2024年4月29日发(作者：)
Text 1
Section1
W: Good evening. King's restaurant.
M: Good evening. I'm ringing about the job I understand you have vacant?
W: Oh, yes.
M: I'd like to find out a few more details if I may.
W: Yes, of course. Can I take your name?
M: It's Peter Chin.
W: Ok, Peter. Well, if you want to ask about the job and then if we're both still
interested, we could arrange you to come for an interview.
M: Great, thanks. I'm afraid I missed the advert for the job but I heard about it from
a friend.
W: That's no problem at all. What would you like to know?
M: Well, um, what sort of work is it- washing up?
W: It's answering the phone.
M: Oh, right, fine.
W: And not waiting at table.
M: That'll be good. And how many nights a week would it be?
W: Well, we're really only busy at the weekend.
M: So two nights?
W: Three actually, so it would work out 12 hours a week.
M: That'd be fine. It wouldn't interfere with my studies.
W: Are you in the university?
M: Yes, first year Physics student.
W: Oh, right
M: Because I'm not an EU national, would I need a work permit?
W: Yes, you would. Just get you tutor to sign it.
M: That wouldn't be a problem if I were to get the job. Um, where exactly is the
restaurant?
W: Well, we have two branches- the one we're recruiting for is in Hillsdunne road.
M: Em, I don't know that. How do you spell it, please?
W: It's H-I-double L-S-D-U- double N-E Road.
M: Got that, thanks. Is it near a bus stop?
W: Yes, the nearest one would probably be just beside the library.
M: Oh, yes, I know it. That'll be fine for me. And could I ask about the pay?
W: We're offering 4.45 pounds an hour.
M: That's very good. My last job was 3.95 an hour.
W: We feel it's pretty good and we also offer some good fringe benefits(附加福利).
M: Really?
W: Well, we give you a free dinner, so you eat well.
M: Right. Better than hostel food.
W: We certainly hope so. And we also offer extra pay for working on national
holidays.
M: Oh, that's a really good perk(额外收入), isn't it?
W: Yes, we think so. And then because of the difficulties of getting public transport,
if you're working after 11 o'clock, we drive you home.
M: Oh, that's good to know.
W: We'd certainly be interested in inviting you for an interview, if you're still
interested?
M: Oh, yes, certainly. Could I just also ask what qualities you're looing for?
W: Well, for this particular job, we want a clear voice, which you obviously do
have
M: Thanks.
W: And you must be able to think quickly, you know.
M: Well, I hope
W: So, when could you come in for an interview. We're actually quite quiet tonight?
M: Sorry, I couldn't come tonight or tomorrow, I'm afraid. Thursday is ok, that'd be
22nd of October.
W: Fine, after 5 pm?
M: Yes, fine. Would 6 o'clock be ok?
W: Perfect. And could you bring along the names of two referees?
M: Yes, that's fine. No problem.
W: Good, I look forward to seeing you.
M: Oh, by the way, who should I ask for?
W: Oh, yes, of course, sorry. My name is Samira Manuja
M: Can you spell that please?
W: M-a-n-u-j-a
M: Ok, I've got that. Thank you very much.
W: Look forward to seeing later ...
Section2
M: Now we go to Jane who is going to tell us about what's happening in town this
weekend.
W: Right, thanks, Andrew, and now on to what's new, and do we really need yet
another sports shopping Bradcaster? Well, most of you probably know Sports
World- the branch of a Danish sports goods company that opened a few years
ago-it's attracted a lot of custom, and so the company has now decided to open
another branch in the area. It's going to be in the shopping center to the west of
Bradcaster, so that will be good news for all of you who found the original shop in
the North of the town hard to get to.
I was invited to a special preview and I can promise you, this is the ultimate in
sports retailing. The whole place has been given a new minimalist(极简主义者)
look with the company's signature colors of black and red.
The first three floors have a huge range of sports clothing as well as the equipment.
And on the top floor, there is a cafe and a book & DVD section. You'll find all the
well-known names as well as some less well-known ones.
If they haven't got exactly what you want in the stock, they promised to get it for
you in 10 days, unlike the other store, where it can take up to 14 days. They cover
all the major sports, including football, tennis, and swimming, but they particularly
focus on running and they claim to have the widest range of equipment in the
country. As well as that, a whole section of the third floor is devoted to sports bags,
including the latest design from the States- If you can't find what you want here, it
doesn't exist.
The shop would be open from 9 am this Saturday, and if you go along to the
opening then you'll have the chance to meet the national 400 meters running
champion Paul King, who's coming along to open the shop, and he will be stay
around until about the midday to chat to any fans who want to meet him and sign
autographs.
Then there will be a whole range of special attractions all weekend. There will be
free tickets for local sporting events for the first 50 customers, and also a special
competition open to all, just answer 15 out of 20 sports questions correctly to win a
signed copy of Paul King's DVD 'Spring Tips', while the first person to get all the
questions correct gets a year's free membership of the Bradcaster Gym. All entrance
will receive a special Sports calendar with details of all Bradcaster fixtures in the
coming year.
One of the special opening offers is a fitness test- a complete review of your cardiac
fitness and muscle tone, actually done in the shop by qualified staff. This would
normally cost 30 pounds but is available at half price for this month only. There are
only a limited number of places available for this, so to make a booking phone
560341.
In addition, if you open an account you get lots more special offers including the
chance to try out the equipment at the special
Section3
Pro: Before we start, Spiros and Hiroko, thanks for coming in today to talk about
your recent study experiences and congratulations to you both in doing so well
in the first semester exams. I'd like to discuss with you the value of the English
for Academic Purposes course you did here last year before starting your
university course. Spiros, if I could start with you, what parts of the programme
have now proved to be particularly valuable to you?
S: I think that having to do a seminar presentation really helped me. For example, a
couple of weeks ago in our marketing subject, when it was my turn to give
presentation, I felt quite confident. Of course, I was still nervous but because I
had done one before, I knew what to expect. Also, I know I was well prepared
and I had practised my timing. In fact, I think that in relation to some of the
other people in my group, I did quite a good job because my overall style was
quite professional.
Pro: What about you Hiroko?
H: Mmm, that's interesting. In my group, I was really surprised by the way students
did their presentations - they just read the notes aloud. Can you believe that?
They didn't worry about their presentation style or keeping eye contact with
their audience - and I remember that these things were really stressed to us in
the course here.
Pro: So, how did you approach your presentation Hiroko?
