C2 Proficiency Workbook Audioscripts

1 THIS IS US P: Perhaps you’re right.

Listening Part 1 Multiple choice H: I am right – I’m always right.
W = Woman H = Helena P = Pablo M = Man Extract 3
Extract 1 You hear part of a radio news report.
You hear a talk by a toy designer. M: A woman has been found guilty of fraud after faking
multiple identities.
W: 
As a little girl, I loved playing with dolls. I had quite
a collection with at least twenty versions of one Cynthia Braithwaite was arrested last year while
particular doll: blonde, brunette, redhead; wearing working as a hospital surgeon. She is believed to have
swimwear, a party gown or roller skates. And yet, faked her credentials and may not even have attended
despite their apparent diversity, not one resembled medical college. Despite her lack of training, she is
me in the slightest. They all had pearly white skin, reported to have carried out numerous operations on
ridiculously long legs and pencil-thin waists. Not one unwitting patients.
had dark skin, nor were there any in trousers, let alone Hospital administrators were blithely unaware of the
business suits or lab coats. As for non-standard body discrepancy until a fellow surgeon became suspicious
shapes, like the ones I saw in my own neighbourhood, of inconsistencies in her use of medical terminology.
forget it. Upon re-examination, the glowing references on her
Now, maybe I should have felt bitter at being excluded CV as well as her medical school certificates were
so blatantly. But like so many other girls who don’t found to be forgeries.
conform to the stereotype, I simply accepted it as It is unclear whether any patients suffered adverse
the way the world worked. From a very early age, I’d effects after being operated on by Ms. Braithwaite,
internalised the attitude that some identities are more but the fact that she remained undetected for twelve
worthy than others. But as I’ve matured, I’ve come months suggests she did a reasonably good job.
to appreciate that if we don’t stand up for who we Had she been fired on the spot, as per hospital
are, no one else will. So while it’s certainly a relief to procedures, Ms Braithwaite would inevitably have
see today’s dolls reflecting a much broader variety of vanished without a trace, only to reappear under a
female identities, including those living with disabilities, new identity in a new location months later, which
we’re still a long way from true representativeness. appears to have been her modus operandi throughout
Extract 2 her career. However, the severity of her deception
You hear a conversation between two friends. and the risk to human life led to the police being
called in instead. Based on evidence found in her flat,
H: Hey, well done on your big promotion, Pablo.
detectives were subsequently able to piece together
P: Thanks, but I can’t make head nor tail of why they her movements over the last decade, and the shocking
picked me. I certainly don’t feel like a manager – more scale of her history of deceit emerged.
like a kid inexplicably finding himself crashing around
in a world of adults.
H: Oh, come off it. No way would you have been 2 WANDERLUST
promoted if you weren’t up to the job. Listening Part 2 Sentence completion
P: Yeah yeah. I reckon it’s just that my incompetence Hi and welcome to today’s travel podcast, about one of
has somehow slipped under everyone’s radar … so the strangest new trends: sleep tourism. Of course, the
far. And when I get found out, it’s going to be utterly fundamental purpose of a hotel is as a place to sleep, yet
cringeworthy. most hotel facilities encourage us to do anything but that,
H: Sounds like imposter syndrome if you ask me. from late-night eateries to dawn-till-dusk entertainment.
P: You’ve lost me, Helena. What’s that? It’s not uncommon to return from a holiday even more
exhausted than before. So the idea of sleep tourism is that
H: It’s a common psychological condition where people
hotels prioritise a decent night’s sleep above all else,
feel like they’re a fraud. You’d be amazed how many
with innovative techniques to help you to nod off quickly
people experience it. Even powerful politicians and
and snooze soundly till morning.
CEOs who seem super confident and professional.
Sleep is also making quite a comeback these days, with
P: Yeah, but in my case, it’s genuine.
a much wider realisation that our physical and mental
H: The thing is, we’re all hopeless at objectively health is intimately connected with the quality of our
assessing our own abilities. Either we’re wildly sleep, after decades of being scorned by high-achievers
overconfident – I’m sure you can call to mind some as a needless luxury when they should be working or
examples of deluded individuals who are irrationally networking. In a nutshell, if you’re not getting enough
full of themselves – or else we’re overly prone to sleep, you’re making yourself ill. You might get away with
putting ourselves down. If you really want to know it for a while, but you’ll pay the price in the end. Not to put
how competent you are, ask your colleagues. too fine a point on it, the longer you sleep, the longer you’ll
live, all other things being equal.

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 C2 Proficiency Workbook Audioscripts
So how is a sleep-centred hotel different from a normal my disposable income was going on clothes, so when I
one? For a start, the rooms have high-tech soundproofing, came across this app that uses AI and machine learning to
to keep the noises from the street – and from the hotel’s suggest items of clothing for you to rent, it seemed ideal.
communal areas – out of your ears. That’ll be a welcome When I started using it, I used to spend ages selecting the
change for anyone who’s tried to kip in a regular hotel. items to borrow, but recently I’ve allowed the AI to make
We’re talking about soundproofed walls, top-notch all those decisions for me. It means I get a new package
double-glazing and solid, tight-sealing doors. of surprises in the post each week, which has really
The next issue is light: you don’t want to be kept awake by encouraged me to be far braver in my choices, without
flashing neon signs outside your window, or indeed to filling up my closet with unwanted clothes!
be awakened at the crack of dawn by glorious sunshine. Speaker 2:
So the rooms need heavy blackout curtains to cover the
 s a materials scientist, I’m fascinated by the range of
A
windows without even a crack of daylight peeping through.
materials that I can use to manufacture textiles. The
Of course, having sealed the room to keep out noise shoes I’m wearing now, for example, are made from,
and light, you’ve created a new problem: a lack of fresh would you believe, apples. Apparently, the producer uses
air. Most decent hotels already have air-conditioning the cellulose from apple peel and cores, waste products
systems, but they’re usually a poor substitute for the real in the food industry, to make a sturdy leather substitute
thing: too stuffy, too intense, too noisy. Sleep hotels will for shoes, suitcases and so on. A lot of people buy them
almost certainly have to overhaul theirs if they want their because they’re eco-friendly, plus, of course, they’re
customers to sleep like logs. cruelty-free, which is more than can be said for genuine
Next, of course, is the bed. I don’t know about you, but leather. But for me, it’s more about the quirkiness of having
I’ve had to put up with some dreadful hotel beds over the apple shoes! They’re not perfect, I might add, but since
years, even in supposedly luxurious hotels. That’s because I started wearing them I’ve been inspired to seek even
we all have different perspectives on the perfect mattress. better ways of using waste products in my own textiles.
