Lesson 29

Section 1 Airport Announcements.

Special announcement for Mr. Valans. Would Mr. Valans, passenger on Pan Am Right Number 35212 to New York,please contact the Pan Am transfer desk immediately. Mr. Valans to contact the Pan Am transfer desk immediately, please.

This is a security announcement. Passengers are reminded not to leave their baggage unattended at any time.Passengers must not leave their baggage unattended. Unattended bags will be removed immediately by the police.

Kenya Airways to Rome and Nairobi, Flight Number 155, boarding now Gate Number 10. Kenya Airways, Gate Number 10.

Your attention please. Olympic Airways Flight Number 563 to Athens boarding now at Gate Number 31. OlympicAirways to Athens, Gate Number 31.

Would passenger Aldo Betini, who arrived from Rome, please go to the meeting point. Aldo Betini to the meeting point, please.

BA wish to apologise for the delay of their Flight Number 516 to New York. This is due to the late positioning of the aircraft to the stand.

Section 2

A At the Lost Property Office. Good morning, sir.

Good morning. I wonder if you can help. I've lost my coat.

Where did you lose it, sir?

Er... I left it on the ... um ... underground yesterday morning.

Can you describe it?

Well, it's a full-length brown overcoat with a check pattern on it. It's got a wide belt, and one of thosethick furry collars that keep your ears warm. It's a very nice coat, actually.

Hmm. I'm afraid we haven't got anything like that, sir. Sorry.

Well, to tell you the truth, I lost another coat last week. On the bus. It's a three-quarter length coat—it's grey, with big black buttons and a black belt.

Sorry, sir. Nothing like that.

Hmm. And then only this morning I left my white raincoat in a park. It's got a silk lining ...

Look, sir. I'm a busy woman. If you really need a coat so badly, there's a very good second-hand clothes shop just round the corner ...

B Questions of Conscience.

Well, how's the patient this morning?

He appears to have had a very restless night.

Oh. Was he in very severe pain?

Yes. I'm afraid he was, doctor.

Hmm. In that case, I think we'd better increase his dosage of diamorphine.

Yes, doctor. By how much?

Let's see. How much is he on at the moment?

Five milligrammes.

Hmm. Increase it to fifty.

Fifty? All at once?

Yes, that's what I said, nurse.

But that's an increase of forty-five milligrammes.

I'm quite aware of that. However, when I operated on the patient yesterday, I found his abdomen was riddled with carcinoma. I'm sure you realize what that means.

Yes, I do, doctor. But I still don't feel I can accept responsibility for administering such an increase.
Can't you? What exactly do you suggest, then?

That if you're convinced it's the right thing to do, you ought to administer the injection yourself.
Hmm. I see what you mean. Very well, I will.

C Earthquake.

What did you do during the earthquake, James?

Stayed in bed.

What do you mean? Didn't you try to get outside?

No. I'd got terrible flu, so I just stayed in bed.

So what happened?

Well, I must have slept through the first earthquake although nobody believes me. They said it was so noisy. Then I woke up about four in the morning. Still feeling terrible with the flu. Eyes running, nose running. You know how you feel when you've got the flu.

Don't I just. I've been lucky so far this year, though.

So I decided to get up and make a cup of tea. I'd just got into the kitchen when I started to feel all unsteady on my feet. Then I got this roaring noise in my ears. I still thought it was the flu, you see.
So what happened then?

Well, I slowly realized that it wasn't me feeling dizzy and the noises weren't in my head. I heard the people upstairs screaming. The wooden floor started moving up and down, the doors and windows started rattling and banging, all the kitchen cupboards were thrown open and cups and saucers came crashing to the floor,the kitchen clock fell from the wall ...

Well, what did you do?

What could I do? I just stood there and watched.

Why didn't you try to get out?

Oh, I couldn't be bothered. I was feeling so terrible with the flu. I just went back to my bedroom. Some books had fallen from the bookcase and that little porcelain vase had rolled to the floor but fortunately didn't break. I even had to look for my transistor radio under the bed. I picked it up and switched it on and they were telling people to go and sleep in the parks.

So why didn't you?

I told you, I was feeling too ill. And the nearest park is a long walk from my flat. And I didn't want to be with a lot of people. So I just stayed in bed and hoped for the best. I didn't really think the house was going to fall down around me. Though several did, I found out later.

