose because we humans can choose to alter our behavior, I
feel we have a duty to.
I: A lot of people won’t share that feeling – they will think of the cost of
conservation.
P: It’s not cheap, but they might want to look at it from a purely selfish point
of view. Plants we’re killing could be cures for cancer. And losing
biodiversity has negative consequences for us – some that could even lead
more quickly to our own extinction!
I: Yes – a point the exhibition ends with. Our short-term survival isn’t
guaranteed.
P: Absolutely not, but conservation of other species may help us last longer.
I: Paloma, shall we leave it there?
P: Sure. Thank you.
I: Thank you.

Track 22

Help Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus From Extinction

About
The Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus Paxarbolis) is only found in the forests of
Washington State, on the eastern side of the Olympic Mountains, in the United States.
These creatures reach an average size of between 30 and 35 centimeters and live for
around four years. They are unusual in that they live both in water and on land, a fact
made possible by the very high amounts of rainfall in this part of the United States.
Possessing the largest brain of any octopus, the tree octopus explores its surroundings by
touch and sight. Some scientists believe that the way it has adapted to life in the forest
mirrors the way early life forms adapted to life away from the water. Although they are
not social animals like humans, they can still show emotions by changing their skin color:
red indicates anger and white, fear. Normally, though, they are a green-brown color that
matches their surroundings.
Every spring, tree octopuses leave their homes and travel to the coast to breed. Males
soon return to the forest, while females lay their eggs underwater. The young then spend
the first month or so floating near to the shore before moving out of the water and
beginning their adult lives in the forest.

15
Why Is It Endangered?
Although the tree octopus is not yet on the official list of endangered animals, it should
be, as numbers are now seriously low. It faces many threats: trees in Pacific-Northwest
forests are constantly being cut down; new roads have cut off access to water; the
growth of local towns has introduced house cats into the region which hunt the
octopuses and pollution is getting worse. Immediate action needs to be taken to stop the
tree octopus from becoming extinct.
Become An Activist
Here are some things you can do to help protect the last few tree octopuses:
• Write to the government to say you are worried and that you feel the tree octopus
should be given special protection and included on the Endangered Species List.
• Write to celebrities, asking them to talk in interviews about the dangers facing the tree
octopus.
• Let the world know about the tree octopus: tell your family and friends.
• Tell people not to buy products made by companies that don’t protect the tree octopus
when cutting down trees.
• Start an online campaign! Encourage people to sign a petition.

Track 23

A study sponsored by the US Department of Education and conducted by researchers at

the University of Connecticut has revealed the alarming degree to which internet users
believe anything they read online. As part of the research, students were sent to a
website containing details about a made-up creature – the endangered Pacific
Northwest tree octopus – in order to assess their ability to evaluate information found
online. Researchers discovered that not only did students believe the site was genuine,
but some also insisted the octopus must exist even after it was revealed to them that it
was all a trick.
This has led to concerns that students are now too reliant on the internet when doing
research, as well as fears that students are not being taught how to check whether
information found on the internet is genuine or not.

Track 24

1 ... she thought it was just a splinter of wood, because that’s the sort of thing people
had found at the Fyles Leaf Bed before – prehistoric plant parts.
2 How certain were you that you had it right, like ... that you had put it together in the
right way, like?

16
3 ... something like a cow or a sheep. But it couldn’t have been either of those. It was just
too big.
4 ... you’re going to have different body sizes. You’re going to have some with really long
necks, so they’re actually functionally like giraffes.
5 And, as a historian, you start with an idea in your mind of how the story goes.