Some prefer a soft one to sink into; others are most at Speaker 3:
home on something far more rigid. So, as I see it, those
 y main area of research is the impact of microplastics on
M
staying in sleep hotels ought to be given a choice of at
ocean ecosystems, causing untold damage to sea creatures
least three, tailored to their own preferences.
that consume them. So when I heard about an innovative
As for bedding, the possibilities are endless – and so filter that can be attached to washing machines, to catch
should be the range of choices. Do you prefer a light and microplastics from clothes before they enter the waste
fluffy duvet? Do you need to be constrained by a weighted water network, it made me realise I’d been using mine
blanket? And so on, and so on. Finally, the hotel must offer far too much. My filter wasn’t cheap, and I’m fully aware
a wide range of additional services to help its guests to that its impact is negligible – literally a drop in the ocean
drift off, from foot massages to herbal tea, and from whale compared to other sources of microplastics – but I had to
music to scented pillow mist. do my bit. The real breakthrough will come when washing
All these things can help, but they’re still no guarantee of machine manufacturers install such filters as standard, so
a good night’s rest. Indeed, if, in spite of all these sleep by supporting this nascent technology financially, hopefully
inducements you’re still unable to nod off, it could well be I can play my part in making that dream a reality.
a sign of an underlying medical condition, be it severe Speaker 4:
stress, insomnia, sleep apnoea or restless leg syndrome.
I became a vegan because I loathe the idea of harming
For this reason, it’s vital for sleep hotels to provide medical
animals and because of the impact of livestock agriculture
consultations beyond simply pampering their guests.
on our planet. So I’ve never been comfortable with
 he real benefit of sleep tourism might not be that you
T wearing leather shoes. Unfortunately, shoes made from
get a decent night’s sleep or two, but rather that you learn synthetic substitutes are far from perfect: my feet always
techniques that’ll help you sleep better on a permanent used to pay the price in terms of blisters, heat rashes and
basis. In other words, don’t dismiss sleep tourism as the agonising muscle ache. That’s why I’m so excited about
latest fad designed to extract as much cash as possible lab-grown leather, which self-assembles from collagen.
out of affluent tourists – although there’s certainly It’s basically identical to traditional leather, but without
some truth in that. Instead, think of it as a life-changing the need for an animal to die in the process. I forked out a
experience for those who are struggling with the fortune for the shoes I’m wearing now, but they’ve made a
nightmare of poor-quality sleep. massive difference to my poor feet! I hope they’ll serve me
for many more years.
Speaker 5:
3 AHEAD OF THE CURVE
I ’ve long been concerned by the sickening amount of
Listening Part 4 Multiple matching
waste in the fast-fashion industry, from textile production
Speaker 1: to the disposal of old clothes, many of which end up
 hen it comes to fashion, I like to be a leader, not a
W in landfills. So nowadays, I buy only circular fashion,
follower, but I used to get frustrated at the amount of waste which means clothes that have been designed with
involved. It reached the point where a sizeable chunk of waste reduction in mind at every stage. Designers and

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manufacturers create products that are easy to sort, J:  Yeah, that makes sense. So you’d like to be more
disassemble and re-use to make new ones. Circular persuasive? Is that right?
fashion items have a special label attached, with a D:  Exactly.
QR code that enables them to be tracked efficiently
J: 
It sounds like you need to be able to get inside
throughout their lifecycle. This gives consumers like me
prospective clients’ heads, to understand what
the peace of mind that we’re playing our part in saving the
they really want, and to somehow manipulate their
planet and taking financial responsibility for our choices.
emotions so they buy from you, rather than your
competitors, perhaps by exploiting their deepest fears
and needs. Have I understood you correctly?
4 MEETING IN THE MIDDLE
D:  Absolutely. That’d be awesome. Can you recommend
Listening Part 3 Multiple choice
a course that’d help me with those things?
D = Duncan J = Joanna
J: 
Sure, I have just the course for you. It’s called
D: Excuse me, Joanna. Do you have a second? “Empathy in the workplace”.
J: Sure, Duncan. How can I help you? D:  But that’s … the same course as you offered me
D: Well, it’s just that I’ve been assigned to take some soft before. Have you just been manipulating me?
skills training, ‘Empathy in the Workplace’. J:  Possibly. A lot of people think empathy is all about
J:  Ah, yes, that’s right. That would have been at the being lovely and kind to people – and to a great
request of your line manager. It’s a really useful course extent it can be like that. But there’s also a dark side
– I’ve been on it myself and it’s had a huge impact on to empathy: you can use it to manipulate people.
me. Basically, you can split empathy into two elements:
D:  It may well have done, but I really don’t think it’s my cognitive empathy involves understanding others’
cup of tea. I mean, my job is all about hard-nosed emotions, while emotional empathy is all about sharing
negotiations, not touchy-feely stuff like empathy. I those emotions – trying to feel what the other person
don’t need to feel sorry for the people I’m up against – is feeling. Like when you see somebody whack their
quite the contrary, to be brutally frank. thumb with a hammer, and you literally feel their pain
for a moment.
J: Well, empathy isn’t about feeling sorry for people –
you seem to be confusing it with sympathy. Empathy D:  Ouch!
is simply about trying to understand how other people J: 
 Exactly. So it’s perfectly possible to have one without
feel, what motivates them, and so on. But beyond that, the other, which is where manipulation comes in.
it’s about an authentic desire to understand other If you take the time to find out exactly how they’re
people, at a deep level, and to care about their feelings. feeling and why, it’s much easier to persuade them
D:  Right. Well, in that case, it’s definitely not for me. I’m to do what you want them to. After all, you can’t lead
not into feelings and emotions at all. I mean, I can see them towards your preferred destination if you don’t
why it’d be useful in a job like yours, human resources, know where they’re starting from.
which is all about keeping everybody happy and all D:  Aha … yes, I see what you mean. Empathy for
that. manipulation. I like that.
