Unit 12A

Text 1

M: Hi, Lucy, fancy meeting you here! Where are you working?

W: In a car factory a couple of blocks away from here.

M: I also work there, so we'll see each other more often. Let's have a drink and keep talking. 

Text 2

W: Hi, polar bear!

M: Why do you call me so? You think I'm overweight now?

W: No. It's that you wear a thin T-shirt and a summer coat on such a cold day. 

Text 3

M: So this Guernica painted by Pablo Picasso, why do you like it?

W: Well, it's about the Spanish Civil War, showing a bombing attack on a town. I like it because it really makes you think about what happened on that day. 

Text 4

M: I don't want to play anymore. This game is so difficult. I have something to do, anyway.

W: I don't believe you. You always give up when you know you can't win.

M: That's not true. My mom just called me and told me to come home right away. 

Text 5

W: I'm thirsty after that race.

M: This green tea is really good. I bought it over there in the cafe. 

W: Do they have orange juice?

M: I don't think so, but they've got hot chocolate if you prefer that.

Text 6

M: Something is wrong with my phone on my way back home. All I get is a black screen.

W: Sorry to hear that. You need to get it fixed.

M: Well, I've sent an email to the after-sales service department, but no reply until now.

W: Maybe you should ring them. Has it happened before?  

M: No. I think my phone chip goes wrong.  

W: Oh, no. That's bad news. Will you lose your files?

M: No, I always back up my files.

W: You are so smart.

Text 7

M: Let's plan a trip for the summer break.

W: All right. I heard there are some little villages with beautiful scenery and interesting shops.

M: Oh no. We don't have that much money to do some shopping.

W: You're right. Anyway, I'd like to have a look. I just heard there is some really nice art in the villages. The best place to find a good variety of local artworks such as paintings and handmade jewelry is Richmond.  

M: Sounds fun. Are there any special snacks around there?

W: Of course, there are some great restaurants and cafes in Rosemount, 15 minutes by bike away from it. And Sun Valley, which is a ten-minute walk from Richmond, is also famous for its local foods. 

M: Great!

Text 8

W: Roger, who were you talking to on the phone?

M: A manager. I had an interview for a position in the bank but I haven't heard anything back. So I was calling for the final result. 

W: What's the result?

M: Well, I didn't succeed this time.

W: I'm sorry to hear that. By the way, why did you give up your last job?

M: I haven't given up my job yet. I'm just bored with being a salesman and want to try a new job. Maybe a yoga teacher at a gym is better. 

W: I see. I have a friend who has just been hired by a bank. He may be able to give you some useful interview tips. Do you want to meet him? I can put you in touch with him. 

M: Yeah. Thank you so much.

Text 9

W: Tonight, on our show, we have Professor Phillip Jacob. And with him, it is Flexi, the world's most advanced robot.

M: Good evening. I am very pleased to be here with my friend, Flexi.

W: Good evening, Flexi. And let me tell all of you that this is definitely the first time I have ever shaken hands with a real live robot! That handshake was rather impressive — he was able to move his hand exactly at the right times and at the same speed as I moved my hand! 

M: He has two visual sensors in his head, and he can also sense movement and pressure in his hands. He is able to recognize your hand movements as a wish to shake hands.

W: Amazing! Tell us a little about how Flexi came into being.

M: Well, Flexi is the latest of twelve versions of the robot since we started developing it in around 1993. It took us seven years to invent the first one. In the following 23 years, our aim has always been to produce a robot which can help people in their everyday tasks. 

W: Does Flexi have someone controlling him offstage?

M: No, he's able to get things done by himself thanks to a high-tech computer system which he carries around with him. 

W: I can't see anything. Where is it then?

M: It's actually located inside his chest. 

Text 10

M: The Nazca Lines are large pictures in the Nazca desert in southern Peru. Some people believe they were magically created on Earth's surface by the ancient Nazca culture that existed thousands of years ago. The first recorded sighting of the Nazca Lines was made by a ruler in 1547. Since the 1920s, some researchers had started to study these giant pictures, but they only gained widespread attention when some pilots flew over them. 

The subjects of the lines include a monkey, a killer whale, a spider and various flowers and trees. The ancient peoples created their designs by removing the top rocks, revealing the lighter-colored sand below. Because the place where the Nazca Lines are located is one of the driest places on Earth, the low amount of rain and wind helped the pictures remain largely undamaged throughout the centuries. 

No one knows why the Nazca Lines were made. People even assumed they were created by aliens for a while, but soon scientists proved that was a funny guess. Some think they were drawn to record star changes. But given how dry the area was, the most widely accepted guess is that the lines were used for water-related religious ceremonies.