Track 25

The Monster Engine is one of the most wonderful things I’ve come across in quite some
time. It’s a book, a lecture and a gallery exhibition, featuring wonderfully detailed
colored paintings of all kinds of crazy creatures. And none of it would ever have
happened if comic artist Dave Devries hadn’t spent a day with his young niece Jessica
back in 1998. Jessica was busy filling the pages of a sketch pad with pictures of monsters
when Devries suddenly thought, “What would these drawings look like if they were
painted more realistically?” Using his experience of drawing superheroes and comic book
characters for DC and Marvel, he then set about applying color and shading to children’s
artwork in an attempt to bring their pictures to life. For Devries, it was also a link back to
his own childhood and proof, if he needed it, that he could still see with the eyes of a
child – still create like a child creates. At the heart of The Monster Engine, though, lies a
much bigger idea: that most adults would be more creative if their schools had
embraced difference and encouraged unusual ways of seeing the world. Now, of course,
this isn’t a new idea. But it is an important one. As Sir Ken Robinson famously points out
in one of his TED Talks, if you’re at school now you’ll probably be entering the world of
work in the 2020s or early 2030s and, if we’re honest, we have no idea what skills will be
needed in the workplace by then. Skills will be more important than knowledge and
being able to think outside the box will benefit you greatly. Now, you might be thinking
that this all sounds a bit extreme. You might be asking, “If schools are so bad, how come
we’ve got the Dave Devries and Ken Robinsons of this world?” But surely it’s worth
asking how things could be even better and what else schools could do to stimulate
creativity and keep alive in us the childlike desire to experiment, to play, to fail – and
then to try again! Because surely that’s the very essence of human creativity and will
serve people well in the future!

Track 26

Testing Creative Thinking

It is now over 50 years since the first publication of E.P. Torrance’s Tests of Creative
Thinking, and they continue to be used worldwide as standard assessments of
creativity.

17
The tests typically consist of “divergent thinking” tasks – the ability to generate a wide
variety of solutions that are then scored on fluency, flexibility, originality and how fully
explained they are. For example:
• Ways to improve: What could you do to make a toy truck more fun to play with?
• Imagine consequences: How would the world be different if everyone had an eye in the
back of their head?
• Alternative uses: How many unusual uses for a brick can you think of?
• Make drawings from a shape: Turn the Xs into pictures people might be surprised by.
The X can be in any part of the picture. Add details to tell complete stories and give each
picture a title.
Some question if the tests fully assess creativity because they say creativity is about
originality and usefulness. Creativity not only requires divergent thinking but also
“convergent thinking” where you find one single solution that you feel is the best for the
problem you are trying to solve.
Torrance followed the lives of children who first took his tests to see if they predicted
creative achievements as adults. Analyses of these studies suggest they do. In fact, his
tests are better at judging future creative success than intelligence tests. This is why they
are frequently used to identify top managers in business and children for special
educational programs. It is also why there was concern in the United States when the
magazine Newsweek reported that children’s scores on the tests were falling.
Some have argued that this drop is because of children’s lifestyles: too many video
games, too much TV and too little freedom to make choices. Others have suggested that
education in the United States has become too focused on exam results, so teachers use
fewer creative activities and favor more traditional learning by heart. This is in contrast
to countries with a history of more traditional activities like memorization and practice
drills such as China, which are doing the opposite and encouraging creativity through
techniques such as problem-based learning.
Problem-based learning involves setting a genuine problem such as reducing noise in a
school library or deciding on a week’s menu of meals for an athlete. In reaching a
conclusion, students have to do research across several subjects and be creative in the
fullest sense. No doubt Torrance would have approved if he was still alive.

Track 27

I’m a lexicographer. I make dictionaries. And my job as a lexicographer is to try to put all
the words possible into the dictionary. My job is not to decide what a word is; that is
your job. Everybody who speaks English decides together what’s a word and what’s not
a word. Every language is just a group of people who agree to understand each other.
Now, sometimes when people are trying to decide whether a word is good or bad, they

18
don’t really have a good reason. So they say something like, “Because grammar!” I don’t
actually really care about grammar too much – don’t tell anybody.

