Unit 8

DIALOGUE I

Changes in the Lives of Chinese Farmers

A: Hi, Weiwei!
B: Hi, Dan, how're you doing? I haven't seen you around lately.
A: I was out of town. I visited Huaxi Village in Jiangsu Province last week and was amazed by the living conditions of the farmers there.
B: Yes, tremendous changes have occurred in China's rural areas, particularly in the coastal provinces.
A: I've heard a lot about the improved lives of the urban population in China, but I didn't expect to see such great changes in the lives of Chinese farmers.
B: How much did you know about China before?
A: My grandfather worked in a Chinese hospital in Chongqing for a couple of years during World War Ⅱ. Let me see if I still remember what he said about the life of Chinese farmers. Yes, he told me that Chinese farmers led a very hard life. The land was barren and the people didn't even have tattered clothes to wear.
B: That was true.
A: But last week I saw rows upon rows of beautiful two-or three-storeyed houses, people riding motorcycles, driving their own cars, carrying mobile phones, and wearing fashionable brand-name clothes. I just couldn't believe what I had seen. Everything was so amazing!
B: But the changes were not so great until the government started a national drive for economic reform. New policies were introduced in favour of hardworking farmers. You get what you put in, as they say. People in the coastal rural areas take advantage of the preferential policies and their favourable geographical location and work both at farming and making industrial products. Yesterday, I came across the headline news that Huaxi is among the most successful villages in China.
A: When Chinese farmers get wealthy, there's bound to be an ever increasing demand for all kinds of consumer goods.
B: Not only that. With their living conditions improving, the vision of Chinese farmers has broadened. So has their taste for music and art. They have a growing desire to know about other cultures.
A: Yes, I was told that the Huaxi villagers had subscribed to the Internet service. They learn about the outside world on the computer via the information superhighway. But English seems to be a major stumbling block to their understanding and interpretation of the Internet information. They ought to send their children to foreign language schools and learn English, or hire people with college degrees in English.
B: This is what they are doing, I believe. Some years ago it was something unimaginable that computers and English would make their entry into the lives of Chinese farmers. The traditional concept of "farming" is changing, so is the traditional meaning of "farmer".
A: Obviously, our definition of a rural village should also change.
B: Certainly. And the one word that describes precisely the world today is simply CHANGE.


DIALOGUE II

Dialogue:

At the Lost Property Office in London with a Very Conscientious Attendant

A: Excuse me, I wonder if you could help me. I think I left my suitcase on the No. 41 bus last night and I was wondering if it had been handed in.
B: I see. Just a minute, please!
(He goes away for a few minutes.)
Could you describe the suitcase?
A: Yes. It's a black suitcase with one handle on each side.
B: Mmm... anything else?
A: It's a kind of flight-bag. The type of bag that you take on an aeroplane with you.
B: Any other distinguishing features?
A: Well, my initials are on the side in large letters — J.H.
B: It's rather a large object to leave on a bus, isn't it?
A: Well, I was in a hurry and the bus was so crowded... Do you have my bag or not?
B: I might have, sir. I'm not sure.
A: Well, how many black suitcases are handed in every day? With my initials!
B: Now please don't shout. I only want to establish the correct ownership, that's all. Could you give me a list of contents. ?
A: Well, there are a lot of things in the case: a black uniform that I use at work, a hat that I wear when I'm on duty, a pair of black leather shoes with laces, and a two-way radio that I use for talking to HQ.
B: HQ?
A: Yes, police headquarters. I'm a police officer!

READING I

Human Needs

When we speak of a basic human need we mean something which is necessary to life, something that we cannot possibly do without. Food is a basic human need. Without it we would starve to death; but even if we have plenty of food, but of the wrong kind, our bodies will suffer from a lack of the right food. This is known as malnutrition.
In primitive countries man's food needs are the same as in the more advanced societies like our own. We all need food and could manage to live a healthy life on limited types of food. Primitive people eat only the foods which can be grown near their homes, whereas we eat foods which are often grown many thousands of miles away from our homes. Primitive people are satisfied with less variety than we are, therefore we can say that although their needs are like our own their wants are different. Just think of the different types of meat we eat: beef, mutton, pork, chicken, turkey, goose, and rabbit. We could manage on a diet of one kind of meat, but how monotonous it would become! Even turkey, which most of us eat only at Christmas, would become monotonous if we ate it every day. Yet we cannot live on meat alone, and need other foods like bread and fruit to provide us with the other essential nutrients which we need to keep our bodies healthy.
We can agree with primitive man that food is a basic need, but we differ from him in our food wants because of the wide variety of food we have available compared with him; we have a wider choice. Take fruit, for example, not only can we enjoy the fruits grown in this country, but, because of modern methods of transport and food preservation, we can also enjoy the more exotic fruits from countries thousands of miles away, whereas primitive man is limited in his choice to the kinds of fruit which actually grow where he lives.
The same is true of the second of our human needs. Clothing is necessary to regulate the heat of our bodies. Since we live in a temperate climate we need more clothes than people living in tropical countries, but less than people living in arctic conditions. Likewise, our clothing needs to change with the seasons. In summer we need light clothing while in winter we need to muffle ourselves to keep warm.
Shelter, the third of our needs, depends upon the climate, the skill of the builder, one's social position, and the materials available. The simple shelter of the aboriginal would not do for us, and yet it satisfies his needs. The three-bedroomed suburban house of the average family would not be grand enough for a very rich family, and yet the modern house contains many of the material comforts which were denied to the kings and queens of old.