H: Well, to speak frankly, I read my notes too. At the time, it was a relief to do it
this way, but actually when I had finished I didn't fell any real sense of
satisfaction. I didn't feel positive about the experience at all.
S: That's a pity. You know although I was pleased with my presentation, I'm not so
whole semester I've not said anything in our tutorial discussions. Not a word.
H: Really, Spiros, why is that? Do the other students talk too much?
S: It's partly that, but it's mostly because I have had no confidence to speak out.
Their style of speaking is so differen - it's not the style we were used to during
the course. There are so many colloquialism（白话，口语，俗话，方言），
they not very polite and sometimes they seems to be no order in their
discussion. Also they are very familiar with each other, so because they know
each other's habits, they can let each other into the discussion.
H: You're right, Spiros. I've experienced that too.
pleased with my actual performance right now in the tutorials - during the
H: For most of this semester, I've said absolutely nothing in two tutorials. But
recently I've been trying to speak up more and I just jump in. And I've noticed
an interesting thing. I've noticed that if they thought my point was interesting
and new, then the next time they actually asked for my opinion, and then it was
much easier for me to be part of the discussion.
S: That's great, Hiroko. I hope that happens for me next semester-I'll have to work
hard to find some interesting points. What help you to find these ideas?
H: I think that one thing that helped me with this was the reading. I've had to do so
much reading this semester just to help me to make sense of the lectures. At
first I couldn’t understand what the lecturers were talking about, so I had to turn
to the books and journals. Every night I read for hours, using the lists of
references that were given, and I made pages of notes. At breakfast, I read and
read my notes again. This habit has helped me to follow the ideas in the
lectures, and it's also given me some ideas to use in the tutorials.
S: But I did so much readings anyway- I don't think there's any time left over for
anything extra. My reading speed is still quite slow, though I'm much better at
dealing with vocabulary than I used to be.
Pro: What else do you think we could add to the course program to help with this
reading problem?
S: Er, there's not really anything because it's my problem. I remember we were
given long articles to read. We didn't like that but now I realise that reading
in class we regularly had speed-reading tasks to do, and we kept a record of our
reading speed, so the teachers were encouraging us to work on that.
H: That's true, Spiros, but what we read could have been different. Sometime in the
English class I felt frustrated when I had to read articles about the environment
or health or education, because I wanted to concentrate on my own field, but
we didn't read anything about engineering. So, I think I wasted some time
learning vocabulary I didn't need.
those long articles was good preparation for the things I need to read now. Also,
Pro: But surely this strategies you were taught for dealing with that vocabulary were
helpful?
H: Yes, but psychologically speaking, I would have felt much better working on
reading from my own field. What do you think Spiros?
S: Well, I agree. That would have helped my confidence too, and I would have been
more motivated. And it was good though that we could work on our own topics
when we wrote the research assignments.
Pro: Ok, that's move on to
Section4
Good afternoon everyone. Well, with some of you will go out on fieldwork it's
timely that in this afternoon's session I'll be sharing some ideas about the reasons
why groups of whales and dolphins sometimes swim ashore from the sea right onto
the beach and, most often, die in what were known as "mass stranding".
Unfortunately, this type of event is a frequent occurrence in some of the
locations that you'll be travelling to, where sometimes the tide goes out suddenly,
confusing the animals. However, there are many other theories about the causes of
mass strandings.
The first is that the behavior is linked to parasites. It's often found that stranded
animals were infested with large numbers of parasites. For instance, a type of worm
is commonly found in the ears of dead whales. Since marine animals rely heavily on
their hearing to navigate, this type of infestation has the potential to be very harmful.
Another theory is related to toxins, or poisons. These have also been found to
contribute to the death of many marine animals. Many toxins, as I'm sure you're
aware, originate from plants, or animals. The whale ingests these toxins in its
normal feeding behavior but whether these poisons directly or indirectly lead to
stranding and death, seems to depend upon the toxin involved.
In 1988, for example, fourteen humpback whales exclaimed after stranding
along the beaches of Cape Code were found to have been poisoned after eating tuna
that contained saxitoxin, the same toxin that can be fatal to humans.
Alternatively, it has also been suggested that some animals stranded
accidentally by following their prey ashore in the confusion of the chase. In 1995
David Thurston monitored pilot whales that beached after following the squid
ashore. However, this idea does not seem to hold true for the majority of mass
strandings because examination of the animals' stomach contents reveal that most
had not been feeding as they stranded.
There were also some new theories, which link strandings to hunmans. A
growing concern is that loud noises in the ocean cause stranings. Noises such as
these caused by military exercises are of particular concern and have been
pinpointed as the cause of some strandings of late.
One of these, a mass stranding of whales in 2000 in the Bahamas conincided
closely with experiments using a new submarine detection system. There are several
factors that made this stranding stand out as different from previous strandings. This
healthy. In addition, the animals were spread out along 38 kilometers of coast,
whereas it's more for the animals to be found in a group when mass strandings
occur.
led researchers to look for a new cause. For one, all the stranded animals were
A final theory is related to group behaviour, and sugests that sea mammals
cannot distinguish between sick and healthy leaders and will follow sick leaders,
even to an inevitable death. This is a particularly interesting theory since the whales
that are thought to be most social-the toothed whaled- are the group that strand the
most frequently.
The theory is also supported by evidence from a dolphin stranding in 1994.
Examination of the dead animals revealed that apart from the leader, all the others
had been healthy at the time of their death.
Without one consistent theory however it is very hard for us to do anything
about this phenomenon except to assist animal where and when we can. Stranding
networks have been established around the world to aid in rescuing animals and
collecting samples form those that could not be helped. I recommended John
Connor's Marine Mammals ashore as an excellent starting point if you're interested
in finding out more about there networks, or establishing one yourself.
Section 1
M: Good morning. Can I help you?
Text 2
W: Yes. I've been accepted on a course at the university and I'd like to try and
arrange accommodation in the hall of residence.
M: Yes, certainly. Please sit down. What I'll do is fill in a form with you to find out
a little more about your preferences and so forth.
W: Thank you.
M: So first of all, can I take you name?
W: It's Anu Bhatt.
M: Could you spell your name please?
W: Yes. B-H-A double T.
M: Thanks, and could I ask your date of birth?
W: 31st March 1972.
M: Thank you. And where are you from?
W: India.
M: Oh right. And what will you be studying?
W: I'm doing a course in nursing.
M: Right, thank you. And how long would you want to stay in hall, do you think?
W: Well, it'll take three years but I'd only like to stay in hall for two. I'd like to think
about living outside for the third year.
