SECTION 2

You will hear a childcare worker telling some mothers about the advantages of her centre. Hello everyone, and welcome to the Stanfield Childcare Centre. Now I know you're all new mothers, and you like to cling to your children. You’ve certainly spent a lot of time raising them to the age of four and are perhaps reluctant to leave them here at our centre. Well, one of the first things you should understand is that here it is safe — very safe. Look around and you'll see that every room has padded walls. Other centres have standard painted walls, but here, we have invested a lot to ensure your children will not hurt themselves when running around and possibly tripping over. This padding extends around all corners — that is, the areas most likely to bruise and cut your active little child. So, you can rest assured that any accidents of a physical nature are not likely to happen here.

Now, you don't want to dump your child at this centre and let them waste their lime. You want them to learn, and that’s one of the greatest assets of our establishment. Our staff are not only trained childcare workers, but all of them have a special skill, which they can imparl to your child, whether it be teaching the ABC, some basic mathematics, artistic skills, or physical education. We are particularly known for our pre-school literacy program and have a wealth of learning toys, specially designed to develop your child's potential.

Of course, one concern many mothers have is that, in environments such as these, colds and flus and other viral nasties can be easily spread around. It’s a very legitimate concern, and one which we take seriously, and we pride ourselves on our precautions. For a start, unlike most centres which clean with standard detergents, we disinfect every surface at the end of every day, using a special disinfectant wash. Some places just wipe surfaces daily with a damp cloth, but not us. And that’s just the start. We also physically check your children when they arrive every day, and if we feel your child is sick, we ask him or her to wear a face mask to ensure germs are not transmitted. If your child is noticeably sick, then we ask you to take them back home to recover. This might sound a little unkind, but we hope parents can understand that these measures are for the benefit of all.

Now, at Stanfield Childcare Centre we have excellent childcare officers, and let me briefly introduce them. We have Susan, Andrea, Bella, Cathy, Lisa, and Liz. They’re all fully trained and come with some individual assets which make them even better. Bella, for instance, knows children very well, having worked here for five years, and Cathy has her own family — two little girls — so she can talk to you with first-hand knowledge of what it’s really like to raise children. But getting back to Bella, she often relaxes here after work, spending long hours chatting to parents, as does Cathy in fact. But in terms of hours, nothing can compare to Andrea, who will sometimes spend the night here, staying in our overnight room. Why? Because this centre is very friendly, and simply a great place to be. Bella, for example, used to be quite shy herself but now is marvelous with the little kiddies, as outgoing as any of them. We let Cathy, though, deal with the particularly quiet and introverted children, since having her own family, she knows what can really bring them out.

Of course, what better way to do this than with yummie homemade cakes, and Cathy often gets these from Bella, who can make some of the best in town . Yes, everyone here brings something special, which is why we’re one of the best childcare centres in the business.

SECTION 3

You will hear a student, Eric, talking to his lecturer, Ms Harris, about essay writing.

Eric: Hi, Ms Harris. Here we are, talking once again.

Ms Harris: Well, I’m always willing to help out wherever possible. Is anything troubling you?

Eric: Well, your advice last week about writing summaries was very useful, and I’m using these summaries a lot in order to prepare my final master’s thesis.

Ms Harris: But you’re having problems, right?

Eric: Yes, I have a few issues to discuss. Obviously I want a good essay, and I want to achieve high marks. But I’m not sure on the best way to start.

Ms Harris: That’s an easy question. Start with a topic, but not one that I necessarily suggest, but one that you want to explore. You will always write better when doing so on a topic you are interested in, not one imposed upon you by others.

Eric: Well, I’m interested in management theory.

Ms Harris: Then pursue that. However, that alone is far too broad. Break it into various current areas of discussion and relevance, then look more carefully at one of them — say, management and cultural differences, or management and motivation, or other aspects, such as the role of salary, group cohesion, or leadership.

Eric: I would say I’m interested in group cohesion—that is, how people interact in the workplace.

Ms Harris: Well, that’s a start, but you can’t then just write planlessly, without defining exactly what you intend to do within the area you’ve chosen. You’ll have to think of a thesis, and this statement could be of several types.

Eric: Such as what?

Ms Harris: Oh, you could argue a point, something that you believe in; or discuss an issue, looking at its various perspectives; or critique the opinions of others, pointing out the pitfalls and flaws. The thesis statement will make that very clear because it will say, in simple terms, what you intend to achieve in your essay.

Eric: I see. And then I can just begin writing, right?

Ms Harris: Wrong! [Uh?] If your essay is going to be clear, it needs to be logical and organised, and this means you’ll need an outline. This could be written as a flowchart, or spider graph — that is, a series of connected lines, but whatever shape the outline takes, there must be a sense of progress, in, more or less, a straight line, towards a goal.

Eric: And then my essay will be good? 

Ms Harris: With such progression, definitely—as long as you do achieve everything that you set out to do, as specified in the beginning, okay? 

