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Script:
(narrator): Listen to a conversation about a man’s great-grandmother. (man): I talked to my great-grandmother on the phone this morning. (woman): Your great-grandmother? Do you talk with her often? (man): I try to call her at least once a week. She’s a really wonderful woman, and she’s over eighty-five years old. I enjoy talking to her, because she’s so understanding and because she gives me good advice. (woman): What advice did she have for you today? (man): (laughs) She told me to be careful because a big storm is coming. (woman): She said that a big storm is coming? Is she a weather forecaster? (man): Not exactly. She says that she can feel it in her bones when a storm is coming. I know it sounds funny, but when she feels it in her bones that a storm is coming, she’s usually right. (woman): That’s not actually so funny. When people get older, the tissue around their joints can become stiff and swollen. Just before a storm, the air pressure often drops, and this drop in air pressure can cause additional pressure and pain in swollen joints. So when your great-grandmother tells you she thinks a storm is coming, she probably has some aching in her joints from the decreasing air pressure. (man): Then, I had better pay more attention to my great-grandmother’s weather forecasts!

Script:
(narrator): Listen as a man and woman discuss a haircut. (woman): Hi, Bob. Your hair looks nice. It′s a bit shorter than usual, isn′t it? (man): A bit shorter? I don′t think so. It′s a lot shorter. When I look in the mirror, I don′t even know who is looking back at me. (woman): So you got your hair cut, but you didn′t get the haircut that you wanted? (man): This is not even close to the haircut that I wanted. I asked to have hair trimmed just a little bit, and the hairstylist really went to town. When I looked down at the floor, there were piles of hair, my hair, on the floor. I couldn′t believe it! (woman): Well, what did you say to the hairstylist? (man): What could I say? The hair was already cut off. I couldn′t exactly say, "Please put it back on," although that′s exactly what I did want to say. (woman): Well, at least your hair’ll grow back soon. (man): That′s what everyone is saying to me, "It′ll grow back, it′ll grow back. But it won′t grow fast enough to make me happy. (woman): Maybe after you get used to it, you′ll like it a bit more.

Script:
(narrator) Listen to a talk by a tour guide in the Everglades National Park. (man) Today we′re going to be taking a tram tour through part of the Everglades National Park. Quite probably we′ll be seeing a number of crocodiles sunning themselves by the side of the water or poking their heads up through the water. Needless to say, we will not be getting off the tram at any time until we leave the area because of the danger posed by the crocodiles. By the way, you′ve probably heard of the expression "crying crocodile tears." It is common to say that someone is crying crocodile tears when he or she is pretending to be sad or full of regret. Crocodiles always appear to have tears in their eyes, but they are not crying because of sadness, or even pretended sadness. Instead, a crocodile uses its tear ducts to get rid of extra salt from its body. A crocodile does not sweat the same way that humans do and must get rid of extra salt through tears. So if you see a crying crocodile, do not think that it′s feeling sad; it is basically sweating through its eyes. Look! Over there on the right. There are two large crocodiles on the water′s edge, right next to the fallen trees. You can get out your cameras and take pictures from here on the tram, but no, you cannot get off the tram to get any closer.

Script:
(narrator): Listen to the following lecture by a university professor. (woman): Please take your seats now because I would like to begin today’s lecture. Today, we will be discussing one of the more elegant and distinct forms of nineteenth-century transportation - the clipper ship. Clipper ships of the nineteenth century were the graceful, multisailed, oceangoing vessels that were designed for maximum speed. They were given the name “clipper” ship in reference to the fact that they “clipped along” at such a fast rate of speed. Clipper ships were constructed with a large number of sails in order to maximize their speed. They often had six to eight sails on each of the masts, and ships commonly had three and perhaps four masts. The speeds that they achieved were unbelievably fast for the era; clipper ships could, for example, accomplish the amazing feat of traveling from New York to San Francisco in less than a hundred days. Clipper ships first came into use in the United States in the 1840s. They were originally intended to make the trip from New York, around the tip of South America, and on to China in order to transport tea to the United States. Once gold was discovered in California in 1848, clipper ships were immediately put into use to carry large numbers of gold prospectors and large amounts of mining supplies from the East Coast to California. With the success of the American clipper ships, the British began their own fleet of clipper ships to transport goods from the far reaches of the British Empire. That’s all for today’s class. Don’t forget that there’s a written assignment due on Friday.