Track 28

A: Welcome to Travel Chat. I’m here with Stacey, who’s lived in several countries
because of her parents” work. How many places is it, Stacey?
B: Five now – if you include the USA.
A: Quite a variety. So today we’re talking about intercultural communication ... or
should I say miscommunication.
B: Yep.
A: And I think your first example’s from Germany.
B: Yeah, so when I was first there, I was leaving school one day and I asked a German
girl from my class if she was going to the train station, and she replied, “Of course”.
And I thought, “That’s rude” because to me “of course” means, like, obviously and
so she made me feel like I was stupid for asking!
A: Absolutely!
B: Anyway, we walked on a bit in silence and then I made an excuse: I said I’d
forgotten something and had to go back to school.
A: Awkward.
B: Yeah, definitely. Anyway, that evening I told my Dad what had happened and he
said that I shouldn’t be so sensitive because in German the word for of course is
also used for yes or absolutely.
A: In other words, the girl was actually really pleased to go with you!
B: Yeah, exactly! Silly of me to think otherwise, I guess.
A: But it does make you realize how easily misunderstandings come about when you
make certain assumptions.
B: Yeah. So, I know Americans who were in Russia, and they thought Russian shop
assistants were a bit rude because they didn’t smile or ask how you were. However,
a Russian friend told me their parents kind of discouraged them from smiling at
strangers because it is seen as a sign of dishonesty. There’s also a Russian proverb
that says “Laughter for no reason is a sign of stupidity.”
A: Not a good message if you’re trying to sell something!
B: Exactly! But Russians do smile at people they know – in fact, I’d say they’re really
warm and friendly. I also have a Korean friend who went to the USA and she
wondered why people asked, “How’re you doing?”, but then when she replied –

19
 you know, actually told them how she was – people gave her strange looks. But, of
course, to them they’d only said “hi” so all they expected was “hello” in return!
A: Yeah – and I guess you could take offense when that happens and say people are
insincere.
B: Exactly! But it’s like in Chinese, sometimes people from China ask – I mean literally
– “Have you eaten?” instead of saying “hello”, but it doesn’t mean they’re offering
you food at that moment.
A: Although they certainly will at other times. I’ve heard international companies
often give lessons to avoid these breakdowns in communication. Have you ever
seen anything like that?
B: No, not really. I just talked to people, and as you go on, you learn not to assume
what you do or say is normal. There’s always an alternative interpretation.
A: That’s a great lesson, because miscommunication happens in all walks of life. Have
you found your intercultural experience has helped with other relationships?
B: For sure – although I do still argue with my mum sometimes!

Track 29

A Place To Be
During adolescence, teenagers start to form independent adult identities of their own,
and for many young people around the world, this means experimenting with different
social groups. Deciding to join a particular group or subculture offers young people the
opportunity to explore who they are and what they stand for. It allows them to start
defining themselves outside their immediate family circle, and can provide both a sense
of identity and of belonging, too. In our increasingly interconnected world, membership
of particular groups can mean contact not only with other like-minded people locally but
also globally. However, while being part of a group can be an extremely positive thing, it
can also attract abuse and bullying, especially of those who insist on challenging social
norms. Here we look at four of the more remarkable youth cultures out there.
Some claim that the roots of Goth can be found in such 19th century literary classics as
Dracula and Frankenstein, but the dyed black hair and black clothes, dark eyeliner and
fingernails and intense dramatic post-punk music originated in England in the late 1970s.
The style and sound have had a long-lasting appeal and nowadays there are large
communities of goths everywhere from Chile to China. Many goths resent being
stereotyped as sad or angry, and instead see themselves as romantic, creative, open-
minded and able to find beauty in what others may see as dark or ugly.
Over recent years, a far more localized subculture has been developing in Mexico, where
a style of music known as Trival Guarachero has evolved, complete with its own
remarkable fashions! More commonly known just as Trival, the hugely popular sound
mixes traditional regional folk music with electronic dance. Young fans often identify