Eric: Well, Ms Harris, your advice about essay writing all sounds very useful: solid, and step by step, so I’ll certainly follow that. But can you tell me in more general terms, what constitutes the best essay?

Ms Harris: Oh, there are many aspects to consider, but one of the most important is certainly, original thinking. The best essays are written by people who think for themselves, and not just copy or imitate established views.

Eric: I think I can do that.

Ms Harris: But remember, you can’t just give a list of unsupported assertions. There needs to be support as well — a chain of logic linking each step in your argument. [Right] Yet that alone is not enough. Your argument may be logically sound, but is it practically so? For that, you need examples, from real-life, to illustrate your points or sub-points.

Eric: I’ve got lots of examples from my course readings. I suppose I could use them. 

Ms Harris: But remember, whenever you use an example, or facts or figures that are not commonly known, you must give a reference. That’s an academic necessity, without which your writing will automatically fail.

Eric: So, it’s necessary to give these. Right.

Ms Harris: Absolutely—and with that, your essay will be fine, but always ensure that you format it clearly.

Eric: What do you mean?

Ms Harris: I mean the practical considerations, as written in the university style guide, such as leaving appropriate margins, using double spacing, Arial font, and so on. You see, your writing must look good, as well as be good.

Eric: I can certainly do that.

Ms Harris: And, finally, related to the previous point, you need to respect the number of words required. Your individual lecturers will give you a word-count figure, so follow what they say, making your essay neither too long, nor too short—perhaps 10% either way should be acceptable. 15% was common when I was younger, but it’s a lot stricter now, and 20% would be pushing the boundaries just a little too far.

Eric: I guess I can do all that. Thanks for your advice.

SECTION 4

You will hear a lecturer discussing the history of people’s beliefs regarding whether the sun, or the Earth, is at the centre of the solar system.

In the night sky, the stars appear to revolve around the Earth, rising in the east, and disappearing in the west. The Earth itself seems solid, fixed, and stable, and such common sense perception suggests that the Earth is the centre of the universe. This is known as ‘geo’ ‘centrism’, with geo meaning Earth, and all pre-modern civilisations drew this conclusion. We now know, of course, that the Earth revolves around the sun, and this is called ‘helio’ ‘centrism’, with helio meaning sun, but historically, it took quite a while for this to be deduced.

As early as the third century BC, an ancient Greek astronomer, Aristarchus of Samos, proposed heliocentrism, but received little support from his peers. Similarly, throughout subsequent history, isolated individuals proposed this new idea, but again, no one was listening. Geocentrism just seemed too logical to refute. Geocentrism also fitted the views of the established Christian church, who could quote biblical passages such as ‘the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved’. Those who dared disagree were subject to accusations of heresy, often with dire punishments to follow.

The trouble was, as the night sky was observed more closely, that simple revolution of the stars proved not so simple at all. In relation to the others stars, some steadily wandered in given directions, then sometimes reversed for months, and disappeared altogether. They were called planets, meaning ‘wanderers’. In addition, the position of the sun and moon altered slightly over the year, and comets, those mysterious glowing spots, would come and go. In order to predict the motion of the planets, and accurately serve the primary purpose of navigation for sailing ships, increasingly elaborate mathematical models were needed—a sure sign that something was not quite right.

Heliocentrism, or the belief that the sun is the centre of the solar system, still needed a mathemalically-sound description before it could be scientifically accepted, and it was a Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, who, in 1543, first published this. This event is sometimes referred to as the Copernican revolution. Copernicus himself certainly feared the consequences of his proof, knowing full well it might invoke the anger of the established church. Probably for this reason, he wailed until the last year of his life, when he was sick and dying, to release his findings. In addition, the preface of the book, written by a respected member of the church, staled that the model was not necessarily correct. As a result of this, there was no ‘revolution" whatsoever—in fact, the book received scant attention in the subsequent decades, apart from a few irate clergy men who angrily dismissed the whole scheme as irrelevant. 

Yet the following generations of astronomers did not always fare so well. The Italian scientist, Galileo, got into trouble, as did a fellow Italian, with the surname Bruno, Giordono Bruno. who was burnt at the stake, yet ultimately, nothing could slow the spread of heliocentrism across Europe. It formed the basis of lsaac Newton's great work on the motion of the planets — a work which implied that even the sun. around which the Earth circled, was itself in motion around a common centre of gravity.

No discourse about heliocentrism could finish without mentioning that, somewhat unbelievably, there still exists those today who choose to believe that the Earth is the centre of the universe. Modern geocentrism is usually the result of literal interpretations of the Bible, which is the cornerstone of these people's beliefs. They, therefore, also believe in creationism -- that is, that a God created everything, and while we may smile at this, it is sobering to consider that surveys have revealed that up to 10% of British people,
12% of Europeans. 20% of the ESA, and 25% of the Middle East, still hold the belief that the sun revolves around the Earth. One can only wonder what Copernicus would have thought of this.