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　　Chapter Three

　　PART Two

　　INTERVIEW 1

　　In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow.

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview, you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following 5 questions. Now listen to the interview.

　　M: For years, people are trying to keep up with the Joneses, but instead of competing with your neighbors, how about actually trying to get along with them? Joining us for some simple tips on how to deal with those likable and not so likable neighbors is Betty Wang. She is executive editor of Family Circle Magazine. Good morning, Betty.

　　W: Good morning. John.

　　M: Well, in an ideal world, I guess we would all get along well with our neighbors, wouldn't we?

　　W: Right, right, you hope so.

　　M: But why is it important to have good relationships with them?

　　W: Well, you know your home is your sanctuary, and how you get along with your neighbors really plays a large part in your health, well-being and happiness. Because your neighbors really kind of make your home, so it is important to at least establish a good, cordial or at least polite relationship with your neighbors.

　　M: How do we establish that? When you move into a new neighborhood, should you reach out to the neighbors? Or should they be reaching out to you?

　　W: I think it can work either way, I mean, if they don't reach out to you, don't assume that they are being rude or unfriendly. They just might hold back because they think you're too busy, unpacking and settling in. If they don't make the first step, after a few days, go ahead and introduce yourself. Because I think once you are on a first name basis with your neighbors, it's much easier to combat problems later on, or maybe call them for a favor down the road when you are on vacation and you need them to water your plants. It's much easier when you know them personally.

　　M: Yea, neighbors can be really helpful but, of course they can also be annoying, for example, loud music?

　　W: Loud music is one of those top complaints, and I think, for most reasonable people, they probably aren't even aware they are causing problems for their neighbors and I think if you bring it up to your neighbors' attention, they will be more than happy to fix it. But, you can take that “it is not you, it is me” approach; you can say something like, I'm kind of a really light sleeper, or I suffer from migraines, can you help me out by turning down the music during those evening hours, or early morning, or come up with a compromise that work for both of you...

　　M: Don't just call the police. That's what a lot of people do. So, that's a common complaint, loud music, but also sometimes we can have smells, or other things that disturb our senses.

　　W: Yea, that's a tough one, that's really a sensitive situation, because if you want to live in the comfort of your own home and not have to deal with unpleasant smells, then your neighbor is just as entitled to cook whatever she likes in the comfort of her own home. So, I would approach her, by saying, I am not sure if you realize what's happening, but, you know, I can smell something coming from your kitchen, would you mind opening your window or maybe using your exhaust fan. You try to approach them politely, reasonably, and if that doesn't work, you can also just talk to the management, and maybe there is something wrong with the building's ventilation system. If something is coming into your apartment, that might be a quick fix without having that uncomfortable conversation.

　　M: What is the thing you said, in this month's Family Circle, is it there is power in numbers? Right? So, when you are approaching your neighbor, what should you do?

　　W: Yeah, I mean sometimes it does help to gather up some troops and, just to get some support from your fellow neighbors, but you have to be sensitive that you are not ganging up on your next door neighbor. Right, you don't want to be in an intervention or something like that.

　　M: What about nosy neighbors? I mean somebody, you know you feel they are always coming around, checking out your every move.

　　W: Well, I think a lot of the time people must mistake some behavior for being nosey or pokey when the neighbor is trying to be friendly or maybe the person is lonely. So, you just have to see what the motive is, and oftentimes, if you are a little distant, or you just don't answer their questions, they often take the hint and back off.

　　M: And the neighbors that come to visit and won't go away?

　　W: Well, I think, there might be some, but the neighbor can just be really lonely and want a friend, you know, oftentimes, I think the rule is a 5-to-10 minute visit is fine. Because, that way you are not breaking up a person's schedule or their personal plans but you don't have to be best friends with your neighbors at all and you can just be civil, polite, and say hello in the morning as you come and go, and that makes everybody's relationship so much better.

　　M: That's so important, Betty Wang, thanks so much for the tips, we appreciate that for Family Circle Magazine.

　　INTERVIEW 2

　　In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview, you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following 5 questions. Now listen to the interview.

　　Interviewer(W): I am talking to Richard Johnson, an official of WHO, the World Health Organization. Today he will talk with us about the change of people's understanding of health. Hello, Richard.

　　Richard Johnson(M): Hello.

　　W: Now Richard, the concept of health has been changing all the time. And different people and groups hold different opinions towards it. Would you mind telling us the original concept of health?

　　M: Of course not. Health has long been viewed in the physical sense only. That is, good health has been connected to the smooth mechanical operation of body, while ill health has been attributed to a breakdown in this machine. In this sense, health has been defined as the absence of disease or illness and is seen in medical terms. Therefore, creating health for people means providing medical care to treat or prevent disease and illness.

