بخش دوم

Page 95

Track 38

Listening 2

1

I grew up around here, and the river has always been really polluted.

Industries were dumping all sorts of chemicals and waste into the water, so the river really smelled bad.

You wouldn’t even think of swimming In It.

Well, I decided to do something about it.

My neighbors and I wrote a letter to the mayor asking him to force these Industries to clean up the river.

I really hope the government listens to us and takes action.

2

Over the last few years we’ve been having much hotter summers and warmer winters.

When I was a kid here, we used to have a lot of fluffy, white snow in the winter.

Now we don’t get that.

And there hasn’t been much rain for a couple of years.

I guess this is the effect of that global warming I keep hearing about in the news.

That’s why we’ve decided to move to Chicago.

There’s plenty of snow and rain up there!

3

When did the world get so crazy? That’s what I’d like to know.

For years, I thought everything was fine.

Now all I read about in the newspaper is countries fighting each other, dropping bombs, and terrible things like that.

You know what I did about it? I stopped reading the newspaper.

Now, whenever I want to read something, I just pick up one of those sports magazines. No bad news in there!

4

It’s almost impossible to get across the city in less than an hour and a half during rush hour.

There are too many cars on the roads.

There are only two freeways, and they just can’t handle all the traffic.

The only thing that moves quickly in this city is the subway.

That’s why I took an apartment right next to the subway station.

5

One of the biggest problems we face is garbage. Where can we put it all?

In the past, everything used to get buried in giant landfills, but in many countries today, the landfills are full and there is no room to start new ones.

That’s why I’ve decided to try to create less garbage.

I buy fewer packaged foods now.

For example, instead of buying frozen prepared dinners in plastic trays and cardboard boxes.

I buy fresh meats and produce.

I also take my own cup to the coffee shop so I don’t have to use paper cups.

Creating less garbage is really the only solution.

6

In the future, everyone will have to live in giant high-rise buildings if they want to live in cities.

These new buildings might be a hundred stories tall, or more.

If cities keep getting bigger, the only way they can expand is upward.

I can’t stand crowded cities myself.

That’s why I moved to a small town in the country.