Unit 3.

I. Understanding discourse: Numbers (1)

Kaleni and Tariq are talking.

K: Hi there, Tariq! You look busy. How are things going?

T: Oh hello, Kaleni, fine! But yes, I am busy. I'm trying to make sense of the notes I made this morning in the model office.

K: Anything I can help with?

T: Not really, it's just that I find it very difficult to hear numbers correctly and write them down quickly.

K: Yes, numbers are always difficult to hear in the foreign language, I don't know why. Don't worry, it certainly gets easier with practice.

T: I'm sure, but I'm worried about getting behind early in my course.

K: Well there are two things I found helpful: one was to spend as much time as possible in the language lab, listening to tapes, and the other was to get a friend, preferably an English friend, to read numbers out to me, a sort of dictation. You ought to try it!

T: (ruefully) Hmm, that's good advice —- trouble is I haven't made many friends yet.

K: Well, don't look at me! I'm even busier than you! I've got finals this year.

T: Oh, of course, I didn't mean ... I just thought . . .

K: Oh all right! Come on, get your notebook!

T: Thanks.

II. Understanding a lecture: Artificial Intelligence

... so, as we were saying, robots, unlike people, don't become ill, don't have tea breaks, don't go on strike! (laughter) They can also work continuously and at the same rate throughout the day. Robots are able to produce the same standard of work over and over again. I guess most of us would like to have a robot as a personal servant to do those jobs we hate doing, you know, washing up, the ironing . . . doing assignments in computer science perhaps (more laughter!). Unfortunately the robots we have at the moment aren't capable of doing the problem-solving type of jobs that would really be useful! Who knows what the future might bring, of course! We do, however, have personal robots such as OMNIBOT and TOPO that can deliver goods and messages from one room to another. The commonest type of robot is free-standing and used in factories. They consist of a flexible arm to which any number of tools can be attached, paint sprayers, soldering irons etc. controlled by a computer which is built into the stand. They are mainly used for building cars, washing machines and other household goods. We now even have robots to build robots.

One huge advantage of robots is that they can work in dirty or dangerous conditions. It is obviously much easier to replace a robot than a human life. The army use robots to investigate bombs and make them safe. Cars are often left filled with explosives and booby trapped. A moving robot can be steered by remote control and used to view the inside of the car. Robots can also be used under water where they can work for a much longer time than a human being would be able to. They are used for inspecting underwater structures such as drilling platforms and can be very useful in recovering ships which have sunk or aircraft that have crashed into the sea. I have here a film I thought you might like to see . . .

Unit 4. Numbers (2)

K. OK, Tariq. You know what you have to do? Write down every number you hear.

T. Yes, I'm fine! Let's go!

K. Number one, 12 thousand per hour, number 2, 300 to 900 per minute, number 3, 150 to 500 per second, number 4, 40 to 60 per second, number 5, the time is sixteen forty-five, number 6, fifteen pounds fifty p.

T. Sorry, Kaleni, can you repeat please, did you say fifty-three or fifty p? I couldn't be sure.

K. No repeats, the lecturer won't repeat.

T. Have a heart!

K. No. You've got to concentrate and train your ear, as our English language tutor always says. Ready?

T. I suppose so.

K. Number 7, eight bit binary numbers can represent 256 different messages; number 8, in the 1930s radar was developed using frequencies of one thousand million hertz.

T. Stop, this is horrible! I can't go on!

K. (laughing) OK, that's enough. Let's go for a coke and a snack. You can pay. Practice your numbers listening for the bill!

T. Oh thank you, friend!