(Text 1)

W: Why did it take so much time for you to come here? We are almost late for the film.

M: My car broke down and there is no bus stop near my house, so I walked here.

(Text 2)

M: Did you and Jack really meet at exactly five minutes to eight in front of the theatre?

W: No, to be exact, we got there two minutes earlier.

(Text 3)

M: Mary, Paul has sent us an e-mail.

W: Really? When will he be back for holiday?

M: He hasn’t mentioned it yet, but he says he will have finished all the tests by next weekend. Right now, he is getting ready for them.

(Text 4)

M: What time is our appointment with Mr. Clark on Wednesday?

W: He has changed our appointment to Thursday.

M: Could you call him back and ask if we could change it to Friday? I have a meeting with some other customers on Thursday. 

(Text 5)

W: I heard that you’re going to take a trip to Paris?

M: No. Actually, I’m going back to Sydney tomorrow.

W: Are you returning home? Why not stay in London for a few more days?

M: Because my holidays will be over soon.

(Text 6)

W: Come on! It’s not the end of the world! If you try your best to review for the exam, you will surely pass it.

M: Oh, sure, it’s easy for to say that. My grades in History are already pretty bad, and if I fail that exam tomorrow, I’m probably going to fail the whole class. And we only have one day to review for the exam.

W: But it’s the same for everyone else! Nobody’s going to do well in the exam.

(Text 7)

M: Amanda, I got the present for Mum’s birthday. But are you sure she’s going to like it? A guide to Italy? 

W: But it’s a guide to the cooking in different parts of the country. You know how Mum likes to experiment with cooking, and she’s been getting really interested in Italian dishes.

M: Yes, she can read about it and then try out the dishes on us.

W: That’s right! There’s also a menu section at the back of it. She’ll love it.

(Text 8)

W: Hello, Mr. Smith! You are going home today, aren’t you?

M: Yes, isn’t that wonderful?

W: It certainly is. Now I’ll give you some instructions when you’re at home. It is very important that you should avoid lifting any heavy objects. Don’t do any heavy exercise, although light exercise is good.

M: Should I stay in bed much?

W: No, you should be up and walk around as much as possible. But, if you get tired or if you feel sick, make sure to take a rest.

M: What should I do if I get really sick all of a sudden or if something strange happens?

W: During the daytime you can all me at my office. At night, you can all the emergency room.

(Text 9)

W: So what about a notebook computer? Have you thought about getting one instead of the desktop computer?

M: I’m not sure.

W: Well…you’ll be able to carry it around and you can take it into our college with you. You needn’t use the desktop computers at college then.

M: Maybe, but I’ll probably need to buy a printer as well to have at home. Anyway, I don’t really think I need a notebook computer. I work in my room most of the time, and I don’t want to take one into college since computers are provided there.

W: Well, what about the desktop computer we saw in the window in the last shop? Shall we go back there? It was OK and it wasn’t too expensive. There was software in it as well, so you won’t have to pay anything extra.

M: Good idea. That’s what I was looking for. Software is more expensive to buy separately. Let’s go there now.

W: What about ringing your parents first?

M: There’s no need to do that. They’ve already given me the money to pay for it.

(Text 10) gaokao.xuecan.net

Last night I went to see Bennie, the musical which has just opened in the Albert Theatre in London. There is of course already both a book and a film called Bennie, about a child who becomes a famous singer. I enjoyed the book so I was excited when I heard about the film. I was disappointed, however, when I finally saw it because unfortunately they managed to make all the amusing parts of the book seem serious. It was also long and slow. I came to the musical without much hope but it was more entertaining than the film. They’ve had to change parts of the story but I really thought it was as good as the book. Apart from the actor whose voice wasn’t as strong as the others, I thought the acting was good. Although the theatre wasn’t very large, the music was perfect. Most of the parts in musicals I’ve seen recently have been for young actors. However, in Bennie, I was surprised 1/3 of the people on stage were at least 40 years old or over and some of them were very well known. This was a great advantage to the production. I noticed that quite a few people didn’t buy the ticket. They thought it was too expensive. But I think it was worth the money. It’s really a great musical to enjoy.