Unit 10

Section I

Task 1

Jason: Have you noticed how forgetful Dad is getting? He’s always forgetting where

his car keys are. It drives me crazy.

Lisa: And he can never find his glasses, either.

Jason: I know.

Lisa: You know what drives me crazy about Mom?

Jason: What?

Lisa: Those awful talk shows she watches on TV. She just loves them.

Jason: Yeah, I think she watches them for hours every day.

Lisa: Oh, well. I guess they’re just getting old. I hope I never get like that.

Jason: Me, too. Hey, let’s go and play a video game.

Lisa: Great idea. By the way, have you seen my glasses anywhere?

Task 2

Kevin: I got an e-mail from Pamela today. She writes a blog of her travel experiences.

Woman: Really? I didn’t know she was a blogger. Well, how is she? Where is she?

Kevin: She’s doing fine. She’s on vacation in the White Mountains.

Woman: Oh, nice! I’ve never been to the White Mountains, but I’ve heard they’re

really beautiful.

Kevin: Well, Pamela says it’s beautiful there, but the weather is cool and rainy.

Woman: So, what’s she been doing?

Kevin: Well, she wanted to try hang gliding. But it’s been very windy, so she hasn’t

been able to do it. But she’s done some hiking, and she’s taken lots of photos.

Woman: Uh-huh. Well, that’s good.

Kevin: Yeah. Oh, and she’s also gone windsurfing on the lake.

Woman: Has she really? Wow, she really loves all kinds of sports. It sounds like she’s

having fun.

Task 3

Ms. Lock: [phone rings] Hello.

Mrs. Harris: Hello. Is this the manager?

Ms. Lock: Yes, this is Ms. Lock.

Mrs. Harris: This is Lula Harris in Apartment 216.

Ms. Lock: Yes. How can I help you, Mrs. Harris?

Mrs. Harris: I’m having a problem with the electricity.

Ms. Lock: What sort of problem with the electricity?

Mrs. Harris: Well, it keeps going off and coming back on again.

Ms. Lock: I see. Is it just the lights or is it the appliances, too?

Mrs. Harris: Let me check . . . No, the refrigerator is OK, so it must be just the lights.

Ms. Lock: I guess the fuse box needs to be checked. I’ll come up and take a look at it

right away.

Mrs. Harris: Thanks so much.

Section II

Task 1

Jason: I buy a lot of CDs. Out of everything that I own, uh, I guess I own more CDs

than anything else. Yeah.

Woman: Now, is there any particular type of music that you like? Anything special?

Jason: I listen to everything. I’m really big into sound tracks from movies but also

heavy rock. And I recently bought a couple of jazz CDs, and I have . . . I have a lot of

CDs. I have about six hundred of them, but I have a CD player that holds a hundred

and ten discs that you can just kind of load in and . . .

Woman: You have a CD player that holds a hundred and ten CDs?

Jason: Yeah. It’s like a jukebox. It’s so cool.

Woman: Oh, my gosh.

Jason: You can get CD players that hold more, but my parents thought, you know, a

hundred and ten . . .

Woman: Yeah, that’s enough! Now, with a hundred and ten CDs in your CD player,

how do you know what you’re going to hear?

Jason: They have this cool little sort of photo album thing that you put the liner notes

in, and so it’s like a little catalog. You just flip through, and they’re numbered, so you

say, “Oh, James Taylor is disc number sixty-six,” and then you . . .

Woman: You put in sixty-six and hit “play”?

Jason: You punch in sixty-six on your player and hit “play,” and it goes and retrieves

sixty-six and takes it back and . . .

Woman: It’s a jukebox!

Jason: Yeah. It’s totally a jukebox. It’s really cool.

Woman: Now, if you’re so interested in music, don’t you have like an MP3 player or

something?

Jason: Actually, I bought one a few weeks ago, and that’s cool, too. I’ve been copying

my CDs onto it—I’ve done like around three hundred of them so far.

Woman: So, do you think you’ll get rid of your CDs after you’ve loaded them all?

Jason: Oh, no. I need them for backup. And besides, some of them were gifts, and

some remind me of things that happened in my life. I’m kind of attached to them, I

guess.

Woman: So, you wouldn’t throw them away?

Jason: No. They’re my collection. And who knows—they might be worth something

in the future!

Task 2

Doug: Did you see this survey? About the top eight rude things people do?

Lisa: No. What does it say?

Doug: Well, guess what the top one is. The thing that people complain about most.

Lisa: Oh, I don’t know. Something about, let’s see, talking on cell phones in

public—like, you know, on the train, or something.

Doug: Exactly! Talking on cell phones too close to others.

Lisa: Oh, I hate that. There was a guy sitting next to me at the movie theater last week,

and his cell phone kept going off, and he kept answering it and talking. So I said,

“Would you turn that thing off?” And he just ignored me.

Doug: Well, you could have said “Please” at least! But still, people shouldn’t have to

be told to turn off their cell phones. They should know when they’re being rude.

Lisa: Well, they know it’s rude, but they don’t care.

Doug: OK, so can you guess the number two complaint—after talking on cell phones?

Lisa: Um, bad drivers.

Doug: Well, it’s on the list, but it’s ranked fourth, actually—driving recklessly.

Lisa: Huh. That’s fourth? So, what’s second? Give me a clue.

Doug: OK, it’s something people do without thinking about it. You see it around

everywhere.

Lisa: Oh, throwing trash on the streets? That’s number two?

Doug: Yup. Litter the streets. And the third complaint is something you do.

Lisa: Something I do? Um, honk the horn when I’m stuck in traffic? I know you hate

that.

Doug: Well, there’s nothing worse than people honking unnecessarily—it’s just awful.

And that’s on the list, but it’s number six. Number three is something you do on the

subway and the bus.

Lisa: I have no idea.

Doug: Take up too many seats with your bags and stuff!

Lisa: I don’t do that!

Doug: Yes, you do. You’re always hogging seats. And that’s the third most common

complaint—take up too many seats on the bus or train.

Lisa: So, what else is on the list? Let me see . . . Well, number five doesn’t surprise

me.

Doug: Me, either. I hate it when people use bad language in public. It sounds terrible,

and it’s a bad example.

Lisa: I know. Huh. Look at number seven—drive with loud or missing mufflers.

That’s a funny one.

Doug: Well, driving a loud car is fun, but the noise can really disturb people,

especially at night. Remember? Our neighbors complained when our car was making

all that noise.

Lisa: Yeah, but they’re always complaining about something.

Doug: We complain about their dog.

Lisa: Yes, but I think not cleaning up after pets on the street should be higher on the

list. That should be number one, not number eight!

Section III

Olivia Smith and her family went to Peru last summer. They flew to Lima, the

capital. They visited the old Spanish Quarter, and they went shopping for souvenirs.

Olivia bought some jewelry. They also saw a lot of beautiful old things at the Gold

Museum.

From Lima, the Smiths flew to Cuzco, an old Incan city. They ate the local food,

and Olivia drank mate, a special Incan tea. Olivia’s sister got some postcards to send

to her friends.

The next day, Olivia and her family took the train to Machu Picchu. Olivia slept

on the train. Her sister wrote postcards. At Machu Picchu, a guide gave them a tour of

the Incan ruins. Olivia’s brother took a lot of pictures.

Olivia really enjoyed her vacation. She met some nice Peruvian people on the trip,

and she made some new friends. She had a great time.