M: Fine. And what did you have in mind for catering? Do you want to cook for
yourself or have all your meals provided, that's full board?
W: Is there something in between?
M: Yes. You can just have evening meal provided, which is half board.
W: That's what I prefer.
M: Yes, a lot of students opt for that. Now, with that in mind, do you have any
special diet, anything we should know about?
W: Yes, I don't take red meat.
M: No red meat.
M: Now thinking about the room itself, we have a number of options. You can have
a single study room or you can have a shared one. These are both what we call
simple rooms. The other alternative is to opt for a single bedsit, which actually
has more space and better facilities. There's about £20 a week difference
between them.
W: Well, actually my grant is quite generous and I think the bedsit sound the best
option.
M: Lovely. I'll put you down for that and we'll see what availability is like. Now can
I ask some other personal details which we like to have on record?
W: yes, of course.
M: I wonder if you could let us know what your interests are. This might help us get
a closer match for placing you in a particular hall.
W: Ummm. Well, I love the theatre.
M: Right.
W: And I enjoy sports, particularly badminton.
M: That's worth knowing. Now, what we finish with on the form is really a list from
you of what you priorities are in choosing a hall and we'll do our best to take
these into account.
W: Well, the first thing is I'd prefer a hall where there are other mature students, if
possible.
M: Yes, we do have halls which tend to cater for slightly older students.
W: Ummm and I'd prefer to be out of twon.
M: That's actually very good for you because we tend have more vacancies in out-
of-town halls.
W: Lucky!
M: Yes. Anything else?
W: Well, I would like somewhere with a shared area, a TV room for example, or
something like that. It's a good way to socialise.
M: It certainly is.
W: That's it.
M: Now, we just need a contact telephone number for you.
W: Sure, I'll just find it. It's double 6-7549
M: Great, so we'll be in contact with you as soon
Section2
Hello, I'd delighted to welcome you to our Wildlife Club, and very pleased that
you're interested in the countryside and the plants and creatures of this area. I think
you'll be surprised at the variety we have here, even though we're not far from
London. I'll start by telling you about some of the parks and open spaces nearby.
One very pleasant place is Halland Common. This has been public land for
hundreds of years, and what you'll find interesting is that the River Ouse, which
flows into the sea eight kilometers away, had its source in the common. There;s an
information board about the plants and animal you can see here, and by the way, the
common is accessible 24 hours a day.
Then there's Holt Island, which is noted for its great range of trees. In the past
willows were grown here commercially for basket-making, and this ancient craft
recently been reintroduced. The island is only open to the public form Friday to
Sunday, because it's quite small, and if there were people around every day, much
of the wildlife would keep away.
From there it's just a short walk across the bridge to Longfield Country Park.
Longfield has a modern replica of a farm over two thousand years ago. Children's
activities are often arranged there, like bread-making and face-painting. The park is
only open during daylight hours, so bear that in mind if you decide to go there.
Longfield has a programme of activities throughout the year, and to give you a
sample, this is what's happening in the next few days. On Monday you can learn
about herbs, and how they've been used over the centuries. You'll start with a tour
of our herb graden, practise the techinique of using them as colour dyes for cloth,
and listen to an illustrated talk about their use in cooking and medicine.
Then on Wednesday you can join local experts to discover the variety of insects
group, so if you want to go you'll need to phone the park ranger a few days ahead.
There's a small charge, which you should pay when you turn up.
and birds that appear in the evening. We keep to a small number of people in the
I'm sure you're all keen to help with the practical task of looking after the park,
so on Saturday you can join a working party. You'll have a chose of all sports of
activities, from planting hedges to picking up litter, so you'll be able to change from
one to another when you feel like it. The rangers will be hard at work all day, but do
come and join in, even for just a short while. One thing, though, is to make sure
you're wearing something that you don't mind getting dirty to torn.
And finally I'd like to tell you about our new wildlife area, Hinchingbrooke
Park, which will be opened to the public next month. This slide doesn't really
indicate how big it is, but anyway, you can see the two gates into the park, and the
main paths. As you can see, there's a lake in the north west of the park, with a bird
hide to the west of it, at the end of a path. So it'll be a nice quiet place for watching
the bird on the lake.
Fairly close to where refreshments are available, there's a dog-walking area in
the southern part of the park, leading off from the path. And if you just want to sit
and relax, you can go to the flower garden; that's the circular area on the map
surrounded by paths.
And finally, there's a wooded area in the western section of the park, between
two paths. Okay, that's enough from me, so let's go
Section3
Pam: Hi Jun. As you know, I've asked you here today to discuss the future of our
Self-Access Centre. We have to decide what we want to do about this very
important resource for our English language students. So, can you tell me what
the students think about this?
Jun: Well, from the student's point of view, we would like to keep it. The majority
classroom routine and they see it as a pretty major component of their course,
but we would like to see some improvements to the equipment, particularly the
computers; there aren't enough for one each at the moment and we always have
to share.
of students say that they enjoy using it because it provides a variation on the
P: Well yes, the teachers agree that it is a very valuable resource but one thing we
have noticed is that a lot of the student using it, but we think the computers
should used as a learning resource, nor for emails. Some of us also think that
we could benefit a lot more by relocating the Self-Access Centre to the main
University library building. How do you think the students would feel about
that, Jun?
J: Well, the library is big enough to incorporate the Self-Access Centre, but it
wouldn't be like a class activity anymore. Our main worry would be not being
able to go to a teacher for advice. I'm sure there would be plenty of things to do
but we really need teachers to help us choose the best activities.
P: Well, there would still be a teacher present and he or she would guide the
activities of the students, we wouldn't just leave them to get on with it.
J: Yes, but I think the students would be much happier keeping the existing set-up;
they really like going to the Self-Access Centre with their teacher and staying
together as a group to do activities. If we could just improve the resources and
facilities, I think it would be fine. Is the cost going to be a problem?
P: It's not so much the expense that I'm worried about, and we've certainly got roon
to do it, but it's the problem of timetabling a teacher to be in there outside class
hours. If we're going to spend a lot of money on equipment and resources, we
really need to make sure that everything is looked after properly. Anyway, let's
make some notes to see just what needs doing to improve the Centre.
Pam: Now, what about the computers? I think it might be a good idea to install
some new models. They would take up a lot less room and so that would
increase the work space for text books and so on.
Jun: That would be great. It is a bit cramped in there at times.
P: What about other resources? Do you have a list of things that the students would
like to see improved?