J:  Well, to some extent, but it’s much more about J:  Well, just because it can be used to manipulate
defusing disagreements. When two people people, it doesn’t mean you should. If you’re too
experience the same situation and come to radically blatant about it, people will spot the manipulation
different conclusions about what has transpired, it’s sooner or later and feel cheated. I think it’s better to
useful to get inside their heads to work out why they treat it as persuasion: giving people what they really
are interpreting those events so differently. Often that need, so they come away feeling as if they’ve won
involves going back in time to understand the build- the negotiation. That way, they’re more likely to keep
up to the problematic situation, perhaps over several coming back for more.
months or years, which may have affected the way D:  Definitely. Great. So can you give me some examples
each party perceived it. Once you’ve done that, rather of techniques to develop empathy?
than allocating blame, it’s a matter of supporting the
J: 
 Well, I bet you can think of some for yourself. What do
parties in the resolution of their current dispute, even
you think?
if that means simply gritting their teeth and agreeing
to put it behind them, and above all the prevention of D: Er … ask open-ended questions and pay close
its recurrence. attention to their answers. I mean, really home in on
what the other person is saying. Allow them sufficient
D: 
Sounds lovely. But my business is cold, hard sales, not
time to gather their thoughts and then be patient while
conflict resolution.
they’re expressing those thoughts out loud. And, er
J:  OK, fair enough. So what sort of training would appeal … actually care about how they feel, rather than just
to you? feigning interest. Is that right?
D:  Sales techniques. Tricks for turning prospects into J: 
 Sounds like you’re a natural. You’re going to love the
paying customers who keep coming back for more. course.

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D:  I’m sure I will. I’m really looking forward to it. Thanks career plans in tatters, my parents were knocked for six –
so much for listening to me! and weren’t exactly supportive in my hour of need either.
J:  No problem at all. That’s my job. As for me, it dawned on me how much I’d been privately
dreading medical school and that for the first time in my
life, I was free to choose my own path. I still had no idea
5 NEWS TRAVELS FAST what to do instead of becoming a doctor, but I realised it
was a decision I’d have to take for myself.
Listening Part 4 Multiple matching
Speaker 5:
Speaker 1:
When a national newspaper announced it was looking
It’s embarrassing, but when my best friend told me she
for a young person for a three-month unpaid internship,
was getting engaged, I felt like I’d been hit by a ton of
I sent off my application immediately, never in a million
bricks. We’d been such good friends since childhood, and
years believing I stood the faintest chance, and waited
I didn’t want anything to spoil that amazing relationship.
nervously to hear back. Eventually, I got the news I’d
I feel really guilty about it now, but although I smiled
been dreaming of – I’d been accepted! It was only later
through gritted teeth, I left my friend in no doubt she’d let
that I started thinking through the downsides of working
me down. To my shame, I kept that up for a few weeks until
for free, which would have meant asking my parents to
I realised how much my friend and I needed each other,
support me financially - something I was reluctant to do.
and that it was my own behaviour that was tearing us
After a great deal of soul-searching, I turned down the
apart. So I made a concerted effort, day in, day out, to be
offer. It was one of the hardest choices of my life, but the
happy for my friend, and it seems to have paid off. We’re
right one – I realise now the value of weighing things up
still just as close as before, maybe even closer after my
properly. Shortly afterwards, I landed a well-paid job with a
decision to put my friendship before my ego.
rival paper, so it worked out perfectly in the end.
Speaker 2:
The most disgraceful news I’ve ever received was when I
was told I was being made redundant via SMS after being a 6 HIGHS AND LOWS
loyal employee for so many years. A few days later, I received Listening Part 1 Multiple choice
a phone call to explain it had all been an administrative
L = Lewis K = Karen W = Woman H = HR manager
error, and I wasn’t being fired after all. But what should have
J = Javier
come as a relief served instead as a wake-up call that my
employers could be so callous and incompetent. That’s Extract One
when I knew it was finally time to go it alone, an idea I’d been You hear a conversation between two friends.
toying with for years. Since then, I’ve been my own boss, L: How was your first day at the office, Karen?
which is a far healthier way of organising my life. Looking
K:  A bit of a nightmare, to be frank. When I arrived,
back, it’s infuriating that they treated me that badly, but at the
nobody was even expecting me. I showed the
time it was as if it was happening to someone else.
receptionist the message from the boss, instructing
Speaker 3: me to come in today, but he claimed not to have been
My dream to become a vet dates back to my pre-teens. informed about it. Apparently, the boss was away and
You see, I’d been pestering my parents for years to get seems to have overlooked to mention my recruitment
me a puppy, and it had become something of a battle of to anyone else.
wills. When they finally relented, you might expect me to L:  That’s so rude!
have felt overjoyed at the news. But I’d never believed my
K: I suppose she might simply have too much on her
­self-centred wish would come true. When it did, to my
plate. You can’t really blame her.
shame, I felt a sense of dread: would I really have to take
it for long walks twice a day, all by myself, as I’d promised L:  Yeah, yeah. Nobody’s too busy for common courtesy!
repeatedly? Eventually, I got over my qualms, fulfilled What happened next?
my obligations and discovered the satisfaction of taking K: The production manager got me inputting data into a
responsibility for other living creatures that depend on you computer system, but I kept making mistakes.
entirely, which seems to have been what set me on the L: I’m not surprised! Didn’t you ask for help?
path I ended up on. As for those long walks, my parents
K:  Sure! But whenever I asked a question, the manager
often joined me, so they were nothing like as lonely as
rolled his eyes as if I was a waste of space. I guess it
I’d imagined.
was the last thing the poor guy needed – a clueless
Speaker 4: rookie to train up unexpectedly.
Throughout my childhood, my parents had pushed me L: 
I know how he feels, but that’s hardly your fault. I’m
towards a career in medicine, just like my self-satisfied sure you’ll be an invaluable team member once you’ve
so-called genius older sister. Whenever asked about my learnt the ropes.
plans, I’d mindlessly repeat the mantra about becoming
K: 
Well, I’m not going back. If they want good people to
a doctor, without questioning what I really wanted. But
work there, they’d better make them feel a bit more
when my school-leaving exam results arrived, leaving my
welcome!

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Extract Two A:  Really weird, Marta! I bluffed my way through most of
You hear part of a lecture about hyperinflation. the questions, but there was one that totally stumped
me: ‘How many tennis balls would fit into this room?’
W: I n a nutshell, hyperinflation is when price rises
spiral out of control. Most economists classify it as a M: 
Sounds like a BOTEC question to me – a back-of-the-
monthly rate of 50% or more, which doesn’t sound so envelope calculation. They’re becoming increasingly
terrible, but it’s equivalent to almost 13,000% in a year. common during job interviews.
