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Zapis nagrania do zadania 16.
Presenter: The Great Fire of London started at 2 am on Sunday 22nd September, 1666. It burned for four days, and three-quarters of the city was completely destroyed by the flames. Six hours after the outbreak, 300 houses were alight and the fire was burning slowly towards the city centre. By noon, orders were given for houses around the centre to be pulled down to make a firebreak.
By the time it was finally extinguished, the fire had destroyed over 13,000 houses, together with 84 churches and most of the public buildings. Over a hundred thousand people were made homeless, and thousands of citizens lost their livelihoods. Strangely enough, only six people lost their lives - or so the written records claim. During the fire, the only firefighting equipment most people had were buckets, and water collected from lead and wooden pipes in the streets. There were just a few primitive fire engines.
After the Great Fire of London, the King decided to impose more detailed fire prevention and building control laws. For example, he ordered that there should be minimum distances between buildings. Then, a law passed in 1667 stated that the city should be divided into four parts, and each part should be provided with 800 leather buckets, 50 ladders, 24 axes and 40 shovels - all at public expense. But the law was only concerned with the purchase of fire fighting equipment. Nothing was said about who would be employed to use it.
The Great Fire speeded up the development of the fire engine, but the early machines were extremely simple; merely pumps on wheels or a cart with a container below that had to be filled with the use of buckets. The wheels were often solid and they were so small that rapid transport was difficult and no horses were used. In 1672, however, more advanced vehicles were built following designs for fire engines used in Holland.
Ten years after the Great Fire, the south side of London suffered severely from another fire which started close to the River Thames. Six hundred houses were destroyed and written accounts refer to fire engines with leather pipes being used. In November 1682, London suffered yet another great fire. Over a thousand houses were severely damaged. And although there is an account of fire engines being used, it appears the fire was finally brought under control by blowing up houses in its path just before it reached a timber yard.
Used by courtesy of Express Publishing
Zapis nagrania do Zadania 17.
Interviewer: With us in the studio today is Dr Peter Barham, physicist and food
fanatic, to present a fresh and informative series called The Science of Cooking, in
which he teams up with UK Chef of the Year, Heston Blumenthal, to apply scientific
principles to the understanding and improvement of food preparation. Dr Barham,
thank you for joining us.
Peter Barham: It's a pleasure to be here.
I: Can you tell our listeners what good there is in combining the expertise of science
and food?
PB: Well, with our combined expertise we can tackle questions like why foam stays
foamy or why you should never add salt to boiling water. In fact, this is how we started
going. About two years ago I received a phone call from Heston, one of the UK's top
chefs. He began the conversation by asking me why chefs add salt to water when
cooking beans. I replied that there was no good reason, really.
I: I see. Why do you think Heston called you with his question?
PB: Cooks give different reasons for why they add salt. Some say it keeps beens
green, others suggest it raises the boiling point so that vegetables cook faster, some
say it prevents vegetables from going soggy and a few suggest it improves the
flavour. Heston wanted to know which is the right explanation.
I: And why do you think that none of these explanations really works?
PB: Well, the colour of vegetables is affected by the acidity of the water and the
calcium content, but neither are affected by salt. Although adding salt to water
increases the boiling point, the effect is tiny. Atmospheric pressure also affects the
boiling point of water. A tablespoon of salt in a litre of water will raise its boiling point
about as much as the difference made by a change from stormy to hot sunny weather.
I: I see. And why doesn't salt prevent beans from going soggy?
PB: Vegetables go soggy if they are cooked too long. Adding salt has very little effect,
at least not unless the salt concentration is extremely high, over 10Og of salt in a litre
of water.
I: I see, but surely adding salt affects the taste, doesn't it?
PB: As for taste, little or no salt will actually diffuse into the vegetables during cooking,
so the only taste comes from salt remaining on the outside of the vegetables once
they have been drained. In practice a green bean cooked in salted water, say one
tablespoon in a litre of water, and allowed to drain will retain on its surface less than
1 /10000th of a gram of salt. This is rather less than most people can actually detect.