　　W: Then what was the emphasis of the work of the WHO during that period?

　　M: Well, the emphasis was of course on providing clean water, improved sanitation and housing.

　　W: I see. When did the concept begin to change?

　　M: In the late 1940s, the WHO challenged this physically and medically oriented view of health. They stated that health was a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. The mind, body and spirit of a person were seen holistically.

　　W: How long did this concept last?

　　M: It lasted until the 1970s. At that time, people focused their attention on the prevention of disease and illness by emphasizing the importance of the lifestyle and behavior of the individual. Specific behaviors which were seen to increase risk of disease, such as smoking, lack of fitness and unhealthy eating habits, were targeted. Creating health meant providing not only medical health care, but health promotion programs and policies which would help people maintain healthy behavior and lifestyles.

　　W: It sounds reasonable. It must have been beneficial to people.

　　M: Unfortunately, not.

　　W: But why?

　　M: You see,this individualistic healthy lifestyles approach did help the wealthy members of the society. But the majority were people experiencing poverty, unemployment or little control over the conditions of their daily lives. How could people afford the program if they lived under unfavorable social and environmental factors?

　　W: I'm beginning to see your point. A single lifestyle decides nothing if not integrated with a good environment.

　　M: That's right. So during the 1980s and 1990s, there has been a growing swing away from seeing lifestyle risks as the root cause of poor health. While lifestyle factors still remain important, health is being viewed also in terms of the social, economic and environmental contexts in which people live.

　　W: This is a new concept of health. And I heard it's called the socio-ecological view, isn't it?

　　M: Yes. In 1986, representatives from 38 countries gathered in Ottawa, Canada, to hold the first international Conference of Health Promotion. It was at that conference that the broad socio-ecological view of health was endorsed.

　　W: What were the details of the endorsement?

　　M: Well, the representatives declared that the fundamental conditions and resources for health are peace, shelter, education, food, a viable income, a stable eco-system, sustainable resources, social justice and equity. Moreover, improvement in health requires a secure foundation in these basic requirements. From this statement, we can find that the creation of health is about much more than encouraging healthy individual behaviors and lifestyles and providing appropriate medical care. It must include addressing such issues as poverty, pollution, urbanization, natural resource depletion, social alienation and poor working conditions.

　　W: Oh, I see. But how are they affecting health?

　　M: They do not operate separately. Rather, they are interacting and interdependent. The complex interrelationships between them determine the conditions that promote health. A broad socio-ecological view of health suggests that the promotion of health must include a strong social, economic and environmental focus.

　　W: That's right.

　　M: As we all know, good health is a major source for social, economic and personal development and an important dimension of quality of life. Political, economic, social, cultural, environmental, behavioral and biological factors can all favor health or be harmful to it. The Ottawa Conference not only redefines the notion of health. More importantly, it brings practical meaning and action to this broad notion of health promotion. It presents fundamental strategies and approaches in achieving health for all.

　　W: Then what is the basic philosophy of this health promotion?

　　M: Very easy to understand. Just to enable people to increase control over and to improve their health.

　　W: The new concept of health you have told us today is very useful to our understanding of health. Thank you very much.

　　M: You are welcome.

　　INTERVIEW 3

　　In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview, you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following 5 questions Now listen to the interview.

　　Interviewer(W): What are the advantages of E-education, Professor Gu?

　　Professor Gu (M): There are at least four advantages. First, with access to the Internet, students can overcome barriers of space and time. For example, we can make educational resources in Beijing available to students in Xinjiang. Second is the easy access. For example, we can put multimedia resources libraries on the Internet and students can have access to these libraries just by clicking the mouse. The third advantage is the optimization of resources. For example, we can tape the lectures given by very prominent professors and broadcast them live in China and even in the entire world through the Internet. Because of these three advantages, there is another big advantage, that is, the Internet technology makes mass education possible. As you know, it is simply impossible for the whole population to receive education on campuses. It is impossible economically or otherwise. And this is where the greatest advantage of E-education lies. It offers mass education and education for lifetime.

　　W: Can you briefly tell us the history of China's E-education, Professor Gu?

　　M: E-education in China started eight years ago when the Internet technology began to prevail. People realized that the Internet technology was more powerful than TV, because it really created the opportunities for students to interact with teachers and among themselves. In 1996 or later than that, the Ministry of Education initiated a piloting project using the Internet technology to promote education.

　　W: My understanding is that an online education project may involve a large amount of money and yet most investors would expect a quick return for their investment, so how did you solve that problem?

