Hi, Brad! It's brilliant to talk to you like this.
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You want to know about the Exxon Valdez, right? I don't know much
about it myself but I'll try and help.
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We're doing a feature on pollution of th oceans.
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Great topic! Ecellent!
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It was Jack's idea. He's feelling very pleased with himself!
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When did the disaster happen, Brad?
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In 1989, before I was born but my parents have told me about it.
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It happened off the coast of Canada, didn't it?
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No, it happened in Alaska. That's part of the USA but pretty close
to where I live. The Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker. It hit some
rocks and a huge amount of oil spilled into the ocean. It caused
terrible damage.
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These oil companies...They should be ashamed of themselves.
Disasters like this happen to often.
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Hang on, Jack. Maybe it was an accident. Accidents happen.
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My dad helped with the clean-up operation.
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Really? Can you ask him about it for us?
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Why don't you speak to him yourselves? He'd be happy to help.
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Listen 5 times
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Lesson 2: Conversation
What are you thinking about?
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Environmental disasters. They seem to happen all the time, don't
they?
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Well, they seem to happen quite often, yeah.
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That oil spill in Alaska was awful, wasn't it? did terrible damage
to the coast.
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Not to mention the wildlife. Animals just couldn't cope with that
level of pollution.
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Those poor birds with their feathers completely covered in oil. So
many died.
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And lots of animals died because they ate the oil. Their food was
contaminated.
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It's so depressing. We do terrible things to our planet.
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Well, I know the Exxon Valdez disaster was a man-made disaster,
but don't forget, natural disasters happen too.
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Like volcanoes erupting.
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When that happens, it's no one's fault. It just happens.
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How frightening. Imagine all that red hot lava coming towards your
village. Terrifying.
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There was that volcanic eruption in Iceland a few years ago. Do
you remember? No one was hurt, but there was a massive ash cloud.
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That's right. And planes couldn't fly over Europe for days and
days because the ash was dangerous for their engines.
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Then there are floods too. Sometimes, there's so much rain that
rivers burst their banks.
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But floods can be man-made disasters too. Sometimes, if too many
trees are cut down, especially on hills and mountains, the rain
can wash away the soil and the water can't sink into the ground,
so it just runs down the mountain and causes flooding.
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Oh, I see. I didn't know about that. But something like an
earthquake, that's never man-made, is it?
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I can't think of anything more terrifying. Imagine your house
starting to shake.
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Oh, horrible. And if they're severe, earthquakes can cause
terrible loss of life.
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I don't want to think about this anymore. It makes me too upset.
Sorry.
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Listen 5 times
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A desert map
A desert map
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Luke Terry has flown to visit his father, who is filming for a TV
wildlife programme in the desert.
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As Luke went through the airport's immigration control, his
passport was taken away and he was escorted to an interview room
where a security officer asked him to open his suitcase.
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"Did you pack this bag yourself?" The security officer gave Luke a
hard stare.
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"Yes," Luke replied nervously, He dropped his eyes under the man's
hostile gaze.
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"Did anyone give you anything to put in it?" he asked icily.
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"No, ... I ... I mean, yes," Luke stammered.
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"Which is it, yes or no?" the man hissed like a striking viper.
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Luke felt himself break into a sweat, He tried to keep his voice
even.
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He had no reason to feel guilty or afraid but he felt both. "My
sister gave me a map."
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"What map" The man's eyes narrowed.
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Luke pulled out the folded map of the desert that Miranda had
given him just before he left London early that monrning.
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Already it seemed like days ago. The officer took the map, opened
it and looked at it silently.
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"Look, can I go now? I just need my passport back, please. My
father is meeting me, so I'd like to ... "
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Even to Luke. his mumbled requests sounded feeble, nowhere near
the assertive tone he had been aiming for.
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"Wait" the officer snapped and left the room.
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Luke felt nauseous. He tried to breathe deeply.
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There was no reason to panic, he told himself. He had done nothing
wrong.
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His father was waiting for him in the arrivals hall.
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If the officer would just speak to his father, the problem,
whatever it was, could be sorted out.
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Luke decided that he would suggest it as soon as the man came
back.
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He stood up with determination as the door opened but a different,
smaller man walked into the room
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"Well, Mr Luke Terry, aged seventeen from London," he said with a
smile, "I have your passport here."
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Luke breathed a sigh of relief and reached out his hand to take it
but the man made no move to give ot to him.
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"First, I have just a few questions," he smiled again. "Please sit
down ... Now, Luke. What is the purpose of your visit?"
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"I've come to stay with my father," Luke said hesitantly. "For the
summer holidays," he added.
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"Your father ... what does he do?" the man enquired in a friendly
tone.
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"He's a cameraman ... With a film comany." Luke explained, feeling
his confidence returning. "They're filming desert wildlife. It
takes months. So I'm staying with him while he's working. He's
going to show me some of the places where they've been
filming.""So you're a tourist?" The man smiled at Luke
encouragingly.
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Yes, that's right." Luke began to relax. He smiled at the man. The
man smiled back.
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Then he leaned forward, no longer smiling, and spoke quietly. "
Then why are you carrying a map with ancient secret burial sites
marked on it?"
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"I'm not ... am I?" Luke gulped in amazement.
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"I'm afraid you are. These sites are only known to a few people.
How did you get that map?" the man asked sharply.
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"My sister, Miranda, gave it to me." Luke told him.
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"Is your sister an archaeologist?"
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"An archaeologist! No, she's a student of zoology. She's mad about
animals, like Dad."
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"Then why did she mark the burial sites?"
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I don't know!" Luke's voice was raised in protest." Look, she got
the map in a second-hand bookshop. It must have been marked
already."
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The man smiled, shaking his head."We've had a tip-off, you see.
We've been waiting for a young man, about your age, to arrive from
London, carrying a map of the desert. A marked map. Just like
yours."
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"Well, I'm not the person you're looking for," Luke insisted.
"This map and these siles - they're nothing to do with me or my
sister. It's just a map of the desert. That's all it is."
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The man was completely silent. Suddenly he sat back in his chair.
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"I can see you're telling the truth," he said. "You're free to go.
Enjoy your visit."
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Astonished at being so abruptly released, Luke hurried out of the
interview room and into the almost deserted arrival hall where his
father was still waiting "Luke!" he exclaimed. "What kept you?"
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"They were asking me loads of weird questions, Dad. I'll tell you
on the way."
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As they weaved a way through the evening traffic towards the
desert highway, Luke told his father about the interview.
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His father listened attentively. When Luke had finished, his fater
asked, "Have you still got the map?"
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"Yes. They let me keep it."
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"That's interesting."
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"Why?"
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"Well, if the places were so secret, you'd think they'd have taken
it away, wouldn't yo?"
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Luke nodded in agreement.
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"So they must have had reason," said his father thoughtfully. "I
wonder what it is."