20
themselves by combining futuristic elements with a basic farm worker look ... and
wearing extremely long, pointy boots when dancing, often competitively against groups
from other local towns! Believe it or not, some items of footwear have apparently
reached five feet in length!
Of course, subcultures that develop in a particular area can spread like wild re in a
matter of moments these days, thanks to the internet. This is what’s happened with the
Scraper Biker subculture. Originally the obsession of a small group of young people in the
San Francisco Bay area, scraper bikes are simply ordinary bicycles that have been
modified by their owners, typically with decorated wheels and bright body colors. Much
of the decoration is done very cheaply, using tin foil, reused cardboard, candy wrappers
and paint! The craze went global after a hip-hop video featuring these creations went
viral and scraper bikes can now be seen in cities all over the world.
If the internet helps some subcultures grow, for others it’s their main home. Otherkin –
people who identify to some degree as non-human – have a massive online presence
that’s growing all the time. While some otherkin believe themselves to actually be, say,
dragons or lions or foxes, others simply feel special connections to certain creatures –
and have found a space within which to explore these feelings.
It seems that, whatever you’re going through and whatever your own personal
enthusiasms, there’s a worldwide community out there just waiting for you to find them
– and to assure you that you belong!

Track 30

1 I just had to grunt a lot for that one.

2 I just sat there on the computer, hitting “refresh,”
3 This was just the first of a two-part video.
4 I just could not do it.
5 If I stutter along the way, I just go back in and fix it.
6 And just the year before, that number was about eight percent.
7 Just like the color blue for Ancient Greeks, minorities are not a part of what we
consider “normal”.

Track 31

1
A: As a shopkeeper, I’m in favor. These kids don’t actually spend any real money with us
and in fact we’ve lost a bit of stock recently, which I think might be their fault. As a
parent of a teenager, I know they’re not all like that, but you know there are better
places for them to go.

21
2
B: This is crazy. Just because you’re hanging out in a group, it doesn’t mean you’re
looking to cause trouble. The mall is relatively safe, you know, there are security guards
around and it’s out of the rain. I mean, where else are we supposed to go? Or are we just
not supposed to hang out at all?
3
C: As someone who goes there quite a lot, I totally support the idea. They’re often loud
and take up the whole place so you can’t walk around very easily. They don’t show
respect. For an older person like me, I feel a bit scared. I don’t want to go there.
4
D: Speaking as a teacher, I just don’t get it. We see kids who aren’t independent. They
spend all day at home – they rely on their parents for everything. This is sending the
wrong message. Just because one or two misbehave doesn’t mean they all do. I mean,
adults shoplift and cause problems too, but we don’t ask adults to be accompanied by
their parents - or their children!
5
E: OK . . . if I look at it from my grandpa’s point of view, I can kind of understand it. He
often complains about kids in the mall. But I think it’s more about the media and all the
negative stereotypes of teenagers. I’m not loud or disrespectful or causing trouble.
Banning us from the mall? Come on, give us a break!

Track 32

The earthquake that struck the small Caribbean country of Haiti on the evening of
January 12th, 2010 measured a massive seven on the Richter scale. The devastation
which it caused was simply staggering, hitting the capital city, Port-au-Prince,
particularly hard. Over the next few days, the country, which has long been one of the
poorest in the world, struggled to cope in the absence of any organized relief e ort. Many
of those who had survived were left to fend for themselves. The city’s hospitals had all
been destroyed, roads in and out of the city remained blocked and the seaport, which
supplies would normally have been delivered to, was also unusable. A humanitarian
crisis was unfolding.

