EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1
RFID Chips
You are going to listen to a conversation
about RFID chips. Listen and choose the
correct answer.
1 Frank needs Peter’s help to … .
a. find Buffy
b. take Buffy to the vet
c. take Buffy for a walk
2 Pets should get RFID tags so … .
a. they won’t run off
b. it will be easier to locate them
c. it will be easier to locate their owners
3 Peter’s cousin got an RFID chip that gives
information about … .
a. extreme sports and their dangers
b. his medical problems
c. clubs and discos that he goes to
4 If you’ve got an RFID chip linked to a certain
club,
you don’t need to… .
a. take cash with you
b. enter the club through the main entrance
c. ask for a menu at the club
5 According to Peter, RFID chips can … .
a. hurt you when they are injected
b. be seen under the skin
c. be taken out
tag: chapa
shelter: refugio
wander off: despistarse, perderse
sky diving: paracaidismo
fatty: adiposo/a, graso/a
track: seguir el rastro de
6 Frank thinks that … .
a. most people will get RFID chips
b. most people won’t get RFID chips
c. RFID chips won’t be small enough
7 When Peter flew to Amsterdam, his
suitcase was found quickly because … .
a. Peter has got an RFID chip
b. Peter’s suitcase tag contained an RFID
chip
c. Peter’s grandparents have got connections
in the airport
8 Peter told Frank about a reality game
that uses RFID chips to … .
a. spot the players during the game
b. help the players escape from prison
c. ask the players questions
1
 EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1

RFID Chips

Peter: Hi, Frank. You look upset. What’s the matter?

Frank: Oh, hi Peter. My dog, Buffy, has run off again and I don’t know how I’m going to find him. You
haven’t seen him, have you?
Peter: No, but I’ll help you search for him. You know, Frank, if your dog’s always getting lost, you really
should get him an RFID tag.
Frank: An “RFI …” what?
Peter: An RFID tag – radio frequency identification. It’s a microchip, you know, like a tiny computer chip that
contains a special ID number. It’s injected under the skin of pets. Then, if the pet gets lost, it’s not
hard to find the owners. Lots of vets use them.
Frank: That sounds fantastic. But I still don’t understand how it works.
Peter: It’s really quite simple. Most lost pets eventually end up in an animal shelter. When they do, the
workers at the animal shelter use a small scanner to check if the pet’s got a chip and, if it has got
one, its ID number registers on the scanner. This number is used to access a special database which
gives information about the pet, like the name of its vet and how to contact its owner. I think Buffy
needs a chip like that.
Frank: Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s a pity they don’t “chip” people, too. Whenever my mother goes
shopping with my younger sister, my sister always wanders off and my mother has to look for her.
Peter: Actually, Frank, they do chip people. In fact, my cousin got chipped last year. That’s how I know so
much about it.
Frank: Your cousin got chipped? Really? Does he get lost a lot, too?
Peter: No, my cousin’s an adult. He’s a sportsman. He does all kinds of dangerous sports, like sky diving,
motorbike racing and rock climbing. So, once in a while, he gets injured and has to go to hospital.
He’s also allergic to antibiotics, so his doctor recommended that he get a chip. Now, whenever he
gets hurt, the hospital doctors can scan his chip for his ID number
and ….
Frank: I know, I know. They access the database.
Peter: Yes, but there isn’t just one database. There are lots of kinds of databases and each one determine s
how the information on the chip is used. For example, the database that my cousin uses contains
personal medical information, like blood type, allergies and special medical problems. But there are
also clubs and discos that have got their own databases.
Frank: Clubs and discos? Why do they need databases?
Peter: Well, a few clubs offer to implant their customers with chips so they can leave their wallets at home.
As soon as the customers walk through the door, they get scanned and the database tells the club
who they are and what their credit balance is. It also keeps a list of their favourite food and drinks.
Frank: Amazing! But isn’t it painful to get chipped?
Peter: Not at all. My cousin says that it’s very simple and it only takes a few seconds. The chip is about the
size of a grain of rice and it’s injected into the fatty part under your arm – with a syringe. You don’t
feel it at all and, if you want, you can have it removed later.
Frank: Well, it still sounds a bit strange to me. I’m not sure that implanting people with RFID chips will
become very popular. I don’t think that most people will want to have anything implanted under their
skin, even if it’s the size of a grain of rice.
Peter: You might be right, Frank, but RFID chips are being used all over the world for a lot of other things.
Do you remember when I visited my grandparents in Amsterdam? When I flew home, my suitcase
got lost and ended up in Los Angeles. I was lucky, though, because Amsterdam airport uses RFID
tags on their luggage. They were able to track my suitcase and return it to me quickly.
Frank: Well that sounds great! So … what else are the chips used for?
Peter: Um … there’s a popular reality game on TV that uses RFID chips to track the players while they’re
trying to escape from a large prison.
Frank: Are you serious?
Peter: Sure. It works like this: The players are asked questions and their answers control the doors, the
lights and the pathways in the prison. It’s quite challenging because the players have to escape
within a certain amount of time. Up to 300 people can play the game at once. Hey, Frank! Isn’t that
your dog over there?
Frank: It is! We found him! Thanks for helping me look for him, Peter. And thanks for telling me about those
RFID chips. I’m going to get Buffy chipped right away. Well, I’ve got to go. See you later.

