Customer: Good morning. I'd like to book a coach to London. I was hoping you had something available this Saturday afternoon.
Agent: Good morning, sir. Take a seat and I'll just check for you. Er, yes, we still have several free seats for Saturday. Where will you be leaving from? There are three pick-up points in town: Main Street, Centenary Square or the Central Bus Station.
Customer: From Centenary Square, please. That's easier for me to get to than the bus station.
Agent: And what time would you like to leave? There are coaches on the hour, every hour, from 12.00 through till 6.00 p.m.
Customer: Well, I'm meeting someone at the station in London and I need to be there for 4.30, so which one would you recommend?
Agent: Um, well, there's one leaving at 1.00. That arrives at Victoria Station at 4.10, if that's any good. Traffic is usually quite light at the weekend and the drivers tend to make good time, so I think you'd certainly be there for 4.30.
Customer: OK, that sounds just right. I think I'll take that. I can always phone ahead if I'm going to be late.
Agent: And when are you returning, sir?
Customer: Actually, I'm not sure when I'll be coming back, so I won't book a return ticket, just one way.
Agent: I can always book you an open return if you'd like. You can use this at any time within the next month as long as you contact us first to reserve a seat.
Customer: Well, there's a chance I might be getting a lift back, you see, so I'll just pay for one way. I don't want to buy a return if I don't need it.
Agent: OK, no problem. Are you travelling alone?
Customer: Just the one ticket, please. I'm going down to visit my daughter at university. My son's meeting me at the station, so it's a proper family reunion.
Agent: Very nice! OK. Well, I can book that for you if you like, sir. That'll be £23.50. Now, I just need to take down some details. Can I have your name, please?
Customer: Yes, it's Matthew Upton, that's U-P-T-O-N.
Agent: And your address?
Customer: 34 Allesley Road. Allesley, that's A-double L-E-S-L-E-Y.
Agent: And your telephone number?
Customer: 01732 558997.
Agent: And your email address. We'll use this to send confirmation of your travel details.
Customer: matt257@yahoo.co.uk.
Agent: OK, thanks.
Customer: Before I forget, I'll be taking a little luggage. Is there a set luggage allowance?
Agent: We offer a very good luggage allowance. You can take two suitcases as long as they're no more than 20 kilos each; that's 40 kilos in total, and one small item of hand luggage on the coach. Most people find that more than adequate. Any additional items carry an extra charge of £10 for each bag.
Customer: I certainly won't be taking that much, so I should be OK. I was worried I might be taking too much.
Agent: Would you like travel insurance included with your ticket? It's an additional £2.00.
Customer: No, I don't think so.
Agent: No problem, it's not compulsory. OK, how will you be paying?
Customer: Actually, I've been having trouble with my debit card today and I've left my cheque book at home, so I'd better pay in cash. You'll give me a receipt, won't you?
Agent: Certainly, and we'll send confirmation to your email address as well. So, that's £23.50, sir. If you just wait a minute, I'll print you off a receipt.
Presenter: ... and welcome back to the programme. Today I'm talking with Mary Littlejohn from Meere Green Library. As you'll all know, we've sadly been without our local library for the past three months but the good news is that it's about to open again. Great news, Mary.
Mary: It certainly is, Jonathan. Despite the fact that money's in short supply, I think visitors will be pleasantly surprised at how different - and hopefully better - everything is. Fortunately, we didn't need to replace the roof as we'd originally feared. It just needed repairing, so we were left with more money than we expected. We've been able to replace all that old wooden shelving with a more modern style. The computers have been moved to a new designated IT room, and on the subject of technology, visitors can now order and return books and CDs on their own with our new automated system - so no more queuing to be served. Sadly, money ran out before we had the chance to decorate the meeting room but we're hoping to complete that next year. Oh, and the children's section now has some colourful new tables and chairs as well.
Presenter: That all sounds fantastic. So, are you having a big re-opening party?
Mary: Well, the doors open on 28th August and we'll be serving tea, coffee and sandwiches at 12.30. Then we get down to business in September. The local History Society will be meeting on the first Monday of each month at 7.30 as usual, and we'll be starting our Wednesday lunchtime Book Club at 1.00. Both of those events are in the meeting room. The Computer Club won't be running in September as we still need to complete work in the IT suite, but this will certainly be returning in October. And we're especially looking forward to welcoming a local writer, Sally Wainright, to a new event on 22nd September. This will be the first of a series of events we're calling 'Ask the Author'. Visitors will be able to hear authors read from their latest works, ask questions and even buy a copy of their book to take home.
Presenter: I might pop along to that one myself. Now, I understand you also have a request.
Mary: Yes, that's right. We're looking for anyone who has a few spare hours each week who would like to offer their services to the library. Our computer classes have become so popular over the past year that we're thinking about starting a second session and we'll need someone to run it. The current teacher will work with you, so you won't be left to sort things out on your own. We can promise the person a warm welcome and a class of very motivated people, many of whom are at quite a high level. We're also trying to do our bit to break down the generation gap and we've been inviting some of our older citizens in to talk to school groups about the past. The children range in age from seven to eleven - they're always accompanied by their teacher, by the way - but we haven't opened it up to teenagers yet. So, if you'd like to help out, please get in touch.
Presenter: And I also understand you've got good news for those who've been making use of the mobile library.
Mary: Yes. Because the library has been closed, we've been running a mobile library service and going out to people in the community. Well, feedback has been so positive about this, particularly amongst our elderly users, that we've decided to keep it going. Users can reserve books if the bus doesn't have anything that they feel like borrowing. There's a computer on board with access to the library database, so the librarian will be able to reserve one for you. Unfortunately, we don't stock newspapers or magazines on the bus as these tend to be for reference purposes only and can't be taken away. We're also pleased to be working with the local council, who've agreed to send someone from the community office on the bus. They'll be able to help you with any local issues you may have.