Track 33

Watching all of this thousands of miles away in his Boston home was Patrick Maier, who
decided that he had to do something – anything – to help. Maier, whose girlfriend,
Christine Martin, was doing research in Haiti at the time, came up with the idea of using
technology to create an interactive online map that crowd-sourced information about
what was happening on the ground. Using free mapping technology called Ushahidi,

22
which had been developed a couple of years earlier in Kenya, he started updating a map
of the country using social media reports, many of which he soon realized he’d need to
get translated. Within a few days, he was having to reach out for volunteers, many of
whom had Haitian roots and were only too happy to help, and before long, over one
million edits had been made to the map!
This incredible resource quickly became the main map used by all those involved in
helping to provide aid and assistance to the people of Haiti. Using the incredibly specific
information it provided, helicopters were able to drop tents and food to desperate
people whose homes had been completely destroyed and evacuate people who were
trapped or injured. The map was quite literally a life-saver! And it set a new standard for
how technology can be utilized in times of crisis.
Since 2010, Ushahidi has been used to focus world attention on humanitarian crises and
to help tackle forest fires in Russia and floods in Colombia. And most remarkable of all is
the fact that anyone with access to a smartphone, tablet or laptop can now play their
part in all of this as well. We are all connected and all able to help.

Track 34

Shouting Out For The Young

Almost half of the world’s seven billion citizens are under the age of 25, and they have
huge potential to shape the countries they live in. A few countries, such as Argentina,
have tried to empower their youth by giving them the right to vote at the age of 16, but
it still seems that in many places young people’s opinions are often overlooked or simply
not heard. However, one organization that has a long history of giving a voice to young
people is the United Nations (UN).
In 1946, the UN created a fund called UNICEF to support the millions of children affected
by World War II thanks to the leadership of the Polish medical scientist Ludwik Rajchman.
The fund distributed aid without discrimination because, as its director Maurice Pate
said, “There are no enemy children.” One of those helped by the fund was seven-year-old
Dzitka Samkova from Czechoslovakia, as it was known then. She painted a picture of five
dancing girls as a thank you and it was turned into a greeting card, the first of many
such cards sold to raise money for millions more children.
Having campaigned on behalf of young people, UNICEF also had a key part in the
creation of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989, now signed by
more countries than any other convention. The 54 articles of the CRC declare different
rights connected to housing, health, the economy, culture and politics, including such
things as the right to a safe home, the right to play and rest and a child’s right to choose
their own friends.
In recent years, the UN has opened up new ways to address Article 12 of the CRC, which
states that children have the right to give their views, and for adults to listen and take
them seriously. UNICEF’s Voices of Youth website brings together young bloggers and

23
activists working on development issues to share their ideas and successful projects for
change in a huge range of countries from Sierra Leone to the Philippines. Using online
discussion boards as a “meeting place”, the initiative provides a space for youngsters
who care.
The UN also established the Youth Assembly in 2002 and a network of Youth Observers.
Since starting, the assembly has brought around 20,000 people between the ages of 16
and 28 from over 100 countries to its headquarters in New York. Through workshops,
panel discussions and networking events, these young people discuss UN policies from a
youth perspective. The assembly also helps to build friendships across different cultures
and give political experience to those who can bring change for children. One of its
graduates, Ahmad Alhendawi of Jordan, became the UN Secretary General’s first ever
representative for youth and the youngest ever senior official in the UN.
Of course, the Youth Assembly and its delegates are only a tiny number of those three
and a half billion young people, but they are important role models. It can be easy to find
reasons not to act, but as Nicol Perez, a youth observer to the UN general assembly says,
“I have a voice, and I’m going to use it. I’m going to shout it out till somebody hears me.”

Track 35

A photo is a reminder of someone or something, a place, a relationship, a loved one.

They’re our memory-keepers and our histories, the last thing we would grab and the first
thing you’d go back to look for.