Answers: 1. a 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. c 6. b 7. b 8. a

2
 EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1
The Way to Eat
You are going to listen to a radio programme
about eating. Listen and choose the correct
answer.
1 Jenny’s club Body and Mind … .
a. focuses on losing weight quickly
b. focuses on why people eat too much
c. encourages eating without thinking
2 Professor Wansink … .
a. works at Body and Mind
b. works in a restaurant
c. observes how people act around food
3 People are LEAST influenced to eat by … .
a. how hungry they are
b. what they smell
c. the convenience of food
4 According to Jenny, people eat more at
family-style meals because … .
a. the food is right in front of them
b. they’re eating with family and friends
c. they eat for more than 20 minutes
5 Jack eats too much on holidays because
….
a. he uses serving dishes
b. he wants to be polite
c. he picks many types of food
mindless: sin sentido, mecánico, impulsivo
cue: indicación, señal
reach out: alargar / tender la mano
swallow: tragarse
stale: rancio/a, pasado/a
squeak: referido al sonido producido al masticar
las palomitas correosas
6 In the popcorn experiment, … .
a. everyone had eaten the same amount of
popcorn
b. only people with large containers had overeaten
c. everyone had overeaten
7 Jenny’s clients put their snacks into dishes,
so … .
a. they can decide how much to eat
b. the food will be easier to take
c. they can enjoy their food more
8 One way to encourage good eating habits is
to … .
a. keep your fridge clean and organised
b. keep food only in the fridge
c. keep fattening food “hidden”
3
 EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1