The most extreme example was Hungary in 1946, A:  I don’t get it. Why on earth would anyone want to fill
when prices more than tripled every day. Imagine the interview room with tennis balls?
working all month, but by the time you received your M: 
That’s not what they were trying to get at. It’s all about
wages, they’d be barely enough to buy a loaf of bread. seeing how different interviewees handle seemingly
Under such conditions, workers tend to demand unanswerable questions. Do they simply throw in
payment on a daily basis and in non-monetary form, or the towel? Or do they make a go of it? If so, what
in more stable currencies. techniques do they use to arrive at their answer?
 In most cases, hyperinflation stems from governments A:  That doesn’t bode well for me, then. I just shrugged
creating money without backing it up with tangible my shoulders and claimed ignorance. When they
assets like gold deposits. This is always tempting for pushed me to hazard a guess, I blurted out the first
the powers that be. After all, who wouldn’t love to be number that popped into my head, a quarter of a
able to mint as much money as they wanted? This million. What would you have done?
was easier said than done centuries ago, when all
M: 
I’d have said something like this. A tennis ball is
money took the form of metal coins with their own
about 10 centimetres long, so you could get about a
inherent production and distribution costs, but those
hundred in a square metre, and a thousand in a cubic
constraints no longer applied after the introduction of
metre. How big was the room?
paper money. As we move towards wholly electronic
money, this temptation is likely to be even harder for A:  Maybe ten metres by eight. And let’s say 2½ metres
desperate governments to resist. high.
Extract Three M: 
OK, so 80 times 2½ is 200 cubic metres. If there are
a thousand tennis balls in each cubic metre, that’s
You hear part of a salary negotiation in an office.
200,000 altogether.
H:  Ah, Javier, come in. What can I do for you?
A:  So my guess was pretty accurate. Cool!
J: 
I’d like to request a pay rise.
M: 
Yeah, but also irrelevant. They were more interested
H: 
I see. As you know, we have pay bands for employees in your approach to problem-solving, which you
at different levels of the organisation. You’re in band C, completely flunked.
as far as I remember.
A:  I still don’t see why it’s important. If they really want
J: 
 Exactly. But I’m not asking you to increase everybody to measure something, surely they should actually
in band C’s pay, just mine. I believe I deserve at least measure it, not just guess.
a 10% increase, due to my impact on the company’s
M: 
Sure, but some things are impossible to measure.
bottom line.
They’re often called Fermi problems, after the ground-
H:  Whether you deserve it or not is irrelevant, I’m afraid. breaking nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi, who had
Paying you more than others within your band would an uncanny knack for making accurate estimates
be sure to undermine staff morale. with little or no actual data. Some universities hold
J: 
What if I were to move up to a higher band? Fermi Olympiads, with teams competing to answer
H:  That’s something to discuss with your line manager questions like ‘How many molecules of air are there in
at your next annual review, but it would depend on this room?’
vacancies for higher level positions, of which there are A:  So they’re basically pointless brain games, then, for
none right now. showing off how clever you are?
J:  Well, that makes my decision much easier. M: 
Far from it! Perhaps the most famous Fermi problem
H:  What decision? is, ‘How many planets in our galaxy are there with
intelligent civilisations?’ – apart from our own, of
J: 
 To accept a position with our competitors for 10%
course.
more money. I wasn’t convinced it was the right thing
to do, but everything’s much clearer now. A:  And? How many are there?
M: 
Well, scientists use a formula called the Drake
Equation with seven different unknowns that have to
7 WORKING IT OUT be multiplied together. The current lowest estimates
Listening Part 3 Multiple choice are basically zero, but the high estimates suggest
there may be fifteen and a half million other such
M = Marta A = Alex
planets.
M: So how was the job interview, Alex?
A: 
So basically, nobody knows … yet.

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M: 
Well, those variables definitely need tightening up atmosphere, which helps to curb global warming. In fact,
before they narrow it down to a more useful number. the Congo Basin sucks about 4% of global CO2 emissions
But we’re on the right track – at least we have a out of the atmosphere each year. In contrast, most other
formula, which turns pure guesswork into something rainforests actually emit more carbon than they absorb.
far more scientific! My work can be pretty disheartening most of the time,
A:  Still feels a bit pie in the sky to me, but it’s a start, I with so many ecosystems under threat and myriad species
suppose. facing extinction. That’s why on those rare occasions
M: 
OK, here’s a question for you. How many petrol when some encouraging news comes in, we want to
stations are there in Paris? shout it from the rooftops. Not only because it cheers
us up, I might add, but because it often precipitates the
A:  I haven’t the foggiest.
release of additional funds that support the vital work of
M: 
So break it down. How many people live in Paris? myself and my fellow conservationists.
A:  L
 et’s say 10 million, but it depends what constitutes The rainforest is also a biodiversity hotspot, hosting
‘Paris’ I guess – just the city, or the surrounding area numerous species of plants, over 1000 species of birds,
too. hundreds of species of fish and mammals, including
M: O
 K. And how many people are there for each petrol okapi, forest elephants, chimpanzees, bonobos and
station? western lowland gorillas - the world’s most threatened
A:  Well, I guess each station gets a few hundred primate species.
customers each day, maybe a thousand a week. Not Unfortunately, the forest is under threat from a range of
everyone fills up once a week, as I do. And there human activities, including deforestation (both of the
are also a lot of non-drivers or infrequent drivers, commercial and illegal variety) and encroachment by palm
especially in a big city with good public transport, oil plantations. The region’s colossal store of fossil fuels
perhaps four or more for every frequent driver. So I’ll also makes it enticing for energy businesses. Ironically,
say 10 thousand people. the forest is even threatened by the renewable energy
M: 
Good. So how many petrol stations are there in Paris? sector, which relies on the mining of scarce minerals that
are relatively abundant in the Basin.
