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Student’s Book Audioscript
UNIT 9 Page 102. Exercise C. Conversation 1 M: If they can make a copy of a sheep and a cow, why can’t they do the same thing with a human? F: Good question. But it’s still pretty controversial. M: I actually don’t see what’s so wrong about it. People would be able to live twice. Sounds pretty good to me! F: Don’t you think that’s playing with fire? M: Not really. I think it’s a personal choice. Conversation 2 [F = Arabic] F: Can you believe all these stories in the news about people’s personal information getting stolen? M: I know. It’s kind of scary. I’ve heard once someone’s got your personal information, they can spend all your money and pretty much ruin your life. Too bad they can’t prevent it from happening in the first place. F: Actually, they say they can. But you have to put this little tracking device under your skin. That way, no one can get away with trying to be you. M: What? Would you have one of those things implanted? F: Me? Over my dead body! That’s going too far. I can’t even believe it’s legal. Conversation 3 [F = Italian] M: I think it’s morally unacceptable to combine plant and animal genes. F: Why’s that? M: Well, putting the genes of a fish into a tomato can lead to nothing but trouble. The Creator made fish and tomatoes—not fishamatoes. F: That’s true, but that kind of technology can do a lot of good, too. M: Like what? F: Well, they’ve used it to create bacteria that can clean up oil spills by consuming the oil. And apparently it’s economically feasible. M: Hmm. Conversation 4 [F = U.S. regional] M: I read that a French doctor working in a New York hospital operated on a patient in a hospital in France. F: How did he do that? M: With some newfangled technology and videoconferencing. The surgeon in New York guided the surgical instruments— electronically—in France.
F: That’s pretty weird. Sort of like an e-mail operation! I wouldn’t want that done to me! M: And pretty impractical … unless you’re in outer space, I suppose! Conversation 5 [F = Korean] M: I want to get one of those chess games that you play without a partner. F: How does that work? M: It makes chess moves based on your moves. They say it’s great—better than most humans. F: And does this thing actually think? M: No. But it instantaneously computes the best move based on hundreds of thousands of potential moves. F: That’s awesome.
Page 104. Exercise B. Conversation 1 [M = Indian] M: You know, in this country, there is a falling fertility rate. F: What exactly is a fertility rate? M: It’s the number of children per family. Fifty years ago, the average family had 3.2 children. Today, the rate is only 1.9. F: What do they think is the reason for that change? M: Apparently there are a number of factors. But the most important is that the country has changed from a mostly rural farm economy to a mostly urban technological one. Farm families need a lot of kids to help out. But children are just an added expense for urban families. Conversation 2 F: Can you believe that Rongovia has only a 20 percent literacy rate? M: That’s horrendous. No wonder they’ve got so many problems. There’s no way to improve the situation if so many people can’t read or write. F: True. But this article says the rate’s been increasing. Five years ago it was just 10 percent. And it’s going up at a rate of 2 percent a year. M: At least the trend’s in the right direction. Conversation 3 [M = British English] M: Just look at this statistic! There were over a thousand assaults in the city this year. That’s an increase of 50 percent over last year. F: That is pretty steep. Does the article say why they think the crime rate is rising? M: They think it has something to do with the changing demographics in the area. F: What’s that supposed to mean? M: Well, lots and lots of young men have moved here to work at the chemical factory that opened this year.
Summit 2, Second Edition Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Unit 9
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The percentage of young men in the population has risen over 100 percent in just one year. And since the crime rate is generally higher among young men, that seems to account for it. Conversation 4 F: This country’s going to the dogs! M: Why? I don’t think it’s so bad. F: Well, have you read this morning’s paper? M: What are you talking about? F: They say the divorce rate’s rising and the birthrate’s declining. If this keeps up, there won’t be enough people around to keep things going. M: Oh, lose the gloom and doom, would you? Tomorrow there’ll be another study that says we’re overpopulated.
Page 104. Exercise C. F: Population Trends Through 2015 The world in 2015 will be populated by some 7.2 billion people, up from 6.1 billion in the year 2000. The rate of world population growth, however, will have decreased from 1.7 percent annually in 1985, to 1.3 percent today, to approximately 1 percent in 2015. Increased life expectancy and falling birthrates will contribute to a shift toward an aging population in high-income developed countries. Beyond that, demographic trends will sharply diverge. More than 95 percent of the increase in world population will be found in developing countries, nearly all in rapidly expanding urban areas. India’s population will grow from 900 million to more than 1.2 billion by 2015; Pakistan’s probably will increase from 140 million now to about 195 million. Some countries in Africa with high rates of AIDS mortality will experience reduced population growth or even declining populations despite relatively high birthrates. Regarding mortality rates in South Africa, for example, the population is projected to fall from 43.4 million in 2000 to 38.7 million in 2015. Russia and many post-communist countries of Eastern Europe will have declining populations. As a result of high mortality and low birthrates, Russia’s population may drop from its current 146 million to as low as 130 to 135 million in 2015, while the neighboring states of Central Asia will experience continued population growth. Populations in Japan and West European countries such as Italy and Spain will also decline because of falling birthrates and low immigration. North America, Australia, and New Zealand—the traditional destinations for immigrants—will
continue to have the highest rates of population growth among the developed countries, with annual population growth rates between 0.7 and 1.0 percent.
Page 109. Exercises A and B. Conversation 1 M: What’s incredible to me is that computers can be programmed to recognize your voice. It’s amazing how smart they’re getting. They say the technology is as accurate as a fingerprint. F: When would they use something like that? M: On the phone. Like if you call the bank, you don’t even have to tell them who you are. The machine can identify you from your voice. F: I find that a little sketchy. I mean, couldn’t someone imitate your voice? M: Oh, come on! It doesn’t scare me at all. Stop being such a worrywart! Conversation 2 F: I’d hate to live out in the boonies. I mean, I like wide open spaces, no crowds and all that, but what happens if you get sick and need surgery? I just feel more secure living in town. M: Well, one day they’ll be able to operate on you from anywhere. F: I’ve read about that, but I think it’s just pie in the sky. It’s too impractical. It’ll never happen. Conversation 3 [F = Spanish] F: Did you hear they found that little boy who’d been lost? M: That’s great. How did they find him? F: Through a signal from one of those implants. They received it at the police department, and they were able to locate him in the mall. M: Is he OK? F: Yes. He’d just wandered off. M: You know, I have mixed feelings about those things. They say it’s the wave of the future, but I’m still on the fence about it. It sounds great, but I just can’t make up my mind whether it’s OK. F: Really? This has totally convinced me it’s a great thing. Conversation 4 [F = Australian English] F: No way am I gonna drink this milk. Look at what it says: “This milk produced under modern dairy technology including the administration of bovine growth hormone.” M: What’s wrong with that? That’s progress. It’s great that they can improve animals so they produce better. F: You know—you buy everything hook, line, and sinker! M: That’s not fair. I’m actually very skeptical about a lot of things, but not about this.
Summit 2, Second Edition Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Unit 9
