AUDIO SCRIPTS
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F
I do. You’ve convinced me totally. Nice
presentation too. Let’s start working on it
because the management will ask a lot of
questions and expect more details. I’d say
we’ve got a winner, Jerry, with this concept.
J
OK, let’s meet tomorrow after work in the
canteen. OK with you?
F
Fine. See you roundabout six.
LESSON 6.5 RECORDING 6.8
1
I went to a lecture on English Literature. To
make her key point, the lecturer quoted two
lines from the American poet Robert Frost,
‘Home is where you go to and they can’t
turn you away.’ She repeated the two lines
several times during her talk to make her
points. I heard that presentation 25 years
ago and I still remember the quote. Her
presentation was truly outstanding.
2
The lecturer was talking about trends in the
current economic climate. Her presentation
could have been boring, but the slides she
used to illustrate her points were striking
and incredibly imaginative. So everyone
listened to her very intently.
3
There was another presenter at the
conference on the current economic
climate. He started by telling us an
anecdote, something about a train coming
through a tunnel and almost crashing when
it came out the other side. He took about
two minutes to come to the punchline.
He took so long to tell the story that the
audience were amused and listened
carefully to the rest of his talk.
4
The presenter had worked for years for
the BBC. His talk was on ‘how to give an
effective presentation’. He spoke in a low
but powerful voice which carried to the
back of the room without the need of a
loudspeaker. He had such a magnificent
voice that his presentation was memorable.
5
It was the best presentation I’ve ever heard.
The speaker used all kinds of rhetorical
devices, you know, techniques to get across
his ideas in a memorable way, like tripling
– that’s using words in threes – contrasting
ideas, repetition, alliteration, quotes from
literature. It was an amazing demonstration
of how to make a presentation effective.
LLESSON 7.2 RECORDING 7.2
S1 = Student 1, S2 = Student 2, S3 = Student
3, M = Marta,
S1:
What do architects find interesting when
designing buildings?
M:
A good question. I’d say the most interesting
thing relates to our role as an architect. In
most cases, what are architects trying to do?
Well, we’re trying to design an ideal place
to meet human needs. That’s really our main
motivation. It’s our ‘duty’ if you like, to create
a place that integrates interior design with
the needs of the people who’ll be using the
building. It’s, how can I say, a relationship
in which the individual and the place are
integrated. They depend on each other.
S2:
What type of architecture has particularly
impressed you in terms of solving problems?
M:
That’s an interesting question. I’ve lived
in and visited a lot of hot climates and I
really like the way that Islamic architecture
deals with the problem of extreme heat.
Houses are often built around a central
open courtyard which ventilates them. And
they often have a central basin or fountain,
which provides a cooling effect and the
soothing sound of falling water. When
you visit the old mosques and palaces,
which did not have electricity, you notice
that the temperature is often just right. I
sometimes use some of the central features
of Arab architecture, which include patios,
open courtyards and water features, when
designing hotels. Those features are really
useful in regulating heat and cooling
buildings during long, hot summer days.
S3:
What’s your next project?
M:
Well, it seems that affordable housing is
the new buzzword and we’ve just won a
contract to deliver 300 housing units on
sites in and around Copenhagen. These
will be very reasonably priced and a large
proportion will be reserved for essential
workers such as nurses, police officers
and teachers. Most affordable housing
looks very boring but our project offers
a huge variation of housing sizes and
configurations. The project is based on
a prefab basis module of wood which
surrounds a central core for a wet room
or shower and technical installations and
a staircase. Then the modules can be put
together horizontally and vertically like
building blocks. We’re really looking
forward to getting started.
LESSON 7.4 RECORDING 7.3
C =Carlos, G = Gabriela, R = Richard
C:
Let’s talk about our plans for the ground
floor. Gabriela, What ideas do you have?
G:
Well, I need a little more time to think about
it, but seeing that space won’t be a problem,
in my opinion, it’s vital we have some sort of
sports facility on the ground floor. Also we’ll
need an area where people can relax.
C:
How about you, Richard? What do you think?
R:
I agree with Gabriela, she’s right. It’s
absolutely essential to offer a facility for
people who want to forget work for a while,
just, you know, chill out, and the ground
floor’s the best place to provide it. But I’m
not sure what sort of facility it should be.
C:
So, Gabriela, any ideas?
G:
Mmm, well, people are very health
conscious these days, they do want to relax,
they’re often very stressed. So … we’ve got to
offer them something, that’s for sure. Off the
top of my head, I suggest we have a games
room on the ground floor – you know, table
tennis, snooker, that sort of thing. It’d be very
popular with some of our guests.
C:
Mmm, I don’t know, Gabriela. We certainly
need some kind of area where people can
take it easy, let their hair down a bit. But I’m
not sure a games room is the answer. I mean,
is it really the right choice for a business hotel?
G:
OK, maybe not a games room, but we
should offer them something to help them
relax, maybe a sauna, a jacuzzi, a sun deck.
Don’t you agree, Richard?
R:
Yeah, a sauna, why not? And, erm, I’ve just
thought of something. It might be a good
idea to have an aerobics and dance studio.
Of course, we’d have to find out first if our
guests really wanted that kind of facility. We
could also consider having a stand with free
newspapers for guests – that’d be popular.
C:
Mmm, I like that idea, Richard, aerobics
and dancing. It’d probably appeal to all
age groups. And it’d be good to offer guests
free newspapers. Nice idea. But we need
to think this through. There are plenty of
options to meet the needs of groups who
want to keep fit, and others who’ll want to
wind down. Let’s talk about it tomorrow
and get ideas from the rest of the team.
G:
Right, they’ll have plenty of ideas. Let’s see
what they come up with.