Yes. I was sitting in a cafe when the first one started and the whole place started to shake. People were running and screaming and pushing to get out ...

Section 3

A.Who Needs Friends Like This?

Martin, Robert and Jean are being interviewed on the subject of friendship.

How important are friends to you, Martin?

I've never had a lot of friends. I've never regarded them as particularly important. Perhaps that's because I come from a big family. Two brothers and three sisters. And lots of cousins. And that's what's really important to me. My family. The different members of my family. If you really need help, you get it from your family, don't you? Well, at least that's what I've always found.
What about you, Jean?

To me, friendship ... having friends ... people I know I can really count on ... to me that's the most important thing in life. It's more important even than love. If you love someone, you can always fall out of love again, and that can lead to a lot of hurt feelings, bitterness, and so on. But a good friend is a friend for life.

And what exactly do you mean by a friend?

Well, I've already said, someone you know you can count on. I suppose what I really mean is ... let's see,how am I going to put this ... it's someone who will help you if you need help, who'll listen to you when you talk about your problems ... someone you can trust.

What do you mean by a friend, Robert?

Someone who likes the same things that you do, who you can argue with and not lose your temper, even if you don't always agree about things. I mean someone who you don't have to talk to all the time but can be silent with, perhaps. That's important, too. You can just sit together and not say very much sometimes. Justrelax. I don't like people who talk all the time.

Are you very good at keeping in touch with your friends if you don't see them regularly?

No, not always. I've lived in lots of places, and, to be honest, once I move away, I often do drift out oftouch with my friends. And I'm not a very good letter writer, either. Never have been. But I know that if I saw those friends again, if I ever moved back to the same place, or for some other reason we got back into close contact again, I'm sure the friendship would be just as strong as it was before.

Several of my friends have moved away, got married, things like that. One of my friends has had a baby recently, and I'll admit I don't see her or hear from her as much as I used to ... She lives in another neighborhood and when I phone her, she always seems busy. But that's an exception. I write a lot of letters to my friends and get a lot of letters from them. I have a friend I went to school with and ten years ago sheemigrated to Canada, but she still writes to me every month, and I write to her just as often.

B.A Day off Work.

Bill Walker works for an import-export company. Last Wednesday morning Bill rang his office at nine o'clock. His boss, Mr. Thompson, answered the phone.

Hello, Thompson here ...

Hello. This is Bill Walker.

Oh, hello, Bill.

I'm afraid I can't come to work today, Mr. Thompson.

Oh, what's the problem?

I've got a very sore throat.

Yes, you sound ill on the phone.

Yes, I'll stay in bed today, but I'll be able to come tomorrow.

That's all right, Bill. Stay in bed until you feel well enough to work.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson ... Goodbye.

Goodbye, Bill.

Mr. Thompson liked Bill very much. At 12:30 he got into his car, drove to a shop and bought some fruit forhim. He went to Bill's flat and rang the doorbell. Bill's wife, Susan, answered the door.

Oh, Mr. Thompson! Hello ... how are you?

Fine, thanks, Susan. I've just come to see Bill. How is he?

He doesn't look very well. I wanted him to see the doctor.

I'll go in and see him ... Hello, Bill!

Oh ... hello ... hello, Mr. Thompson ... er... er...

I've brought some fruit for you, Bill.

Thank you very much, Mr. Thompson.

Well, ... I had to pass your house anyway. How's your throat?

It seems a little better. I'll be OK tomorrow.

Well, don't come in until you feel better.

All right... but I'm sure I'll be able to come in tomorrow.

Goodbye, Bill.

Goodbye, Mr Thompson.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Thompson locked his office door, and switched on his portable television. He wanted to watch an important international football match. It was England against Brazil. Both teams were playing well, but neither team could score a goal. The crowd were cheering and booing. It was very exciting.

Then at 3:20, England scored from a penalty. Mr. Thompson jumped out of his chair. He was very excited. Hewas smiling happily when suddenly the cameraman focused on the crowd. Mr. Thompson's smile disappeared andhe looked very angry. Bill Walker's face, in close-up, was there on the screen. He didn't look ill, and hedidn't sound ill. He was smiling happily and cheering wildly!