English Recordings

It was unavoidable step for me. I haven't got a proper pronunciation.

Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She grew up in the southern United States. Rosa went to a local school for African-American children where her mother was a teacher.
In 1931, Rosa met Raymond Parks, a successful barber who worked in Montgomery. They married a year later.
During this time, the city of Montgomery was segregated. Growing up in the South, Rosa Parks was scared of the KKK, so her husband and she decided to join the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). They wanted to fight segregation.

It was on December 1, 1955 that Rosa made her famous stand on the bus. All the seats on the bus were taken when a white man got on the bus. The bus driver told Rosa and other African-American people to stand up, but Rosa refused. She didn't move. Soon, the police showed up and Rosa was arrested. She had to pay a 10$ fine.

After that, some African-American people decided to boycott the city buses. This meant that they would no longer ride the buses. It wasn't easy for people to boycott buses as many didn't have cars. Finally, the Supreme Court decided that the segregation bus law was unconstitutional, illegal.

Rosa Parks died on October 24, 2005. She became a symbol to many African-Americans and is still a symbol of freedom and equality today.

The life of a conservationist often feels like one long struggle, taking little-known challenges and trying to make them mainstream. How do environmental issues move from niche interests to global concerns? The explosion of action on marine plastics has been a success story on an unprecedented scale. Film producer Jo Ruxton spent years raising funds and doing research for her film A Plastic Ocean, described by David Attenborough as “one of the most important films of all time”. But it was not until last year’s Blue Planet II series, and the plastics campaign by this and other newspapers, that concerns around marine litter began to be more widely shared.
Having worked in conservation for more than 20 years, I was delighted by the sea-change in attitudes. But, like other environmentalists, I am concerned that other challenges are not getting the attention or resources they need. This isn’t about downplaying the threat of marine plastics, but about how we can learn from the plastics story and apply these lessons elsewhere.
Crucially, all those involved in communicating what is happening to our seas must seek to inspire people as well as alarm them. The makers of the BBC’s Blue Planet Live, which started on Sunday night, understood this when they chose to present Chris Packham’s joyous encounter with whales off the coast of Mexico along with segments about attempts to regrow the Great Barrier Reef, and endangered sharks.
There is cause for concern closer to home, too. Around the British Isles we have some fabulous marine habitats. Seagrass meadows store carbon and are a secret weapon in the fight against climate change. Horse mussel reefs keep our seas clean and provide nursery areas for the young of whelks and other shellfish. Having grown up by the sea on the Isle of Man, I have been excited by beautiful, diverse, life-giving marine habitats all my life. Their loss is one of the main reasons behind our current extinction epidemic. It frightens me more than anything else apart from climate change. But if nobody knows about the importance and wonder of these habitats, no one will join the fight to save them.
And there is good news as well as bad. Marine habitat protection is becoming better understood and momentum is building. There has been encouraging progress in establishing marine protected areas. The point of these is to prevent damaging activities, allowing habitats to restore themselves naturally, and to intervene using active restoration when habitats have been damaged beyond the point of natural recovery.
We are beginning to understand how the impacts of plastics go beyond the obvious harm to marine life, polluting our food and disrupting natural processes. Now we also need to turn our attention to the essential role of our marine habitats in supporting fisheries, cleaning coastal waters and helping to regulate our climate – and act now to protect them for the future.

by Fiona Gell, March 25th 2019, The Guardian

I was reading my scary story : first I thought this book didn’t give me the creeps. After I turned the next page, I had a big fright : I could feel my heart beating faster and faster. I could smell death around me, stronger and stronger. I closed my eyes for a while and ... suddenly I saw it right in front of me, taller than my door...