　　M: This is the lesson that lots of investors have to learn from this initial investment into online education program. Initially, they thought it might be possible to have a quick return of cash after the investment for one or two years. It is a misconception of online education. Sometimes, I used a metaphor of building a supermarket. If you want to build a supermarket, first of all, you have to have these infrastructures. On top of the building, you have to develop various goods that people like. It's the same with education. You must realize you have to develop courseware that people really love. And it takes quite a long time to develop really good courseware.

　　W: Then, how do you look at the so-called digital gap between the rich and the poor, between the urban areas and the rural areas in China?

　　M: Actually, the Internet technology can bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. Take the development of the northwest China for example. I used to think it would be very difficult for the Internet to be widely accessible in those areas. But actually the government invested money and made the broadband Internet access possible in Guizhou and Gansu because the government realized it is impossible to have so many teachers in those areas.

　　W: Perhaps the local officials in those areas are just attracted by the idea of E-education, but nothing has been seriously translated into action.

　　M: You are right. The problem of local authority is that they have the technologies, but they don't make good use of these technologies. So I think the biggest problem of online education in China is not the electric mind. It is the human mind.

　　W: The biggest problem that E-education is confronted with is probably the development of good courseware. What are the difficulties involved?

　　M: To me, the most difficult part of courseware development is that it is hard to develop courseware simply by putting in the concepts of learning process. We have to humanize technology. This is the greatest challenge in courseware development.

　　W: I have a question about conducting examinations online. How do you make sure the results of the examinations are reliable online?

　　M: This is a big question and the big headache for us at the moment. We have developed the online testing program. However, we can't implement it because we have no way to check whether the examinee is the real examinee. So at this moment, we cannot do any serious online testing except for what we call “safe monitoring testing”. The students can test themselves for their own purpose and check their own progress. Any serious examinations have to be done in the traditional classroom.

　　W: Given the problem of taking examinations online, how can you persuade your students to accept the online exam as a viable option?

　　M: We have adopted the third party policy. By the third party it means we authorize the Examination Center under the Ministry of Education to conduct examinations for us.

　　W: Professor Gu, two years from now I'd like to interview one of your degree-holders from Beiwai Online so that he or she may testify to the effects of online education.

　　M: That would be a great idea and you are very welcome to do that.

　　CONVERSATION 1

　　In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 1 to 5 are based on a conversation. At the end of the conversation, you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following 5 questions. Now listen to the conversation.

　　Headmaster(M): Good morning, Mrs. Harris.Do sit down. I understand you'd like to have a word with me about William.

　　Mrs. Harris (W): Yes, that's right, Headmaster. I felt I should see you as soon as possible before William does anything he'll regret.

　　M: Regret, Mrs. Harris?

　　W: Well, you see, he's set his heart on becoming an artist, and my husband and I think he ought to take up something more secure. I mean even if he went to Art School, there'd be no guarantee he could get a good job afterwards and we worry so much about what he could live on.

　　M: That's not such a big problem. He could probably teach, Mrs. Harris.

　　W: He wouldn't like that, Headmaster. He says he wouldn't be a teacher if it were the last job on earth— Oh,I beg your pardon, Headmaster, I didn't mean…

　　M: Not at all, Mrs. Harris. I wouldn't have been a teacher myself if I'd had my way. I'd have been an actor if my parents had let me, so I have some sympathy with William's problems. Now, let's see—if he wants to be an artist, he'll have to decide what sort of artist he wants to be.

　　W: Oh, pardon. I don't quite follow you, Headmaster.

　　M: Well, what I mean is, if he wanted to be a commercial artist, graphics, cartoons, that sort of thing, he might do very well if he took an art course at a Technical College, and besides,the entry qualifications wouldn't be so stiff. On the other hand, if he wants to go to one of the major Art Schools, you'd better not raise his hopes too high. There's a good deal of competition to get accepted, and he'd have to have at least three “O” levels and two “A's” at good grades before he'd even be considered. Oh, and there's another thing, he'd have to do a year's foundation course first, probably at another college. He'd get a grant, of course, provided he'd got the right “O's” and “A's”.

　　W: But art, Headmaster. It's so chancy. I wish he weren't so set on it.

　　M: I don't think you should stand in his way, Mrs. Harris. If I were you, I'd let him decide for himself. You'd better accept the fact that nowadays young people don't worry about security the way we did when we were young.

　　W: Well, I must admit my husband and I would have felt much happier if he'd chosen to do something else. Perhaps it's still not too late for him to change his mind. You know,I could get him a good job with my own firm if he had a science degree instead of the Arts.

　　M: From what I know of him, Mrs. Harris, I don't think he's the sort of boy to change his mind, not in a hurry at any rate. In any case, I think you ought to let him decide.