I: Well, I'm afraid we're going to take a short break now, but we'll be back in just a few
minutes to find out why certain flavours go particularly well together, like fish and
chips or strawberries and cream, or surprisingly, garlic and coffee. So, stay tuned!
Adapted from Science of Cooking, www.bbc.co.uk
Zapis nagrania do zadania 18.
Interviewer: Welcome back... And for those of you who have just joined us, our guest is Gerald Ferguson, a legal expert, and our topic today is legislation relating to drugs and alcohol. Gerald, you have been telling us about what the law says about serving alcohol. What I'd like to hear from you now is what laws we have relating to drugs. Gerald Ferguson: The main piece of legislation relating to drugs is the Misuse of Drugs Act, which was passed in 1971. The Act divides drugs into three categories known as Class A, B and C. Drugs that are regulated in this way are known as 'controlled' substances. Class A drugs are those considered to be the most harmful while drugs classified C are those considered not so harmful.
I: What exactly does the Act make illegal?
GF: Under the Misuse of Drugs ActW is an offence to possess a controlled substance
unlawfully. Secondly, the Act makes it illegal to possess a controlled substance with
intent to supply it. Thirdly, the Act makes it an offence to unlawfully supply a controlled
drug even where no charge is made for the drug. Lastly, it is illegal under the Misuse
of Drugs Action allow premises you occupy or manage to be used for the purpose of drug taking.
I: I see. Is there any difference between possessing illegal drugs and supplying them
as regards the gravity of the offence?
GF: Indeed, there is. Supplying drugs, which is known as trafficking, attracts the more
serious punishments, including life imprisonment for Class A offences. There is
a special act relating to trafficking, the Drug Traffickers Offences Act, which gives
police the power to seize the assets and income of anyone who is found guilty of
drugs trafficking, even if that income isn't related to the trafficking of drugs. It also
makes it illegal to manufacture or sell equipment for the preparation or use of
controlled drugs.
I: But how can the police be sure the drugs are illegal? After all, controlled drugs such
as morphine and ketamine are used for medicinal purposes and can be bought at
a pharmacy.
GF: Possession and purchase of drugs are regulated underthe Medicines Act. Under
this act, drugs used for medicinal purposes are divided into three main categories.
A pharmacist can only sell 'Prescription Only' drugs, but only if they have been
prescribed by a doctor. The 'General' category allows the medicines to be sold
without a prescription in any shop. A pharmacist can sell 'Pharmacy Medicines'
without the need for a prescription.
I: So, what happens if you are found possessing a 'Prescription Only' drug, but no
prescription has ever been written for it?
GF: Possession of 'Prescription Only' medicines without a prescription is a serious
offence, for which you can be sent to prison, given a suspended sentence or fined
a large amount of money.
I: And what are fines based on?
GF: Fines are based on the value of the drugs seized and they... (fading away)
Based on www.bbc.co.uk./crime
Zapis nagrania do zadania 19.
Interviewer: Good evening and welcome to another programme in the Body and
Mind series. Tonight our guest is Christine Rosenbloom, professor at Georgia State
University and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Professor
Rosenbloom, welcome to the programme.
Christine Rosenbloom: Thank you. I'm delighted to be here. What would you and
your listeners like to know?
I: Well, perhaps you could tell us first if vitamins in pills differ from those in food.
ChR: Vitamins and minerals in supplements are synthetic forms of the nutrients. The
word 'synthetic' doesn't necessarily mean worse, however. Even those supplements
that claim to have 'natural' ingredients contain some synthetic ingredients. Indeed, if
a pill contained only natural ingredients, it would be the size of a golf ball.
I: I see, are you saying, then, that our bodies absorb synthetic forms as well as they
absorb natural forms?
ChR: Yes, indeed. The one exception seems to be vitamin E, which in natural form is
better absorbed than in synthetic form. In fact, the natural forms of vitamin E are
absorbed and utilized twice as well as the synthetic forms. But most supplements now
contain more natural vitamin E, so it is well absorbed in pill form.