Script
A: Hi, I’m Jeff, the workshop leader, and I’d like to welcome all our new members to our
crime fiction writing workshop. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Today, we’re going to begin by throwing together some ideas for a detective story. Anyone can participate. Ready?
B: Okay, so, there was this guy who came home from work one day, at the usual time, just
came home as he always did…
A: And? What happened?
B: Well, he opened the front door, heard his wife say “I’m in the kitchen.” Said he’d be down in
a minute and he went upstairs to take a shower. When he came down, he went into the kitchen
and found his wife, lying dead on the floor with a gun beside her.
C: Was it suicide?
D: Not according to the autopsy. That gun was the murder weapon, left at the scene of the crime.
But the strangest thing was that apparently she’d been dead for hours.
E: Did the husband kill her?
B: He was a suspect at first but he had an alibi.
E: Were there any witnesses?
C: Well, a neighbour saw a woman selling door to door that day, but that was all.
B: Did the murderer leave any clues?
C: No, no fingerprints… the only thing was the husband said the victim didn’t wear makeup but she was wearing perfect lipstick and eye-shadow. The detective assigned to the case was tearing his hair out I can tell you.
D: But if she had been dead for hours, who said “I’m in the kitchen”?
A: Excellent work, guys. Now, develop the role of the detective…

Gym/Exercise

Topic: Many feel that going to the gym is the best way to stay fit. Others think there are more effective methods. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Model answer:

A lot of people feel the best way to stay in shape is to regularly go to the gym while others think there are more effective methods. Although I would readily admit that the health benefits of gyms are self-evident, the best way to stay fit over the long-term is to join a sport or similar activity.

Those who swear by gyms often point out the bulk of research on the benefits of working out. People going to the gym can broadly be divided into those doing cardiovascular exercise and weight-lifting (or partaking in both). Cardio workouts have been proven in various studies to increase circulation, strengthen the heart muscles and reduce risks of heart disease later in life. Weight-lifting is also a scientifically supported method of combating bone density deterioration, especially important for women, and improving muscular health. No reasonable person would doubt both the vast anecdotal and scientific support for regular trips to the gym.

Despite the aforementioned advantages, it is far more motivating to take part in an organised activity. Signing up for a gym membership is a notoriously fickle commitment. Most people go for a few months and give up, never to return again. Contrast that with participation in sports and other activities. Someone who picks up tennis or football is much more likely to play regularly for a large portion of their life, possibly deep into old age. Even activities like Yoga and Tai Chi are more likely to become lifelong habits and therefore have a greater overall impact on fitness levels.

To conclude, going to the gym has indisputable benefits but it is not motivating enough to become habitual for most gym-goers. Instead, parents and teachers should encourage children to experiment with a wide range of activities in the hopes that they can develop a lifelong passion for one of them.

Problems with Purchasing Cars

Topic: More and more people in developing countries are purchasing cars for the first time. What problems does this cause? What do you think are the possible solutions?

Model answer:

It is a pressing problem that increased automobile purchases in developing countries is leading to a host of problems that governments will have to deal with in the future. I believe that the biggest problems centre around traffic and governments can impose higher taxes and support public transport to minimise the impact.

The rise of the automobile as a popular means of travel in developing countries inevitably leads to worsening road conditions. This is because developing nations often have narrower roads and fewer lanes. Once the growing middle class in previously impoverished countries begins to replace buses, motorbikes, and bicycles with cars, there is often a concurrent rise in the number of gridlocked roads. For example, research from The Economist linked a 40% rise in traffic jams to a 15% rise in automobile purchases in 2017 in Vietnam.

To fully address this problem, there are two potential fixes that governments can apply. Firstly, governments should enact higher taxes on all automobile purchases to deter buyers. This has had a massive impact in cities like Singapore where purchasing a car is prohibitively expensive for most residents. Another solution would be to invest further in public awareness campaigns of alternative modes of travel. A standout example of this would be in Vietnam, where these campaigns coupled with reduced fares to make busing more affordable, have cut down drastically on the number of vehicles on the road.

In conclusion, traffic problems caused by cars are a serious issue that governments must work hard to combat. If efforts are made to reduce automobiles on roads in favor of more efficient transport they will see their initial investment returned many times over in improved, sustained economic growth.

Choice for Children

Topic: Some people believe that allowing children to make their own choices on everyday matters (such as food, clothes and entertainment) is likely to result in a society of individuals who only think about their own wishes. Other people believe that it is important for children to make decisions about matters that affect them. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Model answer:

One common area of debate among parents is the extent to which children should be trusted to make their own decisions and the potential impact this will have on their sense of responsibility. Although decision-making skills will help in some ways, I believe parents should dictate choices for children in order to make them more aware of others.

