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1ConversationOneM:Guesswhat?TheworstfoodI'veeverhadwasinFrance.W:Really?That'sodd.IthoughttheFrenchwereallgoodcooks.M:Yes.That'sright.Isupposeit'sreallylikeanywhereelse,though.Youknow,someplacesaregood.Somebad.Butit'sreallyallourownfault.W:Whatdoyoumean?M:Well,itwasthefirsttimeI'dbeentoFrance.ThiswasyearsagowhenIwasatschool.Iwenttherewithmyparents'friends,frommyfather'sschool.They'dhiredacoachtotakethemtoSwitzerland.W:Aschooltrip?M:Right.Mostofthemhadneverbeenabroadbefore.We'dcrossedtheEnglishChannelatnight,andwesetoffthroughFrance,andbreakfasttimearrived,andthecoachdriverhadarrangedforustostopatthislittlecafé.Thereweallwere,tiredandhungry,andthenwemadethegreatdiscovery.W:Whatwasthat?M:Baconandeggs.W:Fantastic!TherealEnglishbreakfast.M:Yes.Anyway,wedidn'tknowanybetter—sowehadit,andugh...!W:Whatwasitlike?Disgusting?M:Oh,itwasincredible!Theyjustgotabowlandputsomefatinit.Andthentheyputsomebaconinthefat,brokeaneggoverthetopandputthewholelotintheovenforabouttenminutes.W:Intheoven!You'rejoking.Youcan'tcookbaconandeggsintheoven!M:Well.Theymusthavedoneitthatway.Itwashot,butitwasn'tcooked.Therewasjustthiseggfloatingaboutingallonsoffatandrawbacon.W:Didyouactuallyeatit?M:No!Nobodydid.Theyallwantedtoturnroundandgohome.Youknow,backtoteabagsandfishandchips.Youcan'tblamethemreally.Anyway,thenextnightwewereallgivenanotherforeignspeciality.W:Whatwasthat?M:Snails.Thatreallyfinishedthemoff.Lovelyholidaythatwas!Questions1to4arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.Question1.WhatdidthewomanthinkoftheFrench?Question2.WhodidthemantravelwithonhisfirsttriptoSwitzerland?Question3.WhatdoesthemansayaboutthebreakfastatthelittleFrenchcafé?2Question4.WhatdidthemanthinkofhisholidayinFrance?ConversationTwoM:Yousayyourshophasbeendoingwell.Couldyougivemesomeideaofwhat“doingwell”meansinfactsandfigures?W:Well,“doingwell”meansaveraging￡1,200ormoreaweekforabout7years,makingalmostaquarterofamillionpounds.And“doingwell”meansyourearningsarerising.Lastyear,wedidslightlyover50,000andthisyear,wehopetodomorethan60,000.So,that'sgoodifwecontinuetorise.M:Now,that'sgrossearnings,Iassume.Whataboutyourexpenses?W:Yes,that'sgross.Theexpenses,ofcourse,goupsteadily.Andsincewe'vemovedtothisnewshop,theexpenseshaveincreasedgreatly,becauseit'samuchbiggershop.SoIcouldn'tsayexactlywhatourexpensesare.Theyaresomethingintheregionofsixorseventhousandpoundsayear,whichisnothigh.Commerciallyspeaking,it'sfairlylow,andwetrytokeepourexpensesaslowaswecan.M:Andyourpricesaremuchlowerthanthesamegoodsinshopsroundabout.Howdothelocalshopkeepersfeelabouthavingashopdoingsowellintheirmidst?W:Perhapsalotofthemdon'trealizehowwellwearedoing,becausewedon'tmakeapointofpublicizing.Thatwasalessonwelearnedveryearlyon.Wewereveryfriendlywithalllocalshopkeepersandwehappenedtomentiontoalocalshopkeeperhowmuchwehadmadethatweek.Hewasveryunhappyandneverasfriendlyagain.Sowemakeapointofneverpublicizingtheamountofmoneywemake.Butweareonverygoodtermswithalltheshops.Noneofthemhaveevercomplainedthatweareputtingthemoutofbusinessoranythinglikethat.Ithinkit'sanicefriendlyrelationship.Maybeiftheydidknowwhatwemade,perhapstheywouldn'tbesofriendly.Questions5to8arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.Question5.Whatarethespeakersmainlytalkingabout?Question6.Whatdoesthewomansayhershoptriestodo?Question7.Whatdowelearnaboutthegoodssoldatthewoman'sshop?Question8.Whydoesn'tthewomanwanttomakeknowntheirearningsanymore?PassageOneBirdsarefamousforcarryingthingsaround.Some,likehomingpigeons,canbetrainedtodelivermessagesand3packages.Otherbirdsunknowinglycarryseedsthatclingtothemfortheride.Canadianscientistshavefoundaworrisome,newexampleofthepowerthatbirdshavetospreadstuffaround.WayupnorthintheCanadianArctic,seabirdsarepickingupdangerouschemicalsintheoceananddeliveringthemtopondsnearwherethebirdslive.Some10,000pairsofthebirds,calledfulmars,akindofArcticseabird,maketheirnestsonDevonIsland,northoftheArcticCircle.Thefulmarstravelsome400kilometersovertheseatofindfood.Whentheyreturnhome,theirdroppingsendupallaroundtheirnestingsites,includinginnearbyponds.Previously,scientistsnoticedpollutantsarrivingintheArcticwiththewind.Salmonalsocarrydangerouschemicalsasthefishmigratebetweenriversandthesea.Thebodiesoffishandothermeat-eaterscanbuilduphighlevelsofthechemicals.Totestthepollutingpoweroffulmars,researcherscollectedsamplesofdepositfrom11pondsonDevonIsland.Inpondsclosesttothecolony,theresultsshowedtherewerefarmorepollutantsthaninpondslessaffectedbythebirds.Thepollutantsinthepondsappeartocomefromfishthatfulmarseatwhenthey'reoutontheocean.Peoplewholive,hunt,orfishnearbirdcoloniesneedtobecareful,theresearcherssay.Thebirdsdon'tmeantocauseharm,butthechemicalstheycarrycancausemajorproblems.Questions9to12arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.Question9.WhathaveCanadianscientistsfoundaboutsomeseabirds?Question10.Whatdoesthespeakersayabouttheseabirdscalledfulmars?Question11.WhatdidscientistspreviouslynoticeaboutpollutantsintheArctic?Question12.Whatdoesthespeakerwarnaboutattheendofthetalk?PassageTwoInrecentyears,thedeathrateamongAmericancentenarian