A:  10 million divided by 10 thousand – a thousand. How
does that sound? Coming back to my work, one of Africa’s most iconic
mammals is the leopard, which once roamed over vast
M: 
Let’s Google it … 938, apparently.
swathes of the continent, but has now been deprived of
A:  Hah! I’m getting good at this. around a third of its former range. Leopards were long
M: 
You are! Another use of these techniques is as sanity thought to have been wiped out entirely from most areas
checks. of the Congo Basin, including Campo-Ma’an National
A:  What’s that? Park, owing to habitat fragmentation and destruction,
M: 
A way to check a figure after you’ve done a proper loss of prey and, above all, illegal poaching. Humans have
calculation. Coming back to your tennis ball problem, been persecuting leopards throughout history, especially
imagine you’ve hired someone to actually fill that in retribution for real and perceived livestock loss, but
room with tennis balls, and after a week of work they also as a kind of trophy kill – a way for hunters to show off
claim to have used 800,000 balls, which you now have their prowess with a spear, bow and arrow, or shotgun.
to pay for. What’s your reaction? The upshot of all of this is that for over twenty years, not a
single leopard was sighted here, so we’d all but lost hope
A:  No way! We estimated 200,000. The true answer
of its survival.
might be half that, or twice that, but I can’t believe it’ll
be four times our estimate. They must’ve cheated. But then, a few years ago, an adult leopard was caught on
camera for the first time. You see, we’d set up 19 camera
M: 
Yes, or we may have messed up with our estimate.
traps across the park in an effort to track the movements
Either way, we need to do some more research before
of endangered forest elephants. Such traps are designed
paying their invoice. And that’s the value of a sanity
to be triggered by movement of larger creatures, and
check.
because the cameras are far more unobtrusive than
human-operated cameras, and can be deployed so
widely and cheaply, they have become a vital source of
8 HUMAN IMPACT conservation data in recent years. For example, a team
Listening Part 2 Sentence completion of researchers recently used a similar network of traps
As an environmentalist, I work in the Campo-Ma’an to establish the existence of lowland gorillas in central
National Park in Cameroon, which is part of the huge mainland Equatorial Guinea.
Congo basin, home to the world’s second largest tropical There was only a solitary leopard in the photo, but of
rainforest, the Congolian Rainforest, which stretches course it’s unlikely to be the only one within the national
over much of west equatorial Africa. Its dense tropical park, so we can now go about the daunting task of
peatlands make it a carbon sink, one of the world’s ascertaining their number and location. The presence
biggest. As such, it absorbs carbon dioxide from the of the leopard has helped us to access funds in order to

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expand our network of camera traps, so we’re optimistic sponsored by an oil company. It’s such a blatant attempt
that it’s only a matter of time before more are snapped. to burnish their image by associating with an esteemed
Leopards are apex predators, which means they sit cultural event: “Perhaps fossil-fuelled vehicles aren’t
at the top of the food chain, and therefore have a so bad after all, because these artists seem to support
disproportionate impact on the entire ecosystem. In them.” Well, I’ll make sure none of my audience is left in
consequence, any fluctuations in their population can the slightest doubt how I feel. I’m not surprised at the oil
have substantial knock-on effects on all the wildlife lower company for trying it on like that, but I can’t believe the
down the food chain. That’s why it’s so imperative to study organisers kept quiet about it. If I’d known, I’d never have
leopards, so as to better comprehend how to protect allowed my reputation to be tarnished in this way.
their habitat and plan strategies, in partnership with local Speaker 5:
communities, who of course are directly impacted by our I started buying free-range eggs a few years ago, not only
conservation efforts, and the Ministry of Forestry and because I hate the idea of hens being cooped up all day,
Wildlife in Cameroon, to help them to thrive. but also because I was keen to avoid food contaminated
with hormones and antibiotics. But it turns out I should
Part 4 Multiple matching
have been buying organic eggs instead, which are much
Speaker 1: more tightly regulated – hence the substantially higher
I’m extremely troubled by the climate crisis, so whenever price. Apparently, ‘free range’ is a fairly loose and potentially
I’m obliged to take a plane for work, I feel deeply misleading phrase which doesn’t necessarily mean the
conflicted. I’d love to stop flying entirely, but it’s a vital chickens are free to spend long, happy lives wandering
part of my professional duties. That’s why it was a relief around grassy fields, as the picture on the box implies.
to see the option of paying my usual carrier for carbon Anyway, I’ve made the switch now, so my conscience is a
offsets. For every kilogram of carbon emitted, one kilo is lot clearer about the impact I’m having on those hens.
absorbed, for example by planting more trees. Sadly, these
offsets turned out to be a scam to extract money from
environmentally conscious customers, with little by way
9 BY DESIGN
of tree-planting going on. Fortunately, not all offsetting Listening Part 2 Sentence completion
schemes are scams, so next time, I’ll research the most  I’m an artist, I’d like to start by showing you my paintings.
As
scrupulous ones so as to make my own arrangements, This first one shows a cityscape by night. This next one is a
even if there’s a risk that I’ll end up out of pocket. forest scene, painted on a glorious spring morning.
Speaker 2: I should add at this point that I’m totally blind, so these
I read an article recently about cruelty-free cosmetics, and paintings have been created using only my mind’s eye, so
it mentioned a rabbit icon that shows they’ve never been to speak. To be clear, I don’t expect special dispensation
tested on animals. As animal cruelty is something I abhor, as an artist just because I can’t see. I’d like you to judge
when I spotted a rabbit logo on a bottle of shampoo last them on their own merit. I believe my lack of vision actually
month, I snapped it up immediately, despite the eye-watering allows me to perceive the world in an unconventional, yet
price. But this morning, as I was about to recycle the empty aesthetically pleasing, way, with any luck!
bottle, I realised that the logo bore no more than a passing Most people who are classed as blind actually have some
resemblance to the one from the article. I reckon if I were to ability to see, albeit severely constrained. For example,
go through the ingredients list, it’d turn out to contain all sorts they may be able to perceive light, colour and some
of dodgy stuff. I’m absolutely furious to have been taken in movement. Many blind artists fall into this category, and
like that, but at least I’ll know exactly what not to do next time. their ability to transform the limited input from their eyes
Speaker 3: into paintings blows my mind.
As an eco-blogger, , the whole idea of plastic waste is a pet In addition, many artists were formerly able to see
peeve of mine and thankfully, due to my own faux pas, I’m well normally, before an accident or illness rendered them
placed to get the word out there. With any luck, anyone who’s blind, so they often paint from memory. If they were
like-minded won’t repeat my error. The thing is, I noticed an already an accomplished artist before losing their sight,
exotic brand of body lotion that came in a paper bottle, I was they may also use a certain degree of muscle memory, so
intrigued as to how the paper didn’t leak. The bottle itself was their hands can paint familiar objects without deliberate
all green, with pictures of leaves, trees and even a ‘happy control from the brain.