On the one hand, children who have been allowed to make their own choices will eventually develop a keen sense of responsibility. This can be best seen in the contrasting example of helicopter parents and more liberal parents. Helicopter parents smother their children with attention and make the majority of their decisions for them. Over time, these kids will likely become dependent on their parents. If your parents always pick out your clothes then you never have to check weather forecasts, make choices about what colours match or concern yourself with trends in fashion. Later in life, these kids will not have developed any of these skills because of their parents. Contrast this with children who pick out their own clothes; they will have to consider these factors carefully and it will make them more responsible when it comes to shopping and taking care of their wardrobe.

On the other hand, I still believe that parents should make the majority of choices so that children will be more responsible towards others. For example, some parents have made the logical and ethical choice to be vegetarians and they force their children to do the same. This can have a positive effect not only on their individual health but also on the environment. Moreover, it is a learning opportunity for parents to teach their offspring about ethics. Parents can make the argument that industrial farming is inhumane and animals should be treated with more respect. This may have a carry-over effect resulting in their children growing up to be more thoughtful towards others.

In conclusion, parents should make most decisions for children to guide them to be more empathetic. They should work with teachers in their efforts to raise conscientious future citizens.

Studying Abroad

Topic: Compared to the past, more people are now studying abroad because it is more convenient and cheaper than before. Do you think this is beneficial to the foreign student’s home country? Will this trend change much in the future?

Model answer:

Nowadays, there are more and more students choosing to study overseas due to a variety of benefits for their own future life and career. From my perspective, I believe that this trend can also be beneficial to the foreign student’s home country and will continue developing in the next few years because of these benefits.

I think it is beneficial to the foreign student’s home country because after they finish studying, they may choose to come back and contribute to their homeland. For example, Vietnamese Professor, Ngo Bao Chau was announced by the 2010 International Congress of Mathematics as one of four mathematicians to win the Fields Medal, which is the world’s most prestigious mathematics award. After returning to Vietnam, he started to help and encourage aspiring Vietnamese from universities to study mathematics further. He not only contributed directly to the burgeoning field of Vietnamese mathematics but also continues to serve as aspirational example to students of the rewards of studying abroad and then returning home.

In the future, I believe that this trend will continue as both foreign and domestic countries will support students through scholarships. For example, in Vietnam it is common for students to apply for scholarships to study in countries like the USA, the UK, Australia, France, and so on. These countries have the means and are willing to support students from foreign countries because it enhances the diversity of their campuses. Additionally, the government in Vietnam encourages studying abroad through scholarships for underprivileged students. They do this because students who study abroad typically return to Vietnam and help push forward economic development, as in the case of Ngo Bao Chau.

In conclusion, I feel that there are clear advantages for the foreign student’s home country because of their potential academic and economic contributions after coming back home. Developing nations in particular should invest heavily in programs to send students abroad, besides funding their own educational infrastructure, if they want to have the kind of secure foundation that will allow the country to flourish for many years.

Government and Housing

Topic: Some believe that because everyone needs a place to live, governments should provide houses for those who are too poor to afford their own. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Model answer:

Many reformers are of the opinion that it is the responsibility of governments to provide public housing for members of the public too poor to afford their own homes. In my opinion, although there are some situations when this might be necessary, it is better to allow people the opportunity to pull themselves out of poverty.

Those who support government assistance in housing programs point out the institutional shackles that keep people in poverty. In the United States, there is a long, painful history concerning African Americans that began with slavery, discrimination and still shows its impact in various more muted forms of racism. These people have few chances to escape poverty and own their own homes because they have difficulty getting a good education and then a job. If governments provide them with housing, that frees up their money to go to the education of their children and can break the long chain of poverty that has blighted their path in America.

Although the above-mentioned argument has its merits, in my opinion people who help themselves are more likely to be able to maintain their success. Charity is a notoriously double edged sword because it fosters dependence. Someone who is in poverty who works hard and finds and escape and manages to own a home will develop reserves of willpower and determination that will serve them their entire life. Their self-respect will also help them in their work and encourage them to hold onto their house, regardless of obstacles. If the government simply gifts this person a house, they will be much less inclined to take care of it and will not develop any of the qualities that will spell out their success in life more generally.

In conclusion, people who are more self-reliant are more likely to be successful and hold onto their homes. The role of government ought to be more subtle and include educational reforms aimed at opening up opportunities that individuals can themselves seize.