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******U2Listening1AStudentPresentationTeacher:OK,class,let’sgetstartedwiththefirstpresentation.SompelhaspreparedashortpresentationabouthishomecountryofBhutan.Goahead,Sompel.Sompel:Thanks.Um,hi,everybody!YouknowthatmynameisSompel,butyoumaynotknowthatI’mfromBhutan.Bhutanisasmallcountry—highintheHimalayaMountains—betweenIndiaandChina.Inourlanguage,BhutanisknownasDrukYul,whichinEnglishisland,landofthethunderdragon.Thedragonisevendisplayedonourflag.Formanyyears,mycountrywasisolatedfromtheworld,partlyduetoitsgeography—it’ssurroundedbyhighmountains—butalsobecauseofgovernmentpolicies.Ourgovernmenthadalwaysbeena,anabsolutemonarchy,Imean,governmentheadedbyakingwithunlimitedpower.Anyway,untilveryrecently,Bhutanhadnoelectricity,nocarsortrucks,notelephones,andnopostalservice.YoumaybesurprisedtolearnthatinBhutanpeoplehaveonlyhadtelevisionsince1999.ItwasthelastcountryonEarthtogetit.Youmaybewondering:WhydidBhutanrejectthemodernworldforsolong?Well,thegovernmentwastryingtoprotectthepeoplefromnegativeinfluencessuchashighcrimerates,youthviolence,andpollution.Butthekinghasadmittedthatthepolicyofisolationhadmanynegativeconsequences.Forexample,theeducationsystemdefinitelyfellbehind.Somepeopleneverlearnedtoreadandwrite.Then,oneofourkingsbeganopeningupBhutantotheoutsideworld,andourcurrentkinghascontinuedtheprocess.Therearenewroads,schools,andhealthclinics.Thekingdoesn’twanttoopenupthecountryallatoncetotheoutsideworldandriskruiningit.Hewantsourcountry’sdevelopmenttobeguidedby,nowletmethink,oh,yes,GrossNationalHappiness.Teacher:Sompel,sorrytointerrupt,beforeyoucontinue,couldyoudefineGrossNationalHappinessfortheclass,please?Sompel:Um,sure.HowshouldIputit?Well,you’veprobablyheardofGrossNationalProduct,whichisaphrasethatreferstothedollarvalueofallthegoodsandservicesproducedbyacountryoveraperiodoftime.It’sonewayofmeasuringacountry’ssuccess.ButGrossNationalHappinessisdifferent.Actually,oneofourkingsinventedthephraseGrossNationalHappiness.It’stheapproachthecountrytakestothedomesticdevelopmentofBhutan—tohelpmakesurethatthepeoplearealwayshappywiththeirlivesandwiththecountry.Therearefourparts,um,four“pillars”,tothisapproach:goodgovernment,sustainabledevelopment,environmentalprotection,andculturalpreservation.So,forgoodgovernment,thekingputstheneedsofthecountryfirst.Infact,eventhoughthepeoplelovehim,hegaveawaymostofhispowertothepeoplein2006.That’swhenthecountrytransitionedtodemocracy.Thekingstillhasanimportantrole,buthenolongerhasabsolutepower.Realpowerbelongstothepeopleandtheofficialsthatweelect.Sustainabledevelopmentmeansthatwehelpourcountrygrowwithoutdamagingtheenvironment.Andthepillarofenvironmentalprotectioniscloselyrelatedtosustainabledevelopment,too.AgricultureisveryimportantinBhutan,andwearetryingtofindnewwaystofarmwithouthurtingthe******environment.Also,thegovernmentwantstokeep68percentofthelandcoveredinforests.Culturalpreservation—thelastpillar—isachallengethough.HalfofBhutan’spopulationisintheirtwentiesoryounger,andthegovernmentanticipatesthatsomeyoungpeoplewillgetinvolvedwithgangs,crime,ordrugs,forexample.Thegovernmenthasbannedtelevisionchannelsthattheythinkareharmful.Evenso,youthgangsaregrowing.Theft,whichwasnotverycommonbefore,isalsorising.Ontheotherhand,thereisapositivesidetoallofthechanges.InamountainouscountrysuchasBhutan,communicationtechnologies—forinstance,mobilephonesandtheInternet—allowpeopletocommunicatemoreeasilythaneverbefore.Anditseemsthattheartsarereallymovingahead.TwentyyearsagoBhutanhadneverproducedamovie,butthesedaysweproduceover20ayear.AndsomemovieshaveevendisplayedthedifficultiesthatBhutanhashadwiththechallengesofthemodernworld.Thesetypesofmoviesareimportant.Theycanhelpusexplorethecontradictionsthathavecomewithourchangingculture.Teacher:Sompel,howdoyouviewBhutan’sfuture?Sompel:WellI’mhopefulaboutBhutan’sfuture,andI’mgladthattheapproachofGrossNationalHappinessishelpingtomakesurethatwedon’tloseourbeautifulenvironmentandthebestpartsofourancientculture.Sompel:Um,sure.HowshouldIputit?Well,you’veprobablyheardofGrossNationalProduct,whichisaphrasethatreferstothedollarvalueofallthegoodsandservicesproducedbyacountryoveraperiodoftime.It’sonewayofmeasuringacountry’ssuccess.ButGrossNationalHappinessisdifferent.Actually,oneofourkingsinventedthephraseGrossNationalHappiness.It’stheapproachthecountrytakestothedomesticdevelopmentofBhutan—tohelpmakesurethatthepeoplearealwayshappywiththeirlivesandwiththecountry.Therearefourparts,um,four“pillars”,tothisapproach:goodgovernment,sustainabledevelopment,environmentalprotection,andculturalpreservation.So,forgoodgovernment,thekingputstheneedsofthecountryfirst.Infact,eventhoughthepeoplelovehim,hegaveawaymostofhispowertothepeoplein2006.That’swhenthecountrytransitionedtodemocracy.Thekingstillhasanimportantrole,buthenolongerhasabsolutepower.Realpowerbelongstothepeopleandtheofficialsthatweelect.Sustainabledevelopmentmeansthatwehelpourcountrygrowwithoutdamagingtheenvironment.Andthepillarofenvironmentalprotectioniscloselyrelatedtosustainabledevelopment,too.AgricultureisveryimportantinBhutan,andwe