Tag: collins

Categories
Speaking

Communication

CD1 Track 30

My mother tongue is Hungarian. It is spoken in Hungary and it is a minority language in the surrounding countries, especially Romania. It is not part of the same language family as European languages like English, French, German or Russian. It is a Uralic language, distantly related to Finnish and Estonian. Because Hungarian is not a widely spoken language, if you want to get on, you have to speak a foreign language. Unsurprisingly, the most popular second language among Hungarians is English, the global language. Like most of my friends, I am multilingual- as well as Hungarian, I am fluent in English and German. I can also get by in Italian and I did an evening course in Spanish a few years back, but I’m a bit rusty now. I seem to pick up languages quite easily, helped, I’m sure, by the fact that language teaching in Hungary is so good – it has to be, given that no-one speaks our language but us!

Continue reading “Communication”
Categories
Vocabulary

8 – Getting involved

CD1 Track 09

Reader: The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five-pound note…

Presenter: Now I wonder, Minister, whether you’d like to say something about the government’s proposals for banking reform.

Minister: Yes, thank-you. As I think we all recognize, the need for change in the banking sector is long overdue.

Commentator: Michalski plays it into the penalty area … to Dembinski. Dembinski out to Bajor…. Bajor beats one man, crosses the ball into the centre …

Continue reading “8 – Getting involved”
Categories
Speaking

3 – Studies & work

CD1 Track 15

My name’s Mubarak and I’m from the United Arab Emirates. My favourite subject at school was Maths. I really loved it, I think primarily because I liked being able to use logic to work out answers, rather than having to speculate and theorise, as you often do in arts subjects.

I went on to study for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, both in Mechanical Engineering at Leeds University in England. I chose that subject because, although I was more keen on Maths, engineering
is more practical. My decision to study in Britain was motivated by the high prestige of British qualifications back in my home country. The tuition fees are very high for foreign students but my family paid them for me.

Continue reading “3 – Studies & work”
Categories
Vocabulary

5 – GADGETS

CD1 Track 06

The pinhole camera is a very simple device. It consists of a cylinder with a radius of approximately 4 cm and a height of 12 cm. There is a small hole 1 mm in diameter positioned halfway up the wall of the cylinder. A sheet of photographic paper 18 cm in width curves round the inside of the cylinder leaving a gap of about 1 cm just behind the pinhole. The camera is very simple to use, but it takes a long time to produce a picture. If you fix the camera outside and expose it to the light, after a few minutes, you will find that an image has appeared on the photographic paper.

Continue reading “5 – GADGETS”
Categories
Speaking

1- People & Relationships

CD1 Track 01

The person I’m closest to in my family is definitely my mum, Kate. We ‘ve always got on and we hardly ever fall out. I know that’s unusual! She’s really outgoing and sociable – she’s always going out with friends and colleagues. Everyone thinks she’s good fun. I look up to her because she’s so hardworking she never sits still and she works long hours. She can be a bit impatient, though – she gets annoyed when her colleagues aren ‘t as efficient as her. I take after her in that – I’m impatient, too. And she’s over-sensitive, often getting offended for seemingly no reason.

Continue reading “1- People & Relationships”
Categories
Vocabulary

1- People and relationships

CD1 Track 01

I’ve learned a lot from so many people, but I suppose the person that stands out is my colleague Lin. When I started working at the firm, my employer didn’t give me a lot of formal training so I had to learn on the job. I was given the desk next to Lin and she explained everything to me. She was incredibly efficient. She knew the job so well, and she made it look so easy.

Continue reading “1- People and relationships”