The Way to Eat

Jack: Hello, and welcome to our programme Healthy Living. Today, Jenny Reeves is here to talk to us
about her diet club Body and Mind. Jenny, there are lots of diet clubs. What makes Body and Mind
different from all the others?
Jenny: Well, Jack, the aim of most diet clubs is to get people to eat less, so they’ll lose weight quickly. But,
at our club, we focus on teaching our clients about the psychology of eating, so they can understand
why they overeat. We base what we teach on a book by Professor Brian Wansink called Mindless
Eating.
Jack: Mindless eating? Now, that sounds interesting.
Jenny: Yes, it is, Jack. Professor Wansink has spent his career watching how people behave around food –
at home and at work, in restaurants and in many other places where people eat. He says that most
people eat mindlessly, that is, they eat without really thinking about what they’re doing.
Jack: Oh … so does that mean that even when I’m not hungry, I’ll still eat?
Jenny: Exactly, Jack. Being hungry is one of the last things that determine how much we eat. Instead, we’re
influenced by things around us – what we see, hear and smell – and these create psychological cues
that make us overeat. Visibility, or the sight of food, is the central issue.
Jack: So, are you saying that we eat what we see?
Jenny: No, there’s more to it than that. Convenience also influences our decision to eat. If the food we see is
convenient, and there’s nothing to stop us from simply reaching out and taking it, we’ll probably eat it.
Jack: Hmmm. Can you give us examples of how these cues work?
Jenny: Of course. Let’s start with family-style meals where the food is in serving dishes on the table. These
types of meals encourage us to overeat. You see, when we eat, it takes at least 20 minutes after
we’ve swallowed our food for our stomach to tell us that we’re full. At family-style meals, we usually
keep eating during that time because we see all that food sitting there - right in front of us.
Jack: Well, that explains why I overeat on holidays. There are always so many types of food to choose
from, so I just keep filling my plate and eating!
Jenny: You’re not alone, Jack … and you’ve just mentioned two more examples of how psychological cues
work. First, when there’s a variety of food available, we’re more likely to overeat because we believe
that we have to taste everything. Plus, we tend to fill our plates to capacity, and if they’re large
plates, we end up eating even more. This is also true when we eat directly from bags or containe rs.
We’ll just keep on eating – right down to the bottom of the bag - no matter what size it is.
Jack: Interesting!
Jenny: Yes, it is. In fact, Professor Wansink has done several experiments to prove this. Once, he gave out
five-day-old popcorn to the audience at a cinema. Some people got medium-sized containers and
others got large ones, but both sizes had more popcorn than one person “could” eat. Now believe
me, the popcorn was truly stale. It was old! It actually squeaked when it was eaten.
Jack: And did they eat it?
Jenny: They certainly did. And when the film was over, all the containers were weighed. Everyone had
overeaten, but the people with the larger containers had eaten 53% more than those with the
medium-sized ones! It seems that once they started eating, the taste of the popcorn didn’t matter.
Jack: That’s incredible! What did the people who participated in the experiment say about the results?
Jenny: Well, most of them claimed that they hadn’t been influenced to overeat by the size of their container.
However, Professor Wansink disagrees. He says that everyone is tricked by these psychological
cues around them – even if they don’t think so.
Jack: So, if this is true, how do you help your clients?
Jenny: Well, after they learn how different psychological cues work, they learn for example, not to eat
snacks out of their original containers. Instead, they put a small amount into a dish and when the
dish is empty, they’ve got a “stopping point” – you know, a place to pause and decide if they really
want to eat more.
Jack: And does it help?
Jenny: Absolutely! In our club Body and Mind, we also give tips on how to change our environment so we
won’t be powerless to the cues around us. Take fridges, for instance. We learn that fruit and
vegetables should be placed on the top shelf of the fridge – where they are easy to get to – and
fattening foods belong at the back of cupboards where they’re not so visible.
Jack: Those are great suggestions, Jenny, and they’re so easy to do. Thanks for being with us today,
Jenny. Next week, we’ll be talking to Dr Robert Haley about …

Answers: 1. b 2. c 3. a 4. a 5. c 6. c 7. a 8. c

4
 EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1

Motorcycle Medics push someone’s way through: abrirse camino

rush hour: hora punta
You are going to listen to a conversation weave: avanzar en zigzag
about motorcycle medics. Listen and squeeze: meterse, apretujarse
choose the correct answer. stretcher: camilla
ECG (electrocardiograph): electrocardiógrafo
1 When Rob walks into the room, Andy is
….
6 Defibrillators are used to … .
a. looking for a new job on the Internet
a. modify motorbikes
b. reading an e-mail from his cousin
b. transport people
c. reading an article about motorcycle
medics c. treat heart attacks