Earth’. It was surprisingly affordable, so I grabbed one. Today, A third type of blind artist uses touch to build 3-D mental
having used all the body lotion, I was finally able to investigate models of objects or people, then sculpts either a literal
the packaging. To my horror, the inside of the paper is lined representation of what they have perceived or else a more
with a layer of plastic! And because they’re glued together, abstract interpretation, with some features distorted or
I’m not sure if it’s even recyclable! exaggerated, to striking effect.
Speaker 4: As for me, I fall into a very small category of 2-D artists who
I’ve been looking forward to performing at tomorrow’s have been totally blind since birth. So you may be wondering
arts festival for months, so you can imagine my shock how on earth I do it. The key is that I’ve had an immensely
when I arrived at the venue today to discover it was being supportive and patient family who have taken the time to

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painstakingly describe every aspect of the world around been writing fiction all along – there’s certainly plenty of
me, year after year. My parents used to take me for long embellishment of the truth to make it more sensational.
walks through forests and describe everything in powerfully Having honed my talent for engaging narratives in other
evocative language – not just the objects they could see, but people’s names, it felt like the natural next step to apply
also the nuances of light and shade, the subtle differences those skills to something more creative. I’d assumed
in colour, and so on. This non-stop narration allowed me to it was a matter of coming up with a strong plot, then
construct a 3-D model of the world inside my mind, such that following the well-trodden path of turning it into a full-
soon, I genuinely felt that I could see the forest in some way. blown novel, but I couldn’t have been further from the
I began drawing initially by etching marks in wooden truth. When it finally came out, after countless revisions,
surfaces, which I could feel with my fingers. Crucially, my it was universally panned by the critics, for good reason.
parents gave me detailed feedback on my etching – where Hence my decision to revert to what I know best!
I was going wrong in my shading, for example – which Speaker 3:
enabled me to nail that particular skill after a while. As It very nearly didn’t happen at all, after hackers took
I progressed to drawing with coloured pencils, it took a control of my computer and corrupted my files, including
great deal of trial and error to get it right. my almost-complete manuscript. Fortunately, I had
Coloured pencils are terrific up to a point, but you can’t printouts of earlier versions, so I was able to painstakingly
feel their texture on the page. Water colours never worked reconstruct most of it eventually and may even have
for me at all, because they just feel wet to the touch, which added improvements along the way. My publishers were
is meaningless to me. I experimented a few times with certainly relieved, after the sizable advance they’d paid
oil paints, which have a lovely 3D texture once they set, me, and although I’d originally agreed to write the thing on
but I always ended up covered in sticky paint! Eventually, a whim – flattery having been a major influence – I felt a
I stumbled across acrylic paints, which share that strong sense of commitment to see it through. I still have
wonderful texture while drying a lot more quickly. So now a nagging doubt that the book’s success is more about
I paint by building up layers of colours, which allows me to my earlier reputation as an actor, rather than any inherent
perceive my paintings while they’re in progress – although quality in the writing, but I’m prepared to let that go!
I still sometimes end up covered in paint! Speaker 4:
Coming back to the paintings I showed at the beginning, As a person with dyslexia, I struggled in English lessons at
they are created inside my imagination, but they’re school, and was told in no uncertain terms that my writing
composites of thousands of views that have been was dreadful. But I used to have such a vivid imagination,
explained to me over the years. Inevitably, I perceive such that I could create entire worlds in my mind, with
the world differently, which some critics may see as a dozens of characters and intertwining plotlines. So as
disadvantage, but fortunately the people who buy my work not to lose track of who had said what to whom, I started
see it as a plus. While it’s wonderful for my work to be committing my stories to paper, and eventually, after a lot
appreciated by my respected peers and discerning clients, of encouragement from friends and family, I decided to
I still paint mainly because I feel a powerful urge to make take the plunge and get them professionally edited, despite
sense of the world around me, and to capture that in my my being continually racked by self-doubt. They still
art. If others like what I do too, then all the better. needed a lot of refinement before being fit to publish, but
my editors provided invaluable guidance along the way.
Speaker 5:
10 ADAPTATION
It started out as an accident, when I was still a drama
Listening Part 4 Multiple matching
student. Some friends and I put on a comedy show, and
Speaker 1: I was tasked with scripting some sketches. One of my
The idea of passive income, which comes in regardless early drafts involved an overly complex dialogue between
of whether you’re working, has always been appealing. a plaintive alien and the earthling he encounters during
That’s how I got into self-publishing, initially with a set of an accidental visit to Earth. That particular script was too
instruction manuals, of all things. Once that stream was shallow and didn’t make the cut, but I kind of identified
flowing, after some wrong turns that nearly ended my with the grumpy space traveller character I’d created
career, I could finally turn to something that would give me a and ended up writing a lengthy backstory for him, which
sense of fulfilment: a fictionalised account of my childhood, gradually morphed into a sci-fi trilogy! Despite frantic work
which had been on my to-do list for ages. You might call it commitments, I was driven by an uncontrollable urge to get
self-indulgent to put my younger self at the forefront of my it out of my system. Gratifyingly, when it finally came out, it
work, potentially putting readers off, and I was wracked with seems to have caught the vibe within a certain niche.
self-doubt in this respect, but now I realise that all fiction is
to some extent autobiographical, and I’m relieved to have Part 2 sentence completion
found a ready audience for my work. Now that English is so dominant globally, it’s easy to forget
Speaker 2: that people on the British Isles once spoke languages
from a very different family: Celtic. These seem to have
I’ve been making a decent income as a ghost writer of
originated in a quiet corner of the Alps two and a half
celebrity autobiographies for years, so you might say I’ve

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thousand years ago, and gradually expanded from results from the beginning of the 20th century. Welsh is
this ancient heartland until, at their peak, their area of now spoken to some degree by come 900,000 people
influence stretched over a vast swathe of Europe from in Wales, plus a small community of fluent speakers of
Spain to modern-day Turkey. Much of this territory fell Patagonian Welsh in Argentina.
to the Roman Empire, and most Celtic languages were Finally, my own language, Cornish, was long thought to
replaced by Latin and its descendants, plus languages have died along with its reputed last native speaker, Dolly
that arrived on the scene later. Pentreath, in 1777, although it now seems a handful
The only exceptions where Celtic languages survived of speakers kept the language alive surreptitiously,
were in the northern and western parts of the British presumably due to relentless persecution from the
Isles never colonised by the Romans: Ireland, Scotland, English-speaking elite. This remote corner of England,
Wales and Cornwall. After the fall of the Roman Empire in neglected by the rest of the country except as a tourist
France, many speakers of Cornish, the Celtic language of hotspot, has always had a distinct identity, which is
Cornwall, emigrated to the Brittany Peninsula in northern feeding current efforts to revive the language and culture.