Presenter: Well, many thanks, Mary. I'm sure our listeners will be delighted to hear the service is fully up and running again.
Tutor: OK, Fergus, so we've looked at your assignment, which was OK. Now, before you go, you know about the jobs fair that's coming up, don't you?
Fergus: Yes, it's the week after next, isn't it? The whole week, is that right?
Tutor: That's right. Monday through to Friday. I'd suggest making sure you get along there on Tuesday and Wednesday. Engineering companies tend to be more prominent then rather than on Monday or the end of the week.
Fergus: Um, yes, I've got the programme for this year. And it looks like those days will be best for me. I'm only in my first year, so I'm not expecting too much from the day. But I've heard you can pick up some valuable ideas for career paths.
Tutor: Well, you've still got a few years here, I know, but it's never too soon to make a good impression on potential employers. You've got the programme, so do some research. Have a look at company websites so you've got the basis for a good conversation with the people on the stands.
Fergus: Yes, I was looking at one the other day. The boss was being interviewed about their staff development programme, and there are one or two other firms I'm also interested in.
Tutor: Mm, that's good. You've made a start already. Remember to think about what you're going to ask people before you turn up. Not how much you're likely to earn, of course! You only discuss salaries at job interviews. No, questions about the skills you need for the job, the kind of personal qualities employers are looking for, that kind of thing.
Fergus: Yes, I see what you mean. It's best to go prepared and make the most of the opportunities.
Tutor: And I'm sure you don't need telling that it's a good idea to dress correctly for the event. You need to give off a professional air.
Fergus: Well, I won't be buying anything special for the occasion, that's for sure. I've got a suit and tie at my parents' but I don't have time to collect it. I'll make an effort, though. A nice pair of trousers and a jacket, nothing too formal.
Tutor: I'm sure you'll look the part. By the way, you'll often find companies have more than one representative, maybe someone from marketing handing out free gifts, someone who'll explain the interview process, an ex-student who now works for them, that kind of thing. Try and direct your questions towards the best person.
Fergus: Yes, that's a good idea. I'd certainly be keen to talk to any ex-students that are around.
Tutor: I'm sure you'll find the whole thing really useful. It's important to go to these events, and we always get great feedback from students who've attended. As long as you go with the right expectations. It's unlikely you'll come away with the promise of a job, of course. It's more about discovering what companies are looking for in potential employees.
Fergus: Yes, plus they're a great opportunity to practise things like networking, meeting new people, talking about yourself and what you do, d'you know what I mean?
Tutor: Definitely, yes. There'll be several high-profile companies in the engineering sector, and you'll have the chance to get to know some useful people. If they give you their card or contact information, make sure you keep it safe. It's a sign they like you and want you to keep in touch.
Lecturer: Many thanks for inviting me along today to talk to you about the results of some very interesting recent archaeological research.
The saying 'you are what you eat' is often applied to present day dietary advice. Certainly, our bodies will show evidence of whether we eat healthily or live on fast food and take-aways. This can be particularly useful in archaeological research; through a careful analysis of the ancient bones of our ancestors, we can tell a great deal about their diet and the way they lived.
I'd like to talk to you today about some research into the early settlers of some remote tropical islands in the Pacific. When these people travelled to these new lands 3,000 years ago, they had to bring along all the resources they needed for survival, including food, plants and animals from their original homes.
One such group were the Lapita people, who were early settlers of Remote Oceania - several islands in the Pacific. When the Lapita set sail for the island Vanuatu, they brought with them domestic animals and crop plants. This allowed them to settle in an area where no humans had previously lived and that had limited natural resources. Archaeologists have been keen to discover to what extent these settlers and their domestic animals relied on the resources they'd brought with them compared to the native plants and animals they found on the island.
In order to try and understand the diet and lives of the Lapita people, archaeologists analysed the chemical composition of the bones of 50 adults excavated from the Lapita cemetery on Efate Island, Vanuatu. Depending on what we eat, we consume varying amounts of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur. As these chemical elements are ultimately deposited in our bones, the amounts, or ratios, of each one can provide a sort of 'dietary signature'. For instance, plants incorporate nitrogen into their tissues, and as animals eat plants and other animals, nitrogen builds up in their own system. The presence of different ratios of chemical elements may show whether a human or an animal ate plants, animals or both. Carbon and sulphur ratios offer another clue to diet. Carbon ratios, for example, differ between land and water organisms, as do sulphur ratios, the values of which are much higher in aquatic organisms compared to land-based organisms. As well as examining the settlers' bones, scientists carried out a comprehensive analysis of the chemical elements found in the settlers' likely food sources. This included modern and ancient plants and animals. They found that early Lapita inhabitants of Vanuatu may have searched for food rather than relying entirely on food they had grown themselves during the early stages of colonisation. In the longer term, they probably did grow and consume food from the resources they'd brought with them, but early on they appear to have relied as much on a mixture of fish, marine turtles and fruit bats, as well as their own domestic land animals.
The archaeologists believe that this analysis of diet may also provide clues to the culture of the settlers. For one thing, males had much higher nitrogen levels compared to females, which indicates greater access to meat. This difference in food consumption may support the hypothesis that Lapita societies were ranked in some way, or it may suggest dietary differences associated with the work people were involved in.
Additionally, the archaeologists analysed ancient pig and chicken bones and found that carbon levels in the settlers' domestic animals indicated that they were eating a diet mainly of plants. However, their nitrogen levels indicate that they may also have roamed freely, eating foods such as insects. This would have allowed the Lapita people to keep food resources that were in short supply for themselves, rather than feeding them to their domestic animals.