7 Motorcycle medics … .
2 Which sentence is NOT true?
a. Motorcycle medics take care of injured a. can only give a little first aid
b. evaluate how bad people’s injuries are at an
people.
accident scene
b. Forty motorcycle medics work in Miami,
c. often take injured people to hospital
Florida.
c. Motorcycle medics have worked in Kuala
8 Motorcycle medics DON’T have to take a
Lumpur, Malaysia, for years.
….
3 Motorcycle medics are needed because a. medical training course
…. b. firefighting course
c. course on motorcycle safety
a. cities haven’t got enough ambulances
b. ambulances can’t always get through the
traffic
c. cities want to replace their ambulances
with motorcycle medics

4 São Paulo is mentioned because it … .

a. is a big city in Brazil
b. hasn’t got any ambulances
c. has got terrible traffic jams

5 Motorcycle medics respond quickly to

emergencies because they … .
a. are on duty at key points around the city
b. are fixed emergency units
c. are the first to receive emergency calls at
the hospital

5
 EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1

Motorcycle Medics
Rob: Hey, Andy. Do you want to play basketball with me?
Andy: No, not now, Rob. I’m busy.
Rob: What are you doing?
Andy: I’m reading a magazine article on the Internet. My cousin Mike sent me an e-mail about his new job yesterday.
He’s a motorcycle medic and I’m not sure exactly what that is, so I’m checking it out.
Rob: A motorcycle medic? I’ve never heard of that either. So, what does he do?
Andy: Well, it says here that motorcycle medics are professional paramedics on motorcycles. They answer
emergency calls and treat people who are injured in road accidents. They usually work with firefighter units.
London has been using them for years and now cities all over the world have got them: Birmingham’s got 7
motorcycle medics, Budapest’s got 10 and Miami, Florida has got 40! … Also, lots of other cities are thinking of
getting motorcycle medics, too – like Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Rob: OK, but why do cities want motorcycle medics? They’ve got ambulances, haven’t they?
Andy: Yeah … they have. But it says here that most cities have got terrible problems with traffic jams and when
there’s an accident, ambulances can’t push their way through to help the injured – especially during rush hour.
Take São Paulo, Brazil, for instance. They had more than 73,000 accidents last year and the traffic jams there
are so bad that they’re sometimes 160 kilometres long! Can you believe it?
Rob: A traffic jam a hundred and sixty kilometres long? That’s incredible!
Andy: It certainly is! But, luckily, São Paulo is one of the cities that’s got medics on motorcycles. When there’s an
accident, the medics can get to the injured by weaving their motorcycles around the cars and squeezing
through the tight spaces that ambulances can’t get into.
Rob: Right! I can see why cities want to use them instead of ambulances.
Andy: Actually Rob, they’re not used instead of ambulances. They work together with ambulances and other rescue
services. They’ve got specific responsibilities.
Rob: I see … and what exactly are their responsibilities?
Andy: Well, their most important responsibility is to act as first responders. That means they give first priority to the
most serious emergencies. You see, ambulances are fixed emergency units that wait at hospitals or fire
stations until they get a call. But motorcycle medics patrol the streets at key points around the city. So, when
there’s an emergency, they can usually get to the scene first and they can start treating people while the
ambulance is still on its way. Their average response time is about three minutes, compared to eight to ten
minutes for an ambulance.
Rob: Wow! That’s really fast! What a difference!
Andy: Yeah it is.
Rob: But … let’s face it, Andy, even though they’re fast, motorcycle medics can’t carry all the equipment that an
ambulance can.
Andy: Well, of course they can’t carry stretchers or transport people. But they do carry lots of important equipment. I
was reading about it just a minute ago … let me find it … erm … here it is! I’ll read it to you. (reads) “Motorcycle
medics work in teams of two on modified bikes that are built to carry all the important equipment – ECGs,
trauma equipment and lots more. Most importantly, they carry defibrillators that are used to give a heart an
electric shock after a heart attack. Because of their equipment and” listen to this Rob, “AND their quick
response time, there has been an increase in heart attack survival.”
Rob: Wow! So, it’s important to be … what did you call it?
Andy: First responders.
Rob: Yeah, that’s it. Hmm … Are there other things they’re responsible for?
Andy: Well, yeah. It’s also their job to evaluate emergency situations and coordinate with the other rescue services.
Not every call is a serious emergency, and since the motorcycle medics are usually the first ones on the scene,
they have to decide whether the person only needs a little first aid on-the-spot, or if they need an ambulance.
Sometimes, in really bad situations, the medics call in air rescue helicopters to take the injured to hospital.
Rob: It sounds like an exciting job. I wonder what you have to do to become a motorcycle medic.
Andy: Let’s see. I think Mike wrote about that in his e-mail. Just a minute … Ah, here it is! Mike says that first he had
to take the same medical training course that firefighters and professional paramedics take. Then, he took a
training course on motorcycle riding – umm… the same course that police officers using motorcycles take. And
… let’s see … Afterwards, he took another course that’s especially for medics, which focuses on motorcycle
safety.
Rob: Wow! They really have to learn a lot! Well … are you finished on the Internet now?
Andy: Yep! All done.
Rob: Great! So, let’s go and play some basketball.