　　W: But an artist, Headmaster! What's he going to live on?

　　M: Making a career as an artist isn't easy, of course. It would be a good idea if you had a talk with our art master, Mr. Sims; he can tell you more about the possibilities than I can. I know he thinks very highly of William's work, though you'd better not tell William I said so.

　　W: I suppose I shouldn't worry so much, Headmaster, but I can't say I like the idea. Painting pictures and that — it doesn't seem like real work to my husband or me.

　　M: On second thought, I think the best thing would be for me to have a word with Mr. Sims first and find out what he thinks of William's chances of being accepted at Art School. It's a very liberal training, you know — not just painting pictures.

　　W: No, of course not. Thank you very much for your advice, Headmaster. I'd be grateful if you'd let me know what Mr. Sims says.

　　M: I'll do that, Mrs. Harris. And in the meantime don't worry about William. He'll be all right so long as he does as well as he's doing at present.

　　CONVERSATION 2

　　In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 1 to 5 are based on a conversation. At the end of the conversation, you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following 5 questions. Now listen to the conversation.

　　John(M): Hi, Cindy.

　　Cindy(W): Hello, John.

　　M: Did you enjoy Bob's party the other night?

　　W: Yes, I did. It was really nice to see everyone again after all these years. I could hardly recognize Nancy. She used to be such a tomboy. Now she is so beautiful and elegant.

　　M: As the old saying goes: A girl changes fast and becomes beautiful. You know, she has married a general manager with a large company.

　　W: Really? But she deserves it.

　　M: James must feel sorry to hear it. He and she used to be good friends in our class.

　　W: I know what you mean.

　　M: Anyway, what about that holiday we were talking about? Do you still want to go ahead with it?

　　W: You bet I do! I've been very busy at work and I really need a break. You know, just lie in the sun and relax.

　　M: Are you kidding? I was thinking about something more active, like sightseeing or swimming. Maybe even surfing if you are up to it.

　　W: I think I could be persuaded. Yes, why not? Surfing sounds like fun to me. Then what destination do you have in mind?

　　M: Well, I called the travel agent this morning and picked up some brochures. Here, take a look. I have got one on the South of France which looks nice. Or there's Italy if you fancy some culture. Or of course, there's Greece.

　　W: Greece sounds good. I haven't been there before. Look at that picture. Blue sky, white sands and a beautiful clear blue sea.

　　M: I know. But have you seen the price? 450 pounds for one week. And that doesn't include the hotel!

　　W: Yeah, it is a bit expensive, isn't it? What about the South of France?

　　M: That's a lot cheaper. In fact there is a special deal on at the moment. 10 days, including the hotel, for only 250 pounds.

　　W: Let's have a look at Italy.

　　M: I already have. It's far too expensive.

　　W: France it is then, I think. But can we choose the hotel? I don't want to get there and find they've put us up in a really cheap place miles away from the beach.

　　M: No problem. There are three hotels to choose from. This one looks the best.

　　W: Which one? Paradise Rock or the Sea View?

　　M: The Paradise Rock. It's only a 10-minute walk from the beach. Half that if you take a bus. And breakfast is included in the price. We do have to pay a surcharge, though.

　　W: How much?

　　M: 10 pounds. But I guess it's worth it. The location is great and they even have an outdoor swimming pool.

　　W: What about a gym?

　　M: Oh yes, they have a gym that the guests can use.

　　W: That's OK. The hotel sounds great. And the price is certainly too good to miss. So when shall we go?

　　M: The offer doesn't apply to June, or July for that matter. So I guess it'll have to be May or August.

　　W: August is too far away. I feel tired and desperately need a holiday, so May gets my vote.

　　M: May is fine for me too. Now we need to plan our schedule. I guess we can plan a day when we just indulge ourselves in water sports.

　　W: I don't mind really. Nothing too strenuous though. How about a spot of fishing while we are there?

　　M: Why not? Maybe we'll be able to catch our lunch?

　　W: Don't bet on it. You know what my fishing skills are like! Just a minute. Isn't there a film festival on in May?

　　M: Yes, there is. It's a full three day event I believe.

　　W: You are not suggesting we spend a full three days there, are you?

　　M: Not at all. Maybe half a day will be enough.

　　W: Let's make it a day.

　　M: OK. Then put down a few days on the beach. I can't come back without a suntan.

　　W: What do you think, three days or four?

　　M: Make it four, plus a day's shopping.

　　W: A day's shopping. OK.

　　M: And the other days?

　　W: Well, tell you what, why don't we go to the library and get a guide book? That'll give us more ideas.

　　M: OK, let's go.

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