I: Could you tell us how vitamins are absorbed?
ChR: For absorption to occur, a pill must dissolve and disintegrate. So when shopping for supplements, look for the USP symbol. This symbol indicates that the U.S. Pharmacopeias, an independent testing organization, has tested the supplement to make sure it will dissolve in your stomach. The absorption of nutrients in pill form is not well studied, but if they dissolve in the stomach, they are probably well absorbed. I: What else should we be paying attention to when we shop for vitamins?
ChR: Look for a supplement that contains about 100 percent of the daily values for nutrients. Don't spend extra money on products that are marked 'high potency', 'stress formula', or 'laboratory approved'. The supplement industry is not well regulated and claims can be made without much scientific proof. And don't forget, 'food first'. Foods contain substances other than vitamins and minerals for good health. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains contain phytochemicals, or plant chemicals, that can help to fight the development and progression of many chronic diseases.
I: I'm afraid we'll have to take a short break now. When we come back, we'll try to find out from our guest what vitamins are. Stay tuned!
Adapted from www.scientificamerican.com
Zapis nagrania do zadania 20.
Speaker: Like it or not, research into genetic modification is coming on in leaps and bounds. There have been many interesting developments in this area, not least of which is a genetically modified flower which the Danish biotech company, Aresa Biodetection, has developed. This rather special flower is able to detect land mines and Aresa Biodetection aim to have a prototype available for use in the next few years.
The genetically modified flower has been coded to change colour when its roots come into contact with the nitrogen dioxide emitted by explosives buried underground. Three to six weeks after being planted in areas where land mines have been buried, the plant will turn bright red whenever it is near a land mine. The plant has a natural ability to change colour to red or brown when exposed to conditions such as cold or drought, but Aresa have coded it only to react to nitrogen dioxide. The current method of detecting land mines is to put a stick into the ground to find the mine, then removing it and detonating it. Other ways of finding these lethal objects is by using sniffer dogs or metal detectors. Chief executive of Aresa biodetection, Simon Oestergaard, says that he does not believe that the flower will remove the need for other methods to be used. The product's main target is soil that will be used for farming purposes.
According to recent research carried out by Aresa, there are over 100 million land mines buried underground in 45 countries around the world. These mines often remain in place for many years after a war is over and are extremely dangerous. Peace activists claim that land mines cause injuries and even deaths to tens of thousands of victims every year.
The use of land mines was made illegal in the 1997 Ottawa Convention and last year over 90 countries cleared their land of these hidden killers in order to make their countries safer for civilians. Aresa's modified weed could help to locate and destroy all remaining land mines.
Those who disapprove of genetic modification may fear that introducing genetically modified species into the environment may cause harm in the long run by upsetting the natural order. However, according to Simon Oestergaard, Aresa's plant is infertile and is not able to spread its seeds. This means that there is very little risk of the plant accidentally spreading into areas outside those in which it has been planted. Oestergaard said that Aresa was not the only company trying to develop genetically modified plants for use in detecting land mines and did not give an exact date for the availability of the plant, but it is clear that Aresa have made an important contribution to the world through their genetic experiments.
Zapis nagrania do zadania 21.
Speaker 1: It's all right, I suppose, though I'm not too keen on the ward sister - she's a bit strict for my taste - and it's lights out at 9 pm which seems a bit early to me. The guy in the next bed is always complaining about visiting hours being too short, but I think as we are all recovering from operations, we need all the peace and quite we can get.
Speaker 2: It's number 52 - just past the petrol station on the left - you can't miss it. Well, as soon as possible really. Everyone has arrived and I wouldn't like the food to get cold. Oh, there's no need to worry about that; I can always order more later on if we need it. No, just come as you are; nobody else is dressed up. Just don't take all night because we're all starving!
Speaker 3: It's no good, they say they won't take them in the passenger cabin. No, I couldn't possibly send them as cargo - ...
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