J: Yes, one of the comments that students frequently make is that they find it
difficult to find materials that are appropriate for their level, especially reading
resources, so I think we need to label them more clearly.
P: Well that's easy enough, we can get that organised every quickly. In fact I think
we should review all of the study resources as some of them are looking a bit
out-of-date.
J: Definitely. The CD section especially needs to be more current. I think we should
get some of the ones that go with our latest course books and also make
multiple copies.
P: Good, now I was also thinking about some different materials that we haven't got
in there at all. What do you think of the idea of introducing some workbooks?
If we break them up into separate pages and laminate them, they'd be a great
resource. The students could study the main course book in class and then do
follow-up practice in the Self-Access Centre.
J: That sounds good.
P: Okay, now finally we need to think about how the room is used. I'll have to talk
to the teachers and make sure we can all reach some agreement on a timetable
to supervise the centre after class. But we also need to think about security, too.
Especially if we're going to invest in some new equipment.
J: What about putting in an alarm?
P: Good idea. The other thing I'd like to do is talk to our technicians and see
whether we could somehow limit the access to email. I really don't want to see
that resource misused.
J: What about if we agree to only use it before and after class?
P: Yes, that would be fine. OK, that's great for now. We'll dicuss it further
when we've
Section4
Good morning everyone. Now whether you're going to University to study
business or some other subject, many of you will eventually end up working for a
company of some kind.
Now, when you first start working somewhere you will realise that the
organisation you've joined has certain characteristics. And we often refer to these
social characteristics as the culture of the organisation- this includes its unwritten
ideas, beliefs, values and things like that. One well known writer has classified
company cultures by identifying four major types.
The first type is called the Power Culture, and it's usually found in small
organisations.
It's the type of culture that needs a central source of power to be effective, and
bucause control is in the hands of just one or two people there aren't many rules or
procedures. Another characteristic is that communication usually takes the form of
conversations rather than, say, formal meetings or written memos. Now one of the
benefits of this culture is that the organisation has the ability to act quickly, so it
responds well to threat, or danger on the one hand, and opportunity on the other.
But on the negative side, this type of organisation doesn't always act effectively,
because it depends too much on one or two people at the top, and when these people
make poor decisions there's no-one else who can influence them.
And the kind of person who does well in this type of business culture is one
who is happy to take risks, and for whom job security is a low priority.
The next types if known as Role Culture—that's R-O-L-E, not R-O-double L,
by the way, and this type is usually found in large companies, which have lots of
different levels in them. These organisations usually have separate departments that
co-ordinated at the top by a small group of senior managers and typically everyone's
job is controlled by sets of rules and procedures- for example, there are specific job
descriptions, rules for discipline, and so on.
specialise in things like finance, or sales, or maintenance, or whatever. Each one is
What are the benefits of this kind of culture? Well firstly, because it's found in
large organisations, its fixed costs, or overheads as they're known, are low in
relation to it's output, or what it produces. In other words it can achieve economies
of scale. And secondly, it is particularly successful in business markets where
technical expertise is important. On the other hand, this culture is often very slow to
recognise the need for change, and even slower to react. What kind of person does
this type of culture suit? Well it suits employees who value security, and who don't
particularly want to have responsibility.
Moving on now to Task Cultures-this type is found in organisations that are
project-oriented. You usually find it where the market for the company's product is
extremely competitive, or where the products themselves have a short life-span.
Usually top management delegates the projects, the people and other resources. And
once these have been allocated, little day-to-day control is exercised from the top,
because this would seem like "breaking the rules"
Now one of the major benefits of this culture is that it's flexible. But it does
have some major disadvantages too.
Reading Passage 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 1-13 which are based on Reading
Passage 1 below.
Hearing impairment or other auditory function deficit in young children can have a
major impact on their development of speech and communication, resulting in a
detrimental effect on their ability to learn at school. This is likely to have major
Ministry of Health has found from research carried out over two decades that 6-19%
of children in that country are affected by hearing loss.
consequences for the individual and the population as a whole. The New Zealand
A preliminary study in New Zealand has shown that classroom noise presents a
major concern for teachers and pupils. Modern teaching practices, the organization
of desks in the classroom, poor classroom acoustics, and mechanical means of
ventilation such as air-conditioning units all contribute to the number of children
unable to comprehend the teacher’s voice. Education researchers Nelson and Soli
have also suggested that recent trends in learning often involve collaborative
interaction of multiple minds and tools as much as individual possession of
information. This all amounts to heightened activity and noise levels, which have
the potential to be particularly serious for children experiencing auditory function
deficit. Noise in classrooms can only exacerbate their difficulty in comprehending
and processing verbal communication with other children and instructions from the
teacher.
Children with auditory function deficit are potentially failing to learn to their
maximum potential because of noise levels generated in classrooms. The effects of
noise on the ability of children to learn effectively in typical classroom
environments are now the subject of increasing concern. The International Institute
of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE), on the advice of the World Health
Organization, has established an international working party, which includes New
Zealand, to evaluate noise and reverberation control for school rooms.
While the detrimental effects of noise in classroom situations are not limited to
children experiencing disability, those with a disability that affects their processing
of speech and verbal communication could be extremely vulnerable. The auditory
function deficits in question include hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorders
(ASD) and attention deficit disorders (ADD/ADHD).
Autism is considered a neurological and genetic life-long disorder that causes
discrepancies in the way information is processed. This disorder is characterized by
interlinking problems with social imagination, social communication and social
interaction. According to Janzen, this affects the ability to understand and relate in
understand or respond to sensory stimuli. Autism does not allow learning or
thinking in the same ways as in children who are developing normally. Autistic
spectrum disorders often result in major difficulties in comprehending verbal
information and speech processing. Those experiencing these disorders often find
sounds such as crowd noise and the noise generated by machinery painful and
distressing. This is difficult to scientifically quantify as such extra-sensory stimuli
vary greatly from one autistic individual to another. But a child who finds any type
of noise in their classroom or learning space intrusive is likely to be adversely
affected in their ability to process information.
typical ways to people, understand events and objects in the environment, and
The attention deficit disorders are indicative of neurological and genetic disorders
and are characterized by difficulties with sustaining attention, effort and persistence,
organization skills and disinhibition. Children experiencing these disorders find it
difficult to screen out unimportant information, and focus on everything in the
environment rather than attending to a single activity. Background noise in the
classroom becomes a major distraction, which can affect their ability to concentrate.
