Unit 2A

Text 1

W: I often sleep late and I just have yogurt for breakfast.  

M: I can't bear the taste of yogurt. I like a hearty breakfast — eggs, bacon and milk.

Text 2

W: Hi, Luke. Paul and I are going to watch the tennis game this evening. Do you want to come?  

M: Great! I know Thomas really enjoys watching tennis games. Can he join us?  

W: Well, I'm afraid I don't have an extra ticket for him.  

Text 3

W: Did you have a good time during your camping?  

M: Just so-so. Phoebe had been called away by her boss before we set out. Jenny felt sick all the way. I had to send her to Martin's to give her a physical checkup. 

W: Oh! Maybe she got carsick.

Text 4

M: I've finally finished my paper. Can you help me check it before I hand it in?  

W: Sure. Let's take a look, sweetie. Oh, it's excellent! I can tell you worked hard on it. 

M: Thanks. I really did. I just hope my teacher agrees.  

Text 5

M: Jamie, sorry for the last minute call. I'm stuck at work. There's no way I can make it to our six o'clock pm meeting.  

W: No worries, I would have had to arrive really late anyway. We can shop together at another time. How about this Sunday morning?  

M: It works for me. See you then.

Text 6

W: Do you know anything about Tim Berners-Lee?

M: Sure. He is a great scientist. He invented the software program known as the World Wide Web in 1989.

W: Can you tell me more about him?

M: Of course. He was born in London, on June 8, 1955. He studied at Oxford University from 1973 to 1976.  

W: Did he show an interest in computers when he was young?

M: Yes. As a boy, he took pleasure in making toy computers out of old TV sets.  

W: That's interesting. Where did he work after he left college?

M: He worked as a software engineering consultant at CERN in 1980. From 1981 to 1984, he worked at John Poole's Image Computer Systems Ltd. But he returned to CERN in 1984.

Text 7

M: Excuse me, would you mind answering some questions for a survey?  

W: What kind of survey?  

M: It's about protecting the environment. It's for my English class. We need to ask three people these questions. 

W: About protecting the environment? It turns me on. OK, sure.  

M: Here's the first question: Do you usually recycle bottles or cans?  

W: That's a hard one. I guess it depends. Sometimes they are too dirty. It usually takes me a lot of time to wash them.

M: OK. Here's the second question: Have you ever planted trees?  

W: Oh,I don't like planting trees. I prefer to plant flowers.

Text 8

M: Did you feel that earthquake?

W: What? There wasn't an earthquake. A big truck just passed by on the highway behind the house. It was loud and the floor shook, so you probably thought it was an earthquake. 

M: But the clock and all the pictures fell off the wall. 

W: You always expect the worst. I took those down yesterday because I wanted to clean the walls. 

M: I know you always think everything is fine, but I'm going to check the news. Don't you want to know if we've just lived through a major natural disaster?

W: Fine!

M: Look at this news report online! There was an earthquake several minutes ago. It was in Taiyuan.

W: Taiyuan? But we're in Beijing. 

M: It was a strong earthquake. It was even felt in Shanghai. I knew I was right!

Text 9

W: Kole, could I have a look at this? 

M: Certainly. It's an old picture taken when I was a teenager. 

W: Oh, who is the boy in it? Is it a cousin of yours?

M: No. He isn't a relative of mine. I helped save his life and he took the picture with me after he left the hospital.

W: What exactly happened?

M: It was nine years ago. I was driving along a river when I noticed a blue jacket floating in the river. Then I stopped the car and found that a young boy was struggling to get out of the freezing water.

W: Did you jump into the water to save him?

M: No. I didn't know how to swim. I feared both of us would die if I jumped into the water to save him. I found a rope in my car and threw it at him. The boy caught it and I managed to pull him to the bank. 

W: Do you still keep in touch with the boy?

M: Yes. He sometimes visits me in the hospital where I work. 

Text 10

W: Finding an apartment is time-consuming and disappointing, but with a little preparation and most importantly, a lot of patience, you'll get what you want. The first thing you need to do is make some time in your schedule. If you are going to find the apartment that fits your requirements, then unless you're really lucky, you are going to have to spend a lot of time hunting. The next thing is to decide exactly what you want and how much you can afford. Think about what neighborhoods you'd like to live in and what you'd like for your local neighborhood. Write down what features are important to you, such as parking and public transportation. Then you start hunting. Search every website you can find, and start going through the ads. It is probably best to start by picking out all the apartments that are within your price range and then check the location and traffic. Then make the call, but prepare yourself for disappointment. Apartments that look good on the Internet often turn out to be disappointing. And of course, you may find that all the really great apartments have just been taken.