France, where their language morphed over the centuries In 2010, UNESCO officially changed its designation
into Breton, the only Celtic language still widely spoken of Cornish from extinct to critically endangered. It is
in mainland Europe, with between 200,00 and 300,000 estimated that there are now about 400 advanced
speakers. speakers, along with thousands more with limited skills
Back in Britain, Celtic languages faced a vicious onslaught in the language, which is currently being taught in some
in the 5th century from a new set of invaders: the Anglo- local primary schools. Perhaps one day soon, the first
Saxons, whose language is now known as Old English. native speaker of Cornish for two and a half centuries will
These interlopers from northern Europe asserted their be born.
control over modern-day England and beyond, pushing
the Celtic languages to an ever-shrinking periphery on the
far north and west. 11 TALK OF THE TOWN
In Ireland, the Gaelic language thrived for much longer. Listening Part 1 Multiple choice
Indeed, by the 10th century, it had spread into the Isle Extract 1
of Man, becoming the Manx language, and Scotland,
You hear a woman talking about her childhood in the
where Scottish Gaelic replaced an earlier Celtic language,
countryside.
Pictish. However, these three Gaelic languages were
threatened by the encroachment of English, especially W: 
When I was about ten, we uprooted to a quaint village
from the 18th century. in the English countryside – the kind that you see on TV
and muse about how wonderful it must be to escape
Irish Gaelic survived mainly in the sparsely populated
from the hustle and bustle of the city. I’m not sure my
western fringes of Ireland, before undergoing a revival
parents were driven by the idea of idyllic surroundings
in modern times, while English dominated in the larger
for children to grow up, but that’s how they sold it to us
population centres.
at the time. Looking back, it seems to have been rather
Scottish Gaelic survives as a native language mainly in the more prosaic. The house they bought was certainly
highlands and islands, with about 57,000 fluent speakers. generous in terms of square metres and right up there in
Interestingly, there are speakers of Scottish Gaelic in terms of glamour when compared with what they could
Nova Scotia in Canada, the result of an 18th century influx have afforded in a city.
of Gaelic speakers. Despite their tiny numbers and the
It wasn’t exactly off the beaten track, but the lack of
precariousness of their language, this remote outpost of
kids of my own age, coupled with the appalling public
Scottish Gaelic has spawned several prominent literary
transport network and winding roads that were too
figures, including Lewis MacKinnon, an award-winning
dangerous to ride a bike on, meant I spent much of my
Canadian Gaelic poet.
youth feeling trapped and alone. The picturesque views,
The third Gaelic language, Manx, went extinct on the so enchanting initially, felt bleak and oppressive.
Isle of Man in 1974, with the death of a man considered
When I hit 18 and had the opportunity to up sticks to
the last speaker to have grown up in a Manx-speaking
head to uni, I didn’t hesitate to choose a buzzing urban
environment. However, in recent years, there have been
centre with a thriving student social life and buses and
concerted efforts to bring the language back from the
trams galore. I’ve never looked back since.
dead, with a number of people claiming some level of
proficiency, a great example of what community leaders Extract 2
can achieve when they set their mind to it. You will hear two friends discussing some old buildings.
Coming back to the non-Gaelic Celtic languages, Welsh M: W
 hy don’t they demolish those derelict factories?
also came close to extinction. By 1900, it was already a What an eyesore!
minority language in Wales, and monolingual speakers of W: S
 eriously? They’re part of the city’s heritage. This
Welsh all but disappeared over the next hundred years. whole district used to be the throbbing heart of the
Just like the other endangered Celtic languages, dedicated city, with tens of thousands of workers churning out
activists pushed hard to preserve it, with impressive vast quantities of high-quality manufactured goods.

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M: T
 hat’s as may be, but we can’t live in the past. sports amenities and open spaces, within a fifteen-
The present needs of the city surely trump nostalgia minute walk or cycle ride from their homes. The
about dilapidated factories. Today’s inhabitants concept arose from the rapid and often chaotic
need affordable housing, office spaces, somewhere growth of cities in recent times, and the inherent
to relax and socialise. unfairness in their layout, such that most people need
W: 
Just because they’re in dire need of sprucing up, it a car to go about their daily business, leaving those
doesn’t mean we have to rip up the old to replace who are unwilling or unable to use a car at a distinct
it with the new. There’s massive untapped demand disadvantage.
for warehouse conversions, both for residential and I:  That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it, Susan Travis?
commercial purposes. People will fork out a fortune S:  Well, when presented in such terms, yes, it sounds
to live and work in a place with a sense of history. like a modern utopia, where residents are free to
M: 
Actually, you’re talking about a modest but vocal leave their cars at home while they walk or cycle
niche. Converting old factories is a logistical to their heart’s content. Personally, I enjoy a good
nightmare, what with all the toxic chemicals, unstable stroll or bike ride in the countryside, so I can see
structures, poor infrastructure, and so on. It’s far the attraction. In reality, this is not about freedom of
better value for money to start from scratch, and with choice, because you won’t have the option of leaving
most locals on a tight budget, that’s all that matters. your car at home. For one thing, all of the parking
Extract 3 spaces will have been converted into children’s play
areas and open-air cafés, and for another, even if you
You will hear part of a lecture about the psychology of
can find a place to store your car, you’ll be hit by a
cities.
hefty fine for every day it’s within the city boundaries.