Children experiencing an auditory function deficit can often find speech and
communication very difficult to isolate and process when set against high levels of
background noise. These levels come from outside activities that penetrate the
classroom structure, from teaching activities, and other noise generated inside,
which can be exacerbated by room reverberation. Strategies are needed to obtain the
optimum classroom construction and perhaps a change in classroom culture and
methods of teaching. In particular, the effects of noisy classrooms and activities on
those experiencing disabilities in the form of auditory function deficit need
thorough investigation. It is probable that many undiagnosed children exist in the
education system with ‘invisible’ disabilities. Their needs are less likely to be met
than those of children with known disabilities.
The New Zealand Government has developed a New Zealand Disability Strategy
and has embarked on a wide-ranging consultation process. The strategy recognizes
that people experiencing disability face significant barriers in achieving a full
quality of life in areas such as attitude, education, employment and access to
services. Objective 3 of the New Zealand Disability Strategy is to ‘Provide the Best
learners and adult learners will have equal opportunities to learn and develop within
their already existing local school. For a successful education, the learning
environment is vitally significant, so any effort to improve this is likely to be of
great benefit to all children, but especially to those with auditory function
disabilities.
Education for Disabled People’ by improving education so that all children, youth
A number of countries are already in the process of formulating their own standards
for the control and reduction of classroom noise. New Zealand will probably follow
their example. The literature to date on noise in school rooms appears to focus on
the effects on schoolchildren in general, their teachers and the hearing impaired.
Only limited attention appears to have been given to those students experiencing the
other disabilities involving auditory function deficit. It is imperative that the needs
of these children are taken into account in the setting of appropriate international
standards to be promulgated in future.
Text 3
Section1
M: Greek Island Holidays, can I help you?
W: Yes, I hope so. I have a friend who's just come back from Corfu and she's
recommended some apartments in Arilas. She thought they might be on your
list.
M: Arilas, Arilas, let me see. Can you give me the names?
W: Yes, the first's Rose Garden Apartments. I'd like to go with another friend in the
last week of October.
M: Well, we've got a lovely studio flat available at that time. I'm sure you'd enjoy
the entertainment programme there too, with Greek dancing in the restaurant.
W: And the cost for each of us?
M: £219.
W: That sounds very reasonable! I'm just jotting down some notes. Now the second
one she mentioned was called Blue Bay.
M: Blue Bay? Yes, in fact that's every popular and is has some special features.
W: Really?
M: The main attraction is the large swimming pool with salt water.
W: Much healthier, I understand.
M: That's right. And it isn't far from the beach, either - only 300 metres, and only
around half a kilometre to some shops, so you don't have to be too energetic.
W: Is it much more expensive than the first one?
M: Let me just check. I think at the time you want to go it's around £260 - no £275
to be exact.
W: Right, I've got that. Now there are just two more apartments to ask you about.
Um, I can't read my own writing! Something to do Sunshine, isn't it?
M: I think you meant the Sunshade Apartments. They're on a mountainside.
W: Any special features?
M: Yes, each room has its own sun terrace and there are shared barbecue facilities.
W: Sounds lovely.
M: Yes, it's rather well-equipped. It also provides water sports -- it has its own
beach. There are facilities for water-skiing.
W: Any kite-surfing? My friend's quite keen.
M: Not at the hotel but I'm sure you'll find some in Arilas. There's also satelite TV
in the apartments.
W: And how much is that one?
M: £490 with two sharing.
W: You mean £ 245 each?
M: I'm afraid not! Each person has to pay that amount and there must be at least two
in an apartment.
W: I don't think that would be within our budget, unfortunately. And the last one
sounds a bit expensive too-the Grand!
M: Actually it's quite reasonable. It's an older style house with Greek paintings in
every room, and a balcony outside.
W: Sounds nice. What are the views like?
M: Well, there are forests all around and they hide a supermarket just down the road,
so that's very useful for all your shopping needs. There's a disco in the area too.
W: And the price?
M: £319 at that time, but if you leave it till November it goes down by 40%.
W: Too late, I'm afraid.
M: Well, why don't I send you a brochure with full details, Ms...?
W: Nash. But don't worry about that. I'm coming to Upminster soon and I'll call and
get one. I just wanted to get an idea first.
M: Well, that's fine. We've got plenty here when you come.
W: If you got a minute, could I just check a couple of points about insurance? I got
one policy through the post but I'd like to see if yours is better.
M: Fine. What would you like to know?
W: Well, the one I've got had benefits and then the maximum amount you can claim.
Is that like yours?
M: Yes, that's how most of them are.
W: Well, the first thing is cancellation. If the holiday's cancelled on the policy I've
got, you can claim £8,000.
M: We can improve on that, Ms. Nash. For Greek Island holidays, our maximum is
£10,000.
W: That's good-of course our holiday won't even cost £1,000 together~
M: It's still sensible to have good cover. Now, if you go to hospital, we allow £600.
W: Yes, mine is similar.
M: And we also allow a relative to travel to your holiday resort.
W: My policy just says their representative will help you.
M: You can see there is another difference there. And what happens if you don't get
on the plane?
W: Nothing, as far as I see on this form.
M: Don't you have missed the departure?
W: No, I'll just jot it down.
M: We pay up to £1,000 for that, depending on the reason. And we're particularly
generous about loss of personal belongs-up to £3.000, but not more than £500
for a single item.
W: Then I'd better not take my laptop!
M: Not unless you insure it separately.
W: OK-thanks very much for your time-you've been really helpful. Can I get back
to you? Your name is?
M: Ben-Ludlow. That's L-U-D-L-O-W. I'm Assistant Manager here. I'll give you
my number. It's 081260 543 216.
W: But didn't I phone 081260 567 294? That's what I've got on the paper.
M: That's the main switchboard. I've given you my direct line.
W: Right,
Section2
W: For the second in our series about locally-run business, we meet Simon Winride,
co-founder of the hugely successful Winridge Forest Railway Park. Welcome,
Simon. Now, perhaps you can begin by telling us a little bit about how it all
started.
M: Well, during the 1970s, my wife, Liz and I had just acquired 80 acres of sheep-
farming land, and we decided to settle down and have children. Pretty soon we
had a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Duncan. The place was wonderful for the kids:
they particularly love the trees and gradually built up an enormous network of
miniature railway tract. I began to develop larger-scale models of locomotives
but we don't think any more of it until I went on a trip to a theme park near
Birmingham and decided we could do a much better job! So we set up a small
one ourselves based on the miniature railway and we opened to the public for
just a month that year, 1984 - in July- our driest month - because our children
said they don't want our guests to have a miserable, wet visit. I dealt with Park
business and Liz carried on with the farm work.