Track 36

Now I realize that my choice may not be the most popular. In fact, over recent years,
increasing public outrage has been directed at many of the top professionals in this line
of work. There’s a perception that salaries in this field are out of control and that greed
and self-interest are king and they offer little for society let alone a crisis. But think about
it for a moment. First, people who’ve made their millions on the pitch will have plenty to
donate to people in a crisis. Second, imagine if they actually went out and helped – what
a great message that would send. These people are role models and would be a real
force for good in showing young people values such as hard work, getting your hands
dirty, showing respect and that there is more to life than sports. And of course most of
them are really strong and t – just the kind of people you might need to clear debris and
piles of litter. Finally, think about how they might also lift the spirits of people who have
suffered a lot. They bring joy to millions, and I’m sure fans would be amazed to meet
them or even actually watch them play. They would be great in a crisis!

24
Track 37

Clara: So, Jaime, last week we had an email from a listener, Hugo, who is recovering at
home from an injury and wanted suggestions for inspiring films to watch.
Jaime: And we got quite a few.
C: Absolutely.
J: So, Clara, first up is 127 Hours.
C: You don’t think that’s too much?
J: You think? For those who don’t know it, this is the true story of Aron Ralston
who was climbing in Utah when he slipped, fell down a small canyon and got his
arm trapped between a rock and the wall. He couldn’t move it. He was in the
middle of nowhere and no-one could help because he hadn’t told anyone where
he was going.
C: Not the best situation to be in.
J: No. So basically, after trying everything to free his arm, the only thing he could
do was cut it off.
C: I know! It’s horrible.
J: It IS horrible, but they managed to lm it in a way which isn’t over the top and
you do learn his life went back to normal after the accident. Considering it’s 90
minutes watching someone who can’t move, it’s very gripping.
C: That’s true. It’s the same with that lm about the guy who had a stroke and was
left completely paralyzed and unable to speak.
J: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly?
C: Yeah – an amazing story. It’s based on his book which he actually managed to
dictate by only moving his eye. Incredible!
J: Yeah, it IS incredible but, sorry the movie didn’t do it for me.
C: No?
J: Bit dull.
C: Whatever. I liked it.
J: What about Frida? This is about Frida Kahlo, the Mexican artist who suffered
intense pain all her life after a terrible bus accident and ...
C: ... Jaime, we’re looking for inspiration, not pain and misery.
J: No, no, it IS inspiring. I mean, she managed to deal with that pain in the end
and was able to turn it into incredible art.
C: I suppose, but ...

25
J: ... You know, she succeeded in becoming a world-renowned artist. That’s pretty
amazing.
C: I know, I know. It’s just that the lm ...
J: What?
C: I guess it depends if you’re into art.
J: It’s not your thing then.
C: Not exactly. I prefer something like The Fundamentals of Caring.
J: Oh, yeah! Now that’s a great choice.
C: So, basically, the lm is about this guy who becomes a care assistant and his first
job is with a teenage boy who has a disease that weakens his muscles and has
left him in a wheelchair. Put like that it doesn’t sound great, and it’s not even
about him recovering ...
J: ... No, but it kind of is, because he learns to make the most of his life. In fact,
they both do.
C: Which is what I love about it.
J: And it’s really funny.
C: Exactly! At least we’ve been able to agree on one movie.

Track 38

Avoiding The Antibiotic Apocalypse

This may sound like the stuff of nightmares or of terrifying science-fiction movies but,
according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the threat of an “antibiotic
apocalypse” is very real and many experts fear that it’s only a matter of time before we
see the emergence of a superbug – a very powerful type of bacteria that normal drugs
cannot kill – capable of wiping out huge numbers of people.
Perhaps most disturbing of all is the fact that this potential disaster has been predicted
for many decades. In fact, the earliest warnings came from Sir Alexander Fleming, the
Scottish doctor and bacteriologist who in 1928 discovered the world’s first antibiotic
substance – penicillin.
Like many ground-breaking scientific finds, the discovery of penicillin was largely
accidental. Its importance wasn’t realized for at least another ten years and mass
production didn’t start until the 1940s. However, there’s no doubting the fact that it
changed medical practices beyond all recognition. Infections that had previously been
fatal were now treatable.
In the speech he made when accepting the Nobel Prize for his work, Fleming warned that
bacteria could easily become resistant to antibiotics if regularly exposed to

