14 Studying
The bad old days
The other day,a teacher got sacked for tearing a boy's shirt.
The boy was fighting with another child
when the teacher grabbed him and pulled him away to try and stop the fight.
In doing this,he tore the boy's shirt.
The boy's parents complained to the headmaster
and the teacher was sacked for physically abusing the boy.
Many people in Britain support the teacher,
saying he was only trying to do what was right
and that it was the boy who was at fault.
Many of these people are also probably remembering
what their own teachers were like and how much stricter they were!
When I think of the teachers I had less than twenty years ago.
I immediately remember ones who used to give out terrible punishments.
My English teacher was known as Johnny Headbanger
because if he caught two students talking in class.he used to grab their heads
and bang them together.
Another one called Mr Golding.who taught us Maths.
used to make you hold your arms out like a cross
and then he put a Maths textbook in each hand.
Those books used to weigh about two kilos each
and after about tweney seconds you would be sweating and your muscles would be killing you,
but he would just smile and carry on teaching the class.
Many teachers were cheeky.That kind of thing used to be quite normal.
Nowadays,however,
it sometimes seems like a teacher can't even touch a pupil without the headmaster threatening them with the sack.
Many people now feel the law's gone too far.
They say pupils have too much power
and have learned how to push teachers to the limit.
They blame the outlawing of all physical punishment for an increase in bad behaviour in children.
But do we really want to go back to the bad old days
when teachers were basically free to beat you up?
Unsurprisingly,those teachers didn't actually teach me very much-
apart from how to hate them.However,
the best teacher I ever had- my Chemistry teacher,Mr Green-
never hit anyone.He controlled the class,
because he obviously really liked what he was doing
and could bring the subject alive.
He showed us experiments and made them relevant
by explaining how they related to real life.
He was also very encouraging.He wouldn't just say Good.or Excellent.
but he'd actually listen to our ideas
and when we were wrong he would talk us through things.
He's the main reason I became a pharmacist.
So.OK.maybe things have gone too far if a teacher can get sacked for stopping a fight,
but personally,I don't miss those days.
I think the best way to avoid bad behaviour in class
is simply by being a good teacher.
Most students actually want to learn.
And what about when students break the rules?
Well,even in those days I remember the worst punishment didn't involve any violence.
I was caught smoking in the toilets
and as a punishment the headmaster wrote a letter to my parents.
I tell you,my life was hell for weeks afterwards!
3 Listening
You are going to hear three conversations between students and their English teachers.
Conversation 1
France,Can I ask you a question?Of course.
Can you give me the thing for the exam?
What,the application form?
Yeah,yeah.I want to do the exam.Do you think I can take it?
Yeah,of course you can take it.but I doubt you'll pass.
Yeah-great,because I need this to go to university in September.
I really want to do it now.
I know that's what you want,
but what I'm saying is you're bound to fail id you take it now.
Sorry?So you think I won't pass?
No.probably not,but you never know.Miracles can happen.
What?I don't understand.Do you think I can take it or not?
Look.take it if you want-but don't blame me when you fail!
Conversation 2
How did the exam go?
It was easy.All the questions I expected came up.
Great.What about the writing?Was that OK?
Yeah,I did the letter.
What about the second piece?
You have to do two piece of writing?
Yeah!Maria-I must've told you that about fifty times.
I didn't see another question.
So you only did one?
Yeah.Oh,no.Do you think I can still pass?
Well,it's not impossible,but it depends how well you did on the other questions.
Conversation 3
What's up?You look a bit down.
I got my results this for my end-of-year exams.
Oh,dear.Not good news.then.No.No.I failed.
Oh,no.I'm sorry.What happened?I thought you revised really hard for them.
I did.but the questions weren't what I expected and I tried to answer them.but...
Can you re-take it?Yeah.but I'll have to take the course again next year.
What?Wait,You have to repeat the whole year?Yeah.It's normal.no?
Not back home it's not.When we fail an exam at university.
we usually get the chance to re-take it.
but you don't have to do the whole course again.
Oh,right.Well,here you have to repeat the whole course.And pay for it.of course.
5 Pronunciation: intonation
1.I've just heard that I've failed my First.Certificate.
Oh.no!I'm really sorry to hear that.
2.I was expecting an A.but I only got a C.Oh,no.I'm sorry.That's a shame.
3.I'm sorry I'm so late.but I had an accident in the car on the way here.
Oh,no.I'm sorry to hear that.Are you all right?
4.My father's not very well.In fact.he's just been taken into hospital.
Oh,no!I'm really sorry to hear that.
5.We've just had a terrible weekend.
When we got home on Saturday.we found the house had been broken into.
Oh. I'm really sorry to hear that.
6.We had a fire in the kitchen on Sunday.It was awful!
Oh, no!I'm so sorry.
3. Asking for an opinion
1.Do you think she'll come?
2.Do you think I'll need a coat?
3.Do you think you'll see Ken later?
4.Do you think we'll be back by eight?
5.Do you think you'll pass?
6.Do you think you'll do a Master's after you graduate?
6.Pronunciation:'ll
I doubt it'll help.
I'll definitely bring it tomorrow.
Hopefully,I'll see him later.
They'll probably win.
I doubt she'll be there.
It'll rain later.
I'll give you a hand with it.
I'll definitely think about it.
She'll probably call you later.
Hopefully,I'll get into Oxford.