It soon became clear that we are onto a winner. We began to extend the railway
tract and lay it among more interesting landscape by planting trees, which in
turn attracted more wildlife, and by making cutting through the rock.
Nowadays, we're open all year round and we're pleased to say that Winridge is
year - a million and a half people have been through our doors since we opened.
one of the most popular visitor attractions in the area - with 50.000 visitors a
All these visitors mean we have had to expand our operation and it's now a
truly family concern. I'm near to retirement age so I only concern myself with
looking after the mechanical side of things - keeping the trains going. Liz now
devotes all her energies to recruiting and supporting the large squadron(一群，
一队) of workers, which keep the place running smoothly. We're really pleases
that after some years away teaching, Sarah has now returned to the park and
makes sure the visitors are kept fed and watered, which keeps her pretty busy as
you can imagine. Our son, Duncan, have been a stalwart(中坚分子) of the park
for the last ten years, taking over from me in the area of construction - and I'll
say a little bit more about that in a moment - and his new wife, Judith, has also
joined the team in charge of retail. That's becoming a tremendous growth area
for us - a lot of people want to buy souvernirs.
W: So have you finished your development of the site for the moment?
M: Not at all! We're constantly looking for ways to offer more to our visitors. The
railway remains the central feature and there's now 1.2 kilometres of the line
laid but we'd like to lay more. Because of the geology of the area, our greatest
problem is digging tunnels. But we're gradually overcoming that. We're also
very pleased with a new installation of the Go-Kart arena which is 120 square
metres in area. Again the problem is the geology; we had to level the mounds
on the track for safety reasons. We wanted to enable 5-12 year olds to use the
go-karts. And the main attraction here is the Formula 1 Kart. We've known
fights to break out over who gets it! And then finally to our most recent
development which is
Section3
Tutor: come on in. Sit down.
Caroline: Thanks.
Tutor: So how is the dissertation planning going?
Caroline: Well Dr Schulmann, I'm still having a lot of trouble deciding on a title.
Tutor: Well, that's perfectly normal at this stage. And this is what your tutorials will
help you to do.
Caroline: Right.
Tutor: What we'll do is jot down some points that might help you in your
dissertation. First of all, you have chosen your general topic area, haven't you?
Caroline: Yes, it's the fishing industry.
Tutor: Oh, yes, that was one of the areas you mentioned. Now, what aspects of the
course are you good at?
Caroline: Well, I think I'm coping well with the statistics, and I'm never bored by it.
Tutor: Good. Anything else?
Caroline: Well, I found computer modeling fascinating - I have no problem
following what's being taught, whereas quite a few of my classmates find it difficult.
Tutor: Well, that's very good. Do you think these might be areas you could bring
into your dissertation?
Caroline: Oh, yes, if possible. It's just that I'm having difficulty thinking how I can
do that. You see I feel I don't have sufficient background information.
Tutor: I see. Well, do you take notes?
Caroline: I'm very weak at note-taking. My teachers always used to say that.
Tutor: Well, I think you really need to work on these weaknesses before you go any
further.
Caroline: What do you suggest?
Tutor: Well, I can go through the possible strategies with you and let you decide
where to go from there.
Caroline: Okay, thanks.
Tutor: Well, some people find it helpful to organise peer-group discussions- you
know, each week a different person studies a different topic and shares it with the
group.
Caroline: Oh right.
Tutor: It really helps build confidence, you know, having to present something to
others.
Caroline: I can see that.
Tutor: The drawback is that everyone in the group seems to share the
they keep being repeated in all the dissertations.
Caroline: Ok.
Tutor: You could also try a service called "Student Support". It's designed to give
you a structured programme over a number of weeks to develop your skills,
Caroline: Sounds good.
Tutor: Yes, unfortunately there are only a few places. But it's worth looking into.
Caroline: Yes, of course. I know I have got to work on my study skills.
Tutor: And then there are several study skills books you can consult.
Caroline: Right.
Tutor: They'll be a good source of reference but the problem is they are sometimes
too general.
Caroline: Yes, that's what I've found.
Tutor: Other than that I would strongly advise quite simple ideas like using a card
index.
Caroline: Well, yes, I've never done that before.
Tutor: It's simple, but it really works because you have to get points down in a small
space. Another thing I always advise is don't just take your notes and forget about
them. Read everything three times- that'll really fix them in your mind.
Caroline: Yes, I can see it'd take
Tutor: Well, if you establish good study skills at this stage they'll be with you all
your life.
Caroline: Oh, yes, I completely agree. It's just that I don't seem to be able to
discipline myself. I need to talk things over.
Tutor: Well, we'll be continuing these tutorials of course. Let's arrange next month's
now. Let's see, I can see you virtually any time during the week starting 22nd
January.
Caroline: What about the 24th? I'm free in the afternoon.
Tutor: Sorry, I'm booked then. What about the following day?
Caroline: Thursday? I can make the morning.
Tutor: Fine, we'll go for the 25th then.
Caroline: That's great, thanks.
Section4
Good morning. In the last few lectures I've been talking about the history of
domestic building construction. But today I want to begin looking at some
contemporary, experimental designs for housing. So, I'm going to start with a house,
which is constructed more or less under the ground. And one of the interesting
things about this project is that the owners-both professionals but not architects-
wanted to be closely involved, so they decided to manage the project themselves.
Their chief aim was to create somewhere that was as environmentally-friendly as
possible. But at the same time they wanted to live somewhere peaceful- they'd both
grown up in the rural area and dislike the urban life.
So the first thing they did was to look for a site. And they found a disused stone
quarry in a beautiful area. The price was relatively low, and they liked the idea of
recycling the land, as it were. As it was, the quarry was an ugly blot on the
landscape, and it wasn't productive any longer, either.
They consulted various architects and looked at a number of designs before finally
deciding on one. As I've said, it was a design for a sort of underground house, and it
was built into the earth itself, with two storeys. The north, east and west sides were
was made of a double layer of very strong glass. There were also photovoltaic tiles
fixed to the top and bottom of this sloping wall. These are tiles that are designed to
store energy from the sun. And the walls had a layer of foam around them too, to
increase the insulation.
set in the earth, and only the sloping, south-facing side was exposed to light. That
Now, what is of interest to us about this project is the features which make the
building energy-efficient. Sunlight floods in through the glass wall, and to maximise
it there lots of mirrors and windows inside the house. That helps to spread the light
around. So that's the first thing-light is utilised as fully as possible.
