Exercise 1

A. Listen. Circle the correct answers.

1   What do Su-min and Liz usually talk about?

      a   the marathon

      b   work

      c   charities

2   Why is Liz moving to New York?

      a   She got a promotion.

      b   She wants to live on her own.

      c   She wants to leave Lima.

3   What does Liz say about Mehmet?

      a   He wants to open a restaurant.

      b   He’s taking cooking classes.

      c   He wants to join his family business.

4   What does Su-min say about Diana?

      a   Diana wants to become an artist.

      b   Diana owns an art gallery.

      c   Diana wants to start her own business.

B. Listen. Complete the conversation.

Liz:   It’s awesome _________ a marathon! So why are you doing it?

Su-min:   I like to challenge myself. Also, I’m raising money for charity.

Liz:   Wow. Good for you! How’s the training going?

Su-min:   It’s going well! I found some trainers to work with at the gym here. They’re very helpful.

Liz:   _________ you’ll do great!

Su-min:   What about you? What’s going on in your life?

Answers & Audioscripts

1 b   2 a   3 a   4 c

A

Liz:   Being stuck in an elevator is not my idea of a good time. But I’m glad that I’m not alone.

Su-min:   Yeah. Me, too. When did they say that someone will be here?

Liz:   In about 15 to 20 minutes.

Su-min:   That’s not too bad. I think that this is the first time we’ve talked about something that’s not about work.

Liz:   I know. It’s awesome that you’re running a marathon! Why are you doing it?

Su-min:   I like to challenge myself. Also, I’m raising money for charity.

Liz:   Wow. Good for you! So, how’s the training going?

Su-min:   It’s going well! I found some trainers to work with at the gym here. They’re very helpful.

Liz:   I’m sure you’ll do great. Did I tell you that I’m moving to New York?

Su-min:   No, you didn’t. That’s exciting! So you’ll be working in this office?

Liz:   Yeah… I actually got a promotion last week, and one of my responsibilities is to lead the team here.

Su-min:   Congratulations! So, when’s the move?

Liz:   Next month. I can’t believe I’m leaving Lima and moving to New York and I’ll be living on my own for the first time. It’s a big change.

Su-min:   Wow. That is a big change. But I know that they’re lucky to have you here.

Liz:   Thanks. And I’m sure going to miss my mom’s cooking!

Su-min:   Speaking of food! Did you taste the soup that Mehmet brought in yesterday?

Liz:   Yum, it was so good. Did you know he wants to open a Turkish restaurant some day?

Su-min:   Wait—he made that soup?

Liz:   Yup. He’s an amazing cook.

Su-min:   I had no idea.

Liz:   Can we please talk about something besides food?

Su-min:   OK, OK, sorry. Did you know that Diana wants to start her own business?

Liz:   Really? What kind of business?

Su-min:   An art gallery. Not right away. She says she enjoys her job now, but she really loves finding new artists and supporting them.

Liz:   I can see that. She’s so artistic. Has it been 20 minutes yet? I can’t believe I left my phone on my desk!

Su-min:   Me, too! I was just going downstairs to grab a coffee. They’ll be here soon.

B

Liz:   It’s awesome that you’re running a marathon! So why are you doing it?

Su-min:   I like to challenge myself. Also, I’m raising money for charity.

Liz:   Wow. Good for you! How’s the training going?

Su-min:   It’s going well! I found some trainers to work with at the gym here. They’re very helpful.

Liz:   I’m sure you’ll do great!

Su-min:   What about you? What’s going on in your life?

Exercise 2

A. Listen. Circle the correct answers.

1   Where does Su-min volunteer?

      a   at a hospital

      b   at a school

      c   at a children’s center

2   What happens at the end of the scene?

      a   Liz and Su-min decide to volunteer together.

      b   Liz and Su-min continue talking about what-if situations.

      c   They receive a message that the elevator will be moving soon.

B. Listen. Complete the conversation.

Su-min:   __________ you didn’t have to work, what __________ you do?

Liz:   That’s a good question. I’d like to help children get a better education.

Su-min:   How would you do that?

Liz:   __________ with local schools to start reading programs. What about you? What __________?

Answers & Audioscripts

1 a   2 c

A

Su-min:   Liz, if you didn’t have to work, what would you do?

Liz:   Hmm. That’s a good question. I’d help students get a better education.

Su-min:   How would you do that?

Liz:   I would work with local schools to start reading programs.

Su-min:   That’s a great idea. Why reading programs?

Liz:   Reading is probably the most important skill for young students. The office in Lima has a reading program with some local schools. We connect with students on video calls, and we read with them for 30 minutes a day. You can do this during the work day. The students love it, and I get to see them improve from one month to the next.

Su-min:   That sounds great! I’d love to volunteer for a program like that.

Liz:   What about you? What would you do, if you didn’t have to work?

Su-min:   I would also work with children, but children in hospitals. Right now, I spend one afternoon a week at the Lenox Hospital around the corner from the office here. The children and I spend time reading together and telling stories. Honestly, if I had more time, I would do it every day.

Liz:   I would, too.

Su-min:   Hey, when you move here, maybe we can volunteer together at a…

Intercom:   Hey, there. We’ll have the elevator moving again in a few minutes. Is everyone OK?

Liz:   Finally! Yes, we’re fine. Thank you!

Su-min:   Thank goodness! I was really beginning to think that we’d be stuck in here all day!

Liz:   Me, too!

Su-min:   Hey, it was really good talking to you.

Liz:   Same here! Want to go get something to eat?

Su-min:   Yeah. Great idea!

B

Su-min:   If you didn’t have to work, what would you do?

Liz:   That’s a good question. I’d like to help children get a better education.

Su-min:   How would you do that?

Liz:   I’d work with local schools to start reading programs. What about you? What would you do?