Answers: 1. c 2. c 3. b 4. c 5. a 6. c 7. b 8. b

6
 EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1

A School Run by Teenagers boarding school: internado

budget: presupuesto
You are going to listen to a conversation bully: intimidar, acosar
about leadership skills: aptitudes de liderazgo
a different type of school. Listen and demanding: agotador/a, absorbente
choose the correct answer. lecture: dar clases
1 Katie is tired because she … .
5 The school inspector was responsible for
a. has watched TV all night
….
b. has studied all night
a. checking the standard of the teenagers’
c. has spent three weeks at a summer
school work
b. giving the teenagers advice about teaching
2 The purpose of the experiment was to c. teaching the academic subjects to the
…. children
a. give children a special three-week
6 The teenagers were chosen for the
summer holiday
experiment because … .
b. give children a chance to learn something
a. their backgrounds were all the same
from teachers
c. see if teenagers could run a school better b. they had all had a hard time at school
c. they all had strong opinions about the school
than teachers
system
3 At the school, there were … .
7 Which of the following did Linda NOT say
a. 16 teenage teachers
about
b. 12 teenage teachers
the students?
c. 3 teenage teachers
a. The students argued about timetables.
4 During school assemblies, the students b. The students argued about discipline.
…. c. The students argued about smoking.
a. learnt to cook
8 The use of balloons in the English Civil
b. did yoga
War lesson is mentioned as an example
c. planned the curriculum
that … .
a. demonstrates students’ preference for
lectures rather than exams
b. shows how students taught creatively
c. emphasises that it was a lesson on a TV
programme