In addition, the special tiles on the outside convert energy from the sun and generate
some of the house's electricity. In fact, and it's possible that in future the house may
even generate an electricity surplus, and that the owners will be able to sell some to
the national grid.
As well as that, wherever possible, recycled materials have been used. For example,
the floors are made of reclaimed wood. And the owners haven't bought a single item
of new furniture- they just kept what whey already had. And the there's the system
for dealing with the waste produced in the house. This is dealt with organically-it's
purified by being filtered through reed beds which have been planted for that
purpose in the garden. So the occupants of the house won't pollute the land or use
any damaging chemicals.
It's true that the actual construction of the house was harmful to the environment,
friendly.
So, eco-housing like this is likely to become
damaging to the environment. In total, the house construction has released 70 tons
of carbon dioxide into the air. Now that's a frightening thought. However, once the
initial 'debt' had been cleared-cost anything- environmentally I mean- because
unlike ordinary houses, it is run in a way that is completely environmentally
mainly because they had to use massive amounts of concrete-one of the biggest
sources of carbon dioxide in manufacturing. And, as you know, this is very
Section1
Test 4
W: Can I help you?
where we can all register with a doctor at a Health Center.
W: Okay. Well. There's doctor Green at Harvey Clinic. We always will recommend
M: Yes, I've just moved to this area with my wife and children and I'd like to know
her for babies, because she is very good with them and she runs a special clinic.
M: Oh... actually my youngest child is five, so that wouldn't be any good for us.
W: Right.
M: Is there anywhere else I could try?
W: Yes, the Eshcol Health Practice is the next one on my list.
M: How do you spell that?
W: E-s-h-c-o-l, And it's doctor Fuller, who has space on his list. The clinic only
opened a year ago, so the facilities are all very modern.
M: That sounds good.
W: And it's particularly good if you are busy during the day, because they also do
the appointments in the evening. They closed on Saturday, though. The only
other place on the list is the Health Center on Shore Lane. You can register
with doctor Gormley, that's G-o-r-m-l-e-y. He is new there, but the center has
very good reputation.
M: Oh, yes, I think I know the road. That would be the best one. Thanks. Could you
tell me, will all their services be free?
W: there are usually some small charges that doctors make. Let me see what
it says about the Shore Lane Center. If you need to be vaccinated before any
trips abroad, you won't have to pay for this. Ah, what else? The sports injury
treatment service operates on the paying basis, as does the nutritional therapy
service. Some health centers do offer alternative therapies like homeopathy as
part of their pay-to-use service. Shore Lane are hoping to do this soon. I think
they may start with acupuncture. And finally, if you need to prove you're
healthy, or haven't had any serious injuries before your employer will accept
you, you can get a free fitness check-up there, but you most likely have to pay
for insurance medicals though.
M: Ok, thanks.
W: You might be also interested to know the Center is running a pilot scheme(小规
模试点计划) talks with patients. I've got the list here. Actually, they look very
interesting.
M: What sort of things?
W: Well, the first one is about giving up smoking. It's next week, the 25th of
February, at 7 pm, and that's in Room 4. It says, the talk will stress the health
benefits, particular for people with asthma or heart disease.
M: That sounds very interesting.
W: There is also a talk about families with children. It's on Healthy Eating, and
takes place at the first of March, at 5 o'clock.
M: Will that be at the health center?
W: Erm, actually it's the primary school on Shore Lane. I imagine they're inviting
parents of pupils there-and it says here "all welcome".
M: I might go to that if I have time.
W: There's a couple of other talks-one giving advice about how to avoid injuries
while doing exercise. It's on the 9th of March. It's a late afternoon talk at 4.30,
and it will be in Room 6. It also says the talk is suitable for all ages. And finally,
there is a talk called "Stress Management",
Section2
M: Hello.
W: Hi, it's Laura Carlton here. We've just arrived at the holiday flat, but I can't get
the hot water and heating to work.
M: Oh right! That's easy. Don't worry. In the upstairs cupboard you'll find the water
heater. You'll see three main controls on the left at the bottom of the heater. The
fist one-the round one on the far left-is the most important one for the heating
and hot water. It's the main control switch. Make sure it's in the "on" position.
The switch itself doesn't light up, but the little square bellow will be black if the
switch is "off". That's probably what's happened-it's got switched off by
mistake. The middle one of the three controls-you'll see it's slightly larger than
the first one-controls the radiators(浴霸). If you feel cold while you're there,
and need the radiators on, this needs to be turned to maximum. The last of the
three controls- the one on the right-is usually on about a number 4 setting,
which for the water in the taps is usually quite hot enough.
Below the heating controls in the middle is a small round plastic button. If there
isn't enough water in the pipes, sometimes the heat goes out. If this happens,
you'll need to press the button to reset the heater. Hold it in for about 5 seconds
and the heater should come on again. Then there's a little square indicator under
the third knob, that's kind of alarm light. It'll flash if you need to reset the heater.
W: oh, it sounds complicated.
M: I'm sure you won't have any problems with it. There should be some more
instructions on the side of the heater. Call me back if you can't make it work.
W: Ok.
W: While you on the phone, we haven't managed to find a few things we need, like
extra pillows for the beds and some washing powder. Is there any here?
M: yes, if you look in the cupboard, the large white one upstairs-to the left
of the bathroom door-there should be four or five on the top shelf. And if you
want to do some washing, there is some powder probably by the back
door. There is a kind of shelf there above the sink. In fact, I'm sure there's some
there, in a large blue box. You need about half a cup full for each wash.
And that reminds me, the spare key to the back door is hanging on a hook on
the wall by the sitting room window. Please make sure to put it back when
you've used it. The previous guests lost it in the garden and I had to get another
one made. And if you have any trouble with the lamps, you'll find some spare
bulbs in a large cupboard box. It's on top of the washing machine with all kinds
of useful things in it. Oh, and another thing I forgot to mention when we last
W: Yes?
M: I've left you a local map, so you'll be able to find your way around easily. It
shows the whole area. I put it in the top drawer of the chest under the TV in
your bedroom. There is a whole file of local information in there too.
W: Thanks. What about visiting the town? Can you give us any advice?
M: Yes. You need to take the car. It's too far to walk from the flat really. You have
to pay to leave your car in all the car parks now I' I like the one that's
by the station west and you can walk to the town center from there in five
minutes. That's where all the best restaurants are. But if you want a take-away,
the Italian one does really good pasta and pizzas. Call 732281 for that one or
766119 for the Chinese. They are both good and they'll both deliver to the flat.
