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Unit 18
DIALOGUE I
After an English Evening
A: Our English Evening was a great success, wasn't it?
B: Yes. Everyone enjoyed it. The performance was terrific.
A: Yes, that's because every performer took it seriously and worked hard at it. If they hadn't, the English Evening would have been a flop.
B: That's true. I think each item on the programme was wonderful. Especially those free speeches.
A: I would say the speeches were perfect. I was very impressed.
B: The speakers were quite expressive. And their pronunciation and intonation were so natural and their voices so mellow. I wish I could do half as well.
A: Believe it or not, some of them used to speak English with quite a distinct local accent, and were laughed at each time they read in class. But they worked very hard at their English pronunciation. And the accent problem is now history.
B: "Where there's a will, there's a way."
A: Yes, it really pays off to work hard. If they hadn't done so, they would still get laughed at for their funny accent. By the way, how did you like the short play?
B: I enjoyed every minute of it. The acting was super and of course, their English was fluent. Just as you said, they worked very hard — all of them. By the way, do you know the girl who played the role of the heroine? She's my roommate. She'd been working on her part very intensely before the show. For eight weeks in a row, she stayed in school on weekends for group rehearsing as well as individual practice.
A: All the players in the cast cooperated with each other. If there hadn't been such good teamwork, they wouldn't have made a hit.
B: You're right. And how did you like the cross-talk?
A: It was fantastic! Everyone was splitting their sides laughing.
B: I never thought we had such real comedians on campus.
A: They must have worked hard racking their brains to entertain their fellow students and the faculty. Otherwise they wouldn't have captivated the whole audience, including those professors.
B: If only I had half their wit!
A: And last but not least, the chorus was first-rate.
B: Too had that I had to answer an emergency phone call at that time. I like group singing and would have enjoyed this last performance immensely.
A: What a pity you had to leave. If you hadn't, I know you would have enjoyed it when the hall rocked with shouts of "encore" for more performances.
B: You're made me feel so bad about having to leave.
A: You don't have to feel so bad. They've video-recorded the whole programme and you can watch the performance in the "Media Resources" room of the library any time.
B: That's great.
DIALOGUE II
Dialogue:
David bought a second-hand bicycle last month, and although he knew it was in poor condition and needed repairing, he let a friend borrow it. While riding the bicycle, his friend Peter has an accident. After the accident David goes to visit his friend.
D: This is all my fault. I'm really sorry. If I'd been more sensible and more thoughtful, I'd have repaired the bicycle before lending it to you.
P: You can't blame yourself, David. It's partly my fault, too, you know. If I had checked the bicycle myself before leaving the house, I would never have had this stupid accident!
D: Fortunately, it's only a minor injury in the leg. I suppose it could have been much worse.
P: Yes, that's right. So, don't blame yourself. It's not really your fault.
D: But I can't help it, Peter. I was just too lazy; I thought about repairing the bicycle, but Jane telephoned and invited me to go camping for the weekend and I never got round to doing the job. I just kept putting it off because there were more interesting things to do.
P: Look, David, I was the one riding the bicycle and if I had been a little more awake and a bit more careful approaching the crossroads, I would have avoided the bus.
D: Tell me what happened exactly, Peter.
P: Well, it happened at the Bridgewater crossroads, you know, the busy junction just outside town.
D: Yes, I know. That's a very dangerous place.
P: I think the brakes failed, and the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground.
D: I don't know why. I never checked the brakes.
P: I wish I hadn't been travelling so fast. I'd have been able to stop in time if I hadn't been cycling so fast. You see I was late for Elizabeth's party, and I hadn't bought her a present or anything so I was looking for a flower shop to buy some flowers. I was stupid not to have bought her a present before, instead of leaving it until the last minute.
D: Well, we both regret what we did, but it was just one of those things. It happened and we can't change anything now. At least no one was killed, and that's the thing.
P: Yes, let's look on the bright side. It could have been a lot worse!
READING I
Penicillin — One of the Greatest Discoveries Made by Men
If you leave a piece of bread in a warm damp place, mould will soon grow on it. When this happens, we say that the bread "has gone mouldy". Mould can grow on all kinds of things besides food — on leather, clothing, even on wood. It is extremely common and we have all noticed it.
Penicillin, one of the most powerful killers of bacteria and viruses, is a kind of mould. It was discovered quite by accident in the autumn of 1928. At that time, in his basement laboratory in London, Dr. Alexander Fleming, a bacteriologist, was looking for something that would kill deadly bacteria. In order to observe their growth, he had spread on his laboratory desk some small plates containing the bacteria. One evening it happened that he failed to place a cover on one of the plates.
When Fleming arrived the next morning, he saw that the plate had gathered some blue-green mould during the night. This did not surprise him, for the basement was damp and stuffy. But what he saw next did surprise him. Around the outside of the uncovered plate the bacteria were still flourishing, while in the area close to the mould there were none. They had somehow disappeared. His trained mind started to ask questions.
Fleming put some of the mould with more bacteria of the same kind. The germs were destroyed. He tried it on bacteria of other kinds. It stopped the growth of many other harmful germs. He seemed to have discovered a powerful antibiotic. After years of continued experiment, he found that penicillin was indeed a powerful antibiotic and that it did not harm the body.
However, it was not until 1940 that biochemists were able to find a way of producing penicillin as a powder with an unchanging character. In 1941, penicillin was declared a safe drug for use on humans and made available to doctors. As the drug was produced in quantity, it became cheaper. And the reduced cost has made possible worldwide use of penicillin in treating many infections.
Penicillin has saved lives and prevented suffering all over the world and people value Fleming's work greatly. If, as long as half a century ago, Fleming had not failed to place a cover on one of his plates, the plate would not have gathered mould during the night. And if Fleming had not noticed that tiny area of mould on his plate, he would not have discovered this powerful antibiotic just then, and one of the greatest discoveries of the century would have been delayed.
The discovery of penicillin also pointed out the way towards the discovery of other wonderful substances which fight disease germs without harming the body. Various kinds of antibiotics have been found which deal with almost all known bacteria and many other deadly germs. If Fleming had not discovered the first wonderful antibiotic — penicillin, the antibiotic industry would not have developed so rapidly, would it?
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