Exercise 3

A. Listen to the podcast. Check (✓) the true statements about Janine’s story.

 Janine found out she had brothers and sisters when she was 16.

 She started a charity to help homeless families.

 She never found her mother again.

 Her sister donates money to the charity.

B. Put the important events from Janine’s life in order.

Her father died before she was born.   ___

Her mother gave the children up for adoption.   ___

Her mother moved into one of her homes.   ___

She started a charity for homeless families.   ___

She was adopted.   ___

Answers & Audioscripts

A

1 2

B

1

2

5

4

3

A:   Today we’re talking to Janine Herbert, who has an amazing story of suffering and hope.

B:   Thank you, Tom.

A:   So, Janine, tell us how you ended up where you are today.

B:   Well, the story starts 30 years ago, when my Dad died—two months before I was born. After he died, my mom just couldn’t keep up with the house payments. She tried to get a job, but she didn’t have much education, and no one would give her a chance. After six months living at homeless shelters, she made a choice that no mother should ever have to make. She agreed to put us up for adoption. She thought that would give us a chance at a better life, with a new family.

A:   That’s very sad.

B:   Yes, but I was lucky, and was adopted by a wonderful family.

A:   When did you learn about your family history?

B:   I’d always known that I was adopted, but when I was 16, I found out that I had brothers and sisters. My two brothers were homeless at the time…no one had ever adopted them. They moved from family to family, and ended up back on the street. My sister Laura was adopted when she was ten, but only after she had spent five years in several different homes.

A:   How terrible!

B:   Yes…and no, because we got a second chance as a family—and I realized my life’s purpose.

A:   Your life’s purpose?

B:   Yes—making sure that no mother ever has to make the choice that my mother made. With my adoptive parents’ help, I raised money to start a charity to build houses for homeless families. So far, we’ve built 50 houses in five states. And we have plans to build another 100 in the next five years.

A:   And your mother?

B:   I found her five years ago. She was the first person to move into one of the homes. And my brothers now work with me.

A:   What about your sister?

B:   She’s a doctor—she works at a clinic for the homeless.

A:   What an amazing story! Thank you so much for sharing it. Listeners, if you’d like to donate…

Exercise 4

A. Listen to the article. What does McQuillan want readers to understand? Circle the correct answer.

 Peeling fruit and vegetables creates a lot of waste.

 It’s sometimes hard to change your perspective.

 All food should be treated as food, not waste.

B. Listen again. What are Baldor’s strategies for turning food waste into profit? Check (✓) all the correct answers.

 Use food scraps to feed hungry people.

 Send food scraps to landflls.

 Use food scraps as compost.

 Package food scraps with a new name to be used as food.

 Make a healthy powder from food scraps.

 Use scraps to feed animals.

Answers & Audioscripts

A

c

B

1   4   5   6

Do you peel potatoes, carrots, and peaches before you eat them? A lot of people do. But those scraps are food—food that goes to waste. A third of food produced for human use is wasted every year. The United Nations says if we could reduce waste by just 25 percent, world hunger would disappear. The biggest losses are in fresh food, especially fruits and vegetables. One company in New York wants to change this.

Thomas McQuillan is a director at Baldor Foods, a company that cuts up and packages fruits and vegetables to sell to stores and restaurants. One of his responsibilities is sustainability. He saw lots of food scraps going into landfills, and he decided the company needed to reduce waste. His first idea was to take the scraps to farms, to be used as compost. But transporting the scraps was expensive. One day, an obvious idea came to him: All these scraps were not waste; they were food. Maybe there was a way to recycle them as food. And that’s when Baldor’s journey to a zero-waste company began.

First, McQuillan decided to give the scraps a creative name and sell them as food. He named it SparCs. That’s “scraps” spelled backwards, with a capital C. Restaurants and juice companies buy SparCs to make soups, sauces, and fresh juices. Today, Baldor sells about 30,000 pounds or 13,600 kg of SparCs every week. The company also sells healthy powders they make with dried scraps. The powder can be added to soups, drinks, and other foods. Finally, scraps that can’t be turned into human food are sold as food for farm animals. Nothing is wasted; no food goes to landfills. It’s good for the planet, but it’s good for the company, too. Instead of throwing food scraps away, the company is selling them at a profit.

McQuillan says it’s all about changing your perspective. In his case, he stopped seeing scraps as waste and started seeing them as food. He hopes that other businesses involved in food service, such as hotels and restaurants, will start paying more attention to the food they waste. Think about this: Not too long ago, most restaurants threw away their potato skins. Today, baked potato skins filled with cheese are a popular appetizer. Who knows what tasty scrap might be next on the menu?

Exercise 5

A. Listen. What is Daniela’s future dream?

B. Listen again. Answer the questions.

 Why did Daniela become interested in Bali?

 What types of art do people in Bali do?

 What would she study if she could go Bali?

Answers & Audioscripts

A

Answers will vary. Possible answer: She wants to visit Bali.

B

Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1   She had seen a video about Balinese art. She wants to study art in Bali.

2   They make cloth, paint, make wooden figures and decorations, play music, and dance.

3   She would study woodcarving. / She would study art.

Hello! It’s Daniela. Is there something that you really want to do? Well, if I had the time and money, I would go to the island of Bali, Indonesia. Did you know that the people there are famous for their art? When I was in high school I got interested in Bali because I had seen a video about Balinese art.

I learned that almost everyone did some kind of art: making cloth, painting, making wooden figures and decorations, playing music, dancing, and more. I thought that was awesome.

So, if I could, I would go to Bali and study art. If I had to choose one type of art, it would be woodcarving. In my free time, I could also teach Balinese children.

And after my studies, I would come home and volunteer at a school to help kids learn about other countries and their art.

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