As for places to visit, yes, do go and see the railway museum. The exhibition is
small but really good. It gets very crowded on Sundays, so I suggest you visit it
you won't find anywhere to park, and it's also the only day of the week when
they're not open. Anything else?
W: Not for the moment. Thanks.
on a quiet day, later in the week, but not on Thursdays, which is a market day-
Section3
Paul: Hello, Kira, how are you?
Kira: Fine thanks, Paul, how are you?
Paul: Well, thanks. It's good to see you. It must be twelve months since you did our
course?
Kira: That's right. It's nice to come back and say hello.
Paul: What course did you enroll in?
Kira: Actually, I went straight into third year Pharmacy. They credited me with two
years, which probably made it more difficult for me.
Paul: On the other hand, you were lucky to be granted credits. It that why you
choose the course?
Kira: Yes. And, as I'd already finished a course in it in my country, I thought it
would be easier if I studied something I already knew.
Paul: I didn't realise you went into third year. I though you started in first year. No
wonder it was so hard! And what do you think is one of the big differences between
studying at a university here and studying in your country?
Kira: Well, I found it very difficult to write assignments, because I wasn't familiar
with that aspect of the system here. The problem is that the lecturers expect you to
be critical. That made me feel really terrible. I thought "How can I possibly do it?
How can I comment on someone else's research when they probably spent five
years doing it?" I think a lot of people who come from overseas countries have
similar problems. But after a while it became easier for me. People expect you to
have problems with the process of reading and writing but, in fact, it is more a
question of altering your viewpoint towards academic study.
Paul: How was the content of the lectures? Was it easy for you?
Kira: I didn't really have many problems understanding lectures. The content was
every similar to what I'd studied before.
Paul: And what about the lecturers themselves? Are they essentially the same as
lecturers in your country?
Kira: Well actually, no. Here, they are much easier to approach. And every lecture
you can go and ask them something you didn't understand. Or you can make an
appointment and talk to them about anything in the course.
Paul: Maybe you found them different because you're more mature student now,
whereas when you were studying in your country you were younger and not so
seertive.
Kira: No, I don't think that's the difference. Most of the students here do it. In my
faculty, they all seem to make appontiments--usually to talk about something in the
course that's worrying them, but sometimes just about something that might really
interest them, something they might want to specialise in. The lecturers must set
aside certain times every week when they're available for students.
Paul: That's good to hear.
Paul: And how was your timetable? Was it a very busy year?
Kira: Very, very busy. They make you work very hard. Apart from lectures, we had
practical sessions in a lot of subjects. We did these in small groups. I had to go and
work four hours every week in a community pharmacy. Actually, I enjoyed this
very much--meeting new people all the time. Then in second semester, we had to
get experience in hospital dispensaries(药房,诊疗所), so every second day we went
to one of the big hospitals and worked there. And on top of all that we had our
assignments, which took me a lot of time. Oh, I nearly forgot, between first and
second semesters, we had to work full-time for two weeks in a hospital.
Paul: That does sound a very heavy year. So are you pleased now that you did it?
Do you feel some sense of achievement?
Kira: Yeah, I do feel much more confidence, which I suppose is the most important
thing.
Paul: And have you got any recommendations for people who are studying from
overseas?
Kira: Well, I suppose they need very good English. It would be much better if they
spent more time learning English before they enter the university, because you can
be in big trouble if you don't understand what people are saying and you haven't got
time to translate.
Paul: Anything else?
Kira: Well, as I said before, the biggest problem for me was a lack of familiarity
with the education system here.
Paul: It sounds as if it was a real challenge. Congratulations, Kira.
Kira: Thanks Paul.
Section4
Good morning. Today I'd like to present the findings of our Year 2 project on wild
life found in gardens throughout our city. I'll start by saying something about the
background to the project, then talk a little bit about our research techniques, and
then indicate some of our interim findings.
First of all, how did we choose our topic? Well, there are four of us in the group and
one day while we ere discussing a possible focus, two of the group mentioned that
they had seen yet more sparrow-hawks-one of Britain's most interesting birds of
prey - in their own city centre gardens and wondered why they were turning up in
these gardens in great numbers. We were all very engaged by the idea of why wild
animals would choose to inhabit a city garden. Why is it so popular with wildlife
when the countryside itself is becoming less so?
The first thing we did was to establish what proportion of the urban and is taken up
by private gardens. We estimated that it was about one fifth, and this was endorsed
by looking at large-scale usage maps in the town land survey office- 24% to be
that many garden owners had interesting experiences to relate regarding wild animal
sightings so we decided to survey garden owners from different areas of the city.
Just over 100 of them completed a survey once every two weeks for twelve months-
ticking off species they had seen from a pro forma list-and adding the names of any
rarer ones. Meanwhile, we were doing our own observations in selected gardens
throughout the city. We deliberately choose smaller ones because they were by far
the most typical in the city. The whole point of the project was to look at the norm
not the exception. Alongside this primary research on urban gardens, we were
studying a lot of books about the decline of wild animals in the countryside and
thinking of possible causes for this.
precise. Our own informal discussions with neighbours and friends led us to believe
So what did we find? Well, so much that I just won't have time to tell you about
here. If you're interested in reading our more comprehensive findings, we've
produced detailed graphic representations on the college web-site and of course any
of the group would be happy to talk to you about them. Just email us.
What we've decided to present today is information about just three species-because
we felt these gave a good indication of the processes at work in rural and urban
settings as a whole.
The first species to generate a lot of interesting information was frogs. And there
was a clear pattern here- they proliferate where there is suitable water. Garden
ponds are on the increase, rural ponds were disappearing, leading to massive
migration to the towns.
Hedgehogs are also finding it easier to live in urban areas-this time because their
predators are not finding it quite so attractive to leave their rural environment, so
hedgehogs have a better survival rate in cities. We had lost of sightings, so all in all
we had no difficulties with our efforts to count their numbers precisely.
Our final species is the finest of bird singers, the song thrush. On the decline in the
countryside, they are experiencing a resurgence in urban gardens because these days
gardens are buying lots of different plants which means there's an extensive range of
seeds around, which is what they feed on. Another factor is the provision of nesting
places- which is actually better in gardens than the countryside. Hard to believe it,
but it's true. Incidentally, we discovered that a massive new survey on song trushes
is about to be launched, so you should keep an eye open for that.
Now, I'd be happy to answer any questions you
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