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concentrations insufficient to kill them. He went on to express his fears that penicillin
would end up being so widely used that such changes were inevitable. Worryingly, this is
precisely what happened!
Antibiotics are now regularly prescribed for such non-life-threatening illnesses as sore
throats, colds and ear infections and, if doctors refuse their requests, many patients turn
to the internet for their desired medication. On top of this, a large percentage of all
antibiotics sold are now being used in farming. They are, for instance, often given to
healthy animals to ensure rapid weight gain. Given all of this, it’s no surprise that more
and more bacteria are evolving a resistance.
One man determined to overcome this challenge is the Saudi microbiologist Hosam
Zowawi, who has devoted a considerable portion of his time to developing a test that’s
able to identify bacteria in hours rather than days, allowing doctors to act more quickly
and efficiently, and slowing the potential spread of any deadly infections. Zowawi is also
very actively involved in campaigns designed to raise public awareness of the risks of
antibiotic overuse.
In addition to reducing the use of antibiotics, there are many other ways that the
situation is now being addressed. For instance, in the Netherlands, the government has
started putting pressure on farmers to reduce the amount of antibiotics given to animals.
Elsewhere, there’s a growing understanding of the need to address the underlying
conditions that allow new diseases to spread, which, in turn, leads to better trash
collection, better drainage and better housing. Finally, we’re starting to see increased
investment in research aimed at finding the new antibiotics that could be the penicillin of
tomorrow.

Track 39

Life was good. We’d been on our bikes for around five and a half hours when we got to
the part of the ride that I loved, and that was the hills, because I loved the hills. And I got
up off the seat of my bike, and I started pumping my legs, and as I sucked in the cold
mountain air, I could feel it burning my lungs, and I looked up to see the sun shining in
my face. And then everything went black. Where was I? What was happening? My body
was consumed by pain. I’d been hit by a speeding utility truck with only ten minutes to
go on the bike ride. I was airlifted from the scene of the accident by a rescue helicopter
to a large spinal unit in Sydney.

Track 40

1
A: Hi! Sorry I’m a bit late.
B: That’s OK.

27
A: Is Chen not here?
B: He’s not coming. He’s broken his leg!
A: You’re kidding! When did he do that? I only spoke to him yesterday!
B: This morning. Apparently, he tripped when he was running for the bus and fell
against a bench or something. This girl in my class, Olga, was there. She said the
bus actually waited for him and he managed to get to school, but when he got
there he was in such pain he could hardly walk.
A: I’m not surprised!
B: Yeah, anyway, they took him to the hospital and they said he’d broken it.
A: Poor guy. So is he OK?
B: Yeah, our teacher said he’s ne. He has some kind of cast and they told him to take
it easy for a couple of days. And I guess he won’t be able to play football for a
while.
A: He must be fed up! We’ll have to give him a call or go round and see him.
B: Yeah, let’s call him after the game. Anyway, shall we go? We don’t want to miss
the start.
2
C: Shall we go then?
D: Isn’t your friend Ewa coming?
C: Sorry, no. I should’ve said. She’s ill.
D: Oh, no! What’s up with her?
C: Apparently, she’s just got this really bad virus. She wasn’t even answering her
phone. I had to ring her mom and she said she’d been up all night and had been
really sick and she had a really high fever and everything.
D: Sounds horrible. I hope it’s not too serious.
C: I don’t think so. Her mum said she was a bit better, but that she’d probably be off
for a few days.
D: What a drag! Well, if you do manage to speak to her say “hi” from me and I hope
she gets better soon.
C: Will do. Anyway, where do you actually want to go? I want to get some new shoes.
D: OK, whatever. I don’t have anything special in mind, I’ll see what’s in the sales.
Why don’t we get something nice for Ewa? Cheer her up!
C: Yeah, great idea!

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