F: Good morning!
M: Hi.
F: How can I help you?
M: I'm looking for information about travelling to France. I'm studying in Nice next year and need to go there in September. I'm thinking of driving, so I guess it's either through the Channel, or by ferry. Um... I think the ferry's a lot slower, isn't it?
F: Indeed it is; it takes around nine hours from London to Paris, including the overland bits, and usually it's more expensive too, unless you book well ahead of time; then sometimes the ferry's more affordable.
M: How much does it cost?
F: Well, when you take the train and the ferry now, you must buy your tickets separately ...
M: Actually I'd prefer to take the Channel. How much does that cost?
F: That depends on your travel date and availability of tickets, but you can expect to pay about 50 pounds each way for the car, in addition to your passenger fares.
M: It's not cheap.
F: No; will you be using your car a lot while you're in France?
M: Uh, not really, but I'll have a lot of luggage, so it seems like the easiest way. Besides, I hate flying.
F: Driving is never the easiest way to get from the UK to France, I'm afraid! And of course, your steering wheel will be on the wrong side when you get there! If you're not going to need your car when you arrive, may I suggest leaving it at home and travelling by train? It's much faster, more affordable and you can take as much luggage as you need, there aren't limits.
M: Oh, I didn't know that about the luggage - that's good. It would certainly be more relaxing, I suppose. Ok, tell me about the train.
F: It's definitely the most popular option these days. Eurostar has now captured over 70% of the London to Paris market from the airlines, and maybe this has something to do with the fact that 92.4% of Eurostar trains run on time, against just 65% of flights on the same routes. From central London to central Paris, Eurostar is faster than flying as well.
M: And the Eurostar is ... what exactly? A train company?
F: Oh, sorry! The Eurostar is the high-speed passenger train that runs from London to Paris via the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar can reach 186 miles per hour, and the journey takes just 2 hours 15 minutes.
M: All right, so it's easy to get to Paris, but what about Nice? It's a fair bit farther.
F: Yes, but it couldn't be easier. There are two main options; you can leave London at seven twenty-seven in the morning, then transfer in Paris to catch the TGV train at eleven forty-six, which takes about five and a half hours