7
 EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1

A School Run by Teenagers

Linda: Hi, Katie. Gosh, you look tired.
Katie: I am tired! I spent all night preparing for my history exam. All I do is study, study, study. On Monday, I
had a biology exam and on Tuesday, I had a maths exam. I bet if the students were in charge of the
exam timetable, things would be organised much better.
Linda: I’m not so sure, Katie. I saw a TV show about a school that was run by children and ...
Katie: A school run by children? Are you serious?
Linda: Well, it was only for three weeks during the summer. It was a boarding school. It was actually an
experiment. The idea was to give children the chance to see if they could do a better job than
teachers at running a school. It was also done to see if there was anything that educators could learn
from teenagers.
Katie: Really? So, how many children were there at this school?
Linda: Let’s see. There was a group of 12 year olds who were the students, and there were 12 teenagers
aged 16 to 18 who were the teachers and they ran the school. They had to manage a budget, cook,
clean and organise a sports day, a disco and a camping trip. They also organised school assemblies
during which they taught the students yoga and tai chi, for example.
Katie: Fantastic! That sounds like just the school for me – all fun and no work.
Linda: No, Katie, there weren’t just social activities. The teenagers planned the curriculum as well, and they
taught all the academic subjects … and the students had to take final exams to see how much they’d
actually learnt.
Katie: OK, but it’s still a cool idea – children teaching children with no adults around telling them what to do!
Linda: Well, it’s true that there weren’t any adults managing the school, but the teenagers weren’t totally
alone. There was a professional head teacher who gave them advice, and a real school inspector
who checked if their work was up to standard – you know, if the level of the teaching was good
enough … oh yes – and a chef who didn’t cook. He was there to oversee the kitchen for health and
safety reasons. You know, Katie – you can’t expect parents to send their children off to a school that
hasn’t got any adult supervision.
Katie: Yeah, I guess you’re right … Hmm. I wonder how they chose the teenage teachers.
Linda: Well, huge advertisements were put up in lots of schools. Over a thousand children applied for the
programme, but the final twelve were chosen because they had strong feelings about the education
system and they came from very different backgrounds.
Katie: What do you mean by different backgrounds?
Linda: Well, there was one girl with dyslexia who left school at 16 because she felt her teachers didn’t
support her. And there was another girl who was home-schooled. She left school after she’d been
bullied there.
Katie: Oh!
Linda: Yeah, but there were others who had better school experiences – like one boy who studies theatre
and a girl who loves maths. But, although their backgrounds weren’t the same, all these teenagers
volunteered for the experiment because they wanted to create a school where learning would be
more rewarding and useful than in conventional schools.
Katie: So, was it hard for everyone to get along together?
Linda: At first, yes, because they didn’t always agree on how a school should be run. Some of them didn’t
want timetables. Some didn’t want any homework and others thought there should be strict
discipline. Sometimes there were strong disagreements. In fact, one of the teenagers left the school
after a few days because his leadership skills were criticised.
Katie: You know, this experiment sounds like great TV entertainment, but do you think anything came out of
it?
Linda: Um … well, most of the teenagers felt that they’d learnt a lot about themselves and about their
potential to influence people. They also discovered that running a school is very demanding and
takes a lot of energy and teamwork.
Katie: And what about the professional educators? Did they learn anything from the teenagers?
Linda: I think so. One teacher said the teenagers had shown that children want to take more responsibility
for their learning rather than being lectured at. Also, teachers saw that the children enjoyed lessons
more if they were taught in a creative way. The teenagers, for example, taught the English Civil War
in a very creative way – by acting it out with coloured balloons!
Katie: Pretty cool! Do you know when the show is on again? I’d like to see it.
Linda: It’s on tonight. Come over and let’s watch it together.
Katie: That’d be great! There’s the bell. Gotta go. See ya’ tonight.

Answers: 1. b 2. c 3. b 4. b 5. a 6. c 7. c 8. b

8
 EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1

Facebook tie: vincular

You are going to listen to a radio
programme about
a website. Listen and choose the correct
answer.
1 Among young university students, the
facebook site is … .
a. more popular than the iPod
b. less popular than the iPod
c. as popular as the iPod
2 In the beginning, use of the original
facebook site, thefacebook, was limited
to … .
a. psychology students at Harvard University
b. all students at Harvard University
c. any American university student
3 The new facebook site has got … .
a. 2 million new users every day
b. 2 million new users every week
c. 50 million active users worldwide
4 A type of facebook network that Phil
does NOT mention is … .
a. a primary school network
b. a secondary school network
c. a place of employment network
profile: perfil
staff: personal
purchase: adquirir, comprar
feature: elemento, opción
share: compartir
6 The Events feature is used … .
a. to organise social get-togethers
b. for creating a photo album of social events
c. for creating a personal calendar with
important dates
7 A novelty icon is … .
a. a place for posting messages on the Wall
b. a feature for uploading photos from a
mobile phone
c. a gift you can send using the Gift Shop
feature
8 The central purpose of facebook is to …
.
a. give users a place to show off their talents
b. enable users to keep in touch with people
they know in real life
c. give users a place to meet interesting
people

5 The original facebook site was different

from the new site because users could
NOT … .
a. create personal files
b. post photos
c. comment on what other users had written