W: 
You can all probably think of different cities that This is nothing more than a full-on attack on car-
are known for their traditional mindset, their owners, who form a sizeable majority in this country,
innovativeness, their rebelliousness. But what does let’s not forget, both in rural and urban areas.
it mean to talk about the personalities of cities? It
R:  Just because we own a lot of cars, it doesn’t mean
certainly sounds like pseudo-science, doesn’t it? In
we’re wedded to them. The automobile is the scourge
fact there’s a simple mechanism to explain it: once a
of the modern city in a host of ways. Most obviously,
city gains a reputation for a particular trait, perhaps as
they spew unimaginable levels of pollution into the
a result of a few well-known residents, or an influential
atmosphere, which is detrimental both for the health
institution such as a university or theatre, then as the
of city dwellers and for our planet as a whole. Not
years pass, newcomers with similar characteristics
only do cars kill or maim thousands of people each
are attracted, perhaps subconsciously, while those
year, but they also turn whole neighbourhoods into
who don’t identify with them are put off, accentuating
no-go areas for kids and cyclists. They take up a
the city’s personality in the process.
ludicrous amount of space: just consider all those
 A recent study set out to demonstrate whether roads, which seem to be permanently clogged, not to
living in a city whose personality matches your mention the thousands of parking spaces required.
own can improve your self-esteem. And indeed But perhaps their most profound impact is the way
the researchers identified such a relationship, they precipitate the fragmentation of our lives, with
although it was dwarfed by the far more powerful workplaces remote from residential areas, out-of-
connection between certain personality traits, such town supermarkets elsewhere, and so on. In other
as extroversion and self-esteem, which has long been words, cars make us ever more dependent on cars, in
proven to exist. The researchers noted the need for a never-ending death spiral. You talk about freedom
caution as to the direction of causation, however. It of choice, but car-centric cities only ever have one
may be simply that people with greater self-esteem option: more cars.
tend to have the self-confidence to take control over
S:  So your solution is to ban them? Is that what you’re
their residency.
saying?
Part 3 Multiple choice R:  No, Susan. The solution is to discourage them. A
small minority will continue to need their cars, and
I = Interviewer R = Robert S = Susan if they’re prepared to pay for the privilege, they may
I:  Now let’s turn to a concept that has raised a lot of even find their lives have become easier, once all the
hackles recently: 15-minute cities. I’m joined by Dr traffic jams have disappeared.
Robert O’Keefe, a keen advocate of such cities, and S:  What utter nonsense!
Susan Travis MP, who is spearheading a campaign to I:  o is that your main complaint, Susan? That fifteen-
S
prevent their expansion. Dr O’Keefe, what exactly is a minute cities will make life harder for those of us who
15-minute city? can’t part with our cars?
R:  In a nutshell, it’s a city where every resident can S: It’s certainly a strong argument, but it’s about something
access everything they need for day-to-day living, far more fundamental than that. It’s about governments
including shops, schools, offices, medical centres, attempting to control every aspect of our lives, by

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planning all the places we’re allowed to visit within our Extract 2
own designated zones. What happened to spontaneity? You will hear two friends talking about running.
Can’t we allow our cities to grow organically, without
W: How did you get into running?
some master plan to decide what must go where?
Before we know it, we’ll need permits to leave our M: I used to run to keep in shape in my youth, but as my
zones. Believe me, it’s a slippery slope. The technology career took off, I let it lapse, with never enough hours in
already exists: facial recognition software will monitor the day. Then we happened to get a puppy, and because
those who attempt to leave their zones too frequently, or I work from home, it fell to me to take her for long daily
whose carbon footprint is deemed unacceptable by the walks.
powers-that-be. W: Couldn’t you have kept them short?
R: Oh come on, Susan. You know as well as I do that that’s M: I tried, but then she’d pester me until I relented and
simply a groundless conspiracy theory, invented by took her out again. Those long treks really ate into my
social media warriors with too much time on their hands working day, so I figured I’d need to squeeze them into
and axes to grind. Nobody is suggesting limiting what shorter periods – hence the running. I’m still not up to
people are allowed to do within cities, and the idea of my previous levels of fitness, but I’m getting there. What
permits to leave zones is simply fiction. To be honest, about you?
I can’t believe you’d sink so low as to peddle such W: I can’t imagine life without running. I’m hooked on the
nonsense. feel-good endorphins released into my bloodstream
S: I suggest you do some research, Robert. You’ll be during a run and really miss them when I’m too
amazed at what you find. confined to my sickbed. Also, all that time alone with
R: I have done my research! I’ve dedicated my life my thoughts always triggers a flood of inspiration,
to researching such issues, and all the credible doesn’t it?
research points to 15-minute cities vastly improving M: S
 ure. I get a kick from the idea that my immune system
everyone’s lives, not to mention the environment. I’ve is so strong after all those runs in the rain and snow!
also extensively studied the strident claims you’re And I find my head swimming with novel ideas when
making, and I can assure you they’ve been thoroughly I’m out and about.
debunked, every one of them. Extract 3
I:  ight, well, we need to take a short break now, but we’ll
R You will hear a woman talking about a sports accident.
continue this discussion in a moment.
W: I ’ve always loved sports – tennis, swimming,
everything. In my early teens, I was playing hockey
when the ball hit me square on the nose. With blood
12 ON THE RIGHT TRACK everywhere, as you can imagine, I was sent to the
Listening Part 1 Multiple choice school nurse with a suspected breakage. I don’t
Extract 1 remember being checked for possible concussion
You hear a motivational speaker giving a talk to a group of – the whole event was just a blur to me, and
people. looking back that’s probably why. I was convinced
I was covered in cuts and remember being almost
M: T
 he message to take away from today’s session is that
disappointed once I’d been cleaned up to find no
the barriers holding you back are overwhelmingly in
external traces of the accident whatsoever.
your head. You need to silence the inner voice telling
you you’re not good enough to fulfil your dreams, that The next day, the doctor reassured my parents there
you’re not ready, that you’ll be poked fun at for even was nothing untoward. But she said something that
trying. Yes, you can never make full provision for what struck me as odd: in your 40s you’ll need an operation.
life throws at you, no matter how hard you try. And I recall thinking, ‘How can I be expected to remember
yes, you may raise a few eyebrows by engendering that for almost 30 years?’, but sure enough, not long
important life changes. But we’re talking about a tiny after my 40th birthday, it became blindingly obvious
minority, whose derogatory comments aren’t worth I’d need surgery on my internal tubing. For one thing,
even a second of your thoughts. I was constantly coming down with annoying little
colds, but the worst thing was that whenever I went to
 Now, you may be thinking, it’s all very well for him to
the pool, I was sneezing for days on end, and I wasn’t
tell us to change our lives, but what does he know
prepared to go on like that. So I went along with her
about the difficulties we’re facing? I don’t claim to know
wise words from long before.
what you’re each going through, but I’ve been in this
business long enough to realise that no challenges
are insurmountable, and in fact many of those who’ve
turned their lives around have gone on to achieve great
things despite – maybe even because of – formidable
personal circumstances. It’s time to shake off your past
and look forward to a bright future. Who’s with me?

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