9
 EXTRA-LISTENING_BRIDGES1

Facebook
Sharon: Hello, and welcome to our show The Web where we give you the latest news on great places to check out on
the Internet. Our first guest is Phil Brown. Phil, what have you got for us today?
Phil: Hello, Sharon. Today, I’d like to tell you about a great site that is considered the second most “in” thing – you
know, the most popular and fashionable thing – among young university students. It comes in second place
after the iPod and it actually ties with beer and sex! It’s simply a social network on the Web, where people can
interact with their friends and other Internet users. The name of the site is facebook.
Sharon: facebook? But that’s been around for a while? I’ve heard a lot about it.
Phil: Yes, it has been around for a while. It’s not a new site, but it’s gone through a lot of changes over the years.
The site was originally called thefacebook and was set up in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, a psychology student
at Harvard University. At that time, there were three things users could do on the site: create a profile with
personal information and a picture, view other people’s profiles and create lists of their friends who were also
thefacebook members.
Sharon: Could anyone use the site?
Phil: Well, in the beginning, the site was limited to Harvard students who used it to find information about other
students and staff members at the university. But, by the end of 2004, the site had become so popular that
almost every university in the United States had joined thefacebook network.
Sharon. So how did it open up to everyone?
Phil: Well, early in 2006, Mark Zuckerberg purchased a new Internet site and changed the name from thefacebook
to simply facebook. Several months later, the site was opened to anyone over the age of 13 who had a valid e-
mail address, and today, people of all ages can join facebook. In fact, there are more than 58 million active
users worldwide and every week, 2 million new users register! It’s quite amazing. Most users spend an
average of 20 minutes a day visiting the site – that’s about … umm… 3 hours a month.
Sharon: That’s very impressive! Can you explain to our listeners how facebook works.
Phil: Sure. First, new users need to register as a member on the facebook site. Afterwards, they can join one or
more networks, such as secondary schools, places of employment, or geographic regions, for example. Then,
they can create a personal profile, you know – a page with information about themselves, a photo of
themselves or their family and a list of their personal interests. Next, members can exchange messages with
other users and join groups of friends if they like.
Sharon: Hmm. You know, Phil, the new facebook sounds a lot like the original site. People could create profiles with
their photo and a list of friends on the old site, too.
Phil: That’s true. But there are some important differences, and these new features are popular. First of all,
facebook users can comment on other users’ entries, which they couldn’t do on the old site. And they can
create blogs – personal web pages – and also add video clips if they want.
Sharon: That’s interesting. What else is different on the new site?
Phil: Well, there’s a Photo feature where users can create photo albums and upload photos – even from their mobile
phones. Facebook users really like this feature and upload about 1.5 million photos a day!
Sharon: And what other features are there?
Phil: There’s the Events feature and the Wall feature. The Events feature enables users to organise and join events.
Members can use this feature to invite guests to parties and reunions and it’s been very successful.
Sharon: OK … I understand the Events feature – it sounds very useful. But what’s the Wall?
Phil: The Wall is a place on each user’s profile page that allows friends to post messages for the user to see. Let’s
say, that you’ve got a new boyfriend. You could post him a note letting him know that you were thinking of him
… or … you could use facebook’s new Gift Shop feature to buy him a small novelty icon, add a short message
and post that on his Wall. Your gift can show your name or be marked private so that your name and message
can’t be read by anyone other than your boyfriend.
Sharon: The gift feature certainly sounds like fun. You know, Phil, there are lots of other social networks on the Web.
What makes facebook unique?
Phil: Well, most networks are for meeting new people who share the same interests, or they provide a way for
people to show off their talents - in music or film, for example. But facebook is different. Its goal is to allow
users to communicate with people that they’re already connected to – friends from school or work, family
members, long-lost friends … , the list is endless … .
Sharon: I see … So, tell me Phil, do you know if facebook has got any special plans for the future?
Phil: Yes, they have – to continue building one of the world’s most successful social networks.
Sharon: Well, I’m definitely going to check facebook out. Thanks for joining us today, Phil. And now, our next guest is
Mr Thomas Anderson who is going to …

Answers: 1. b 2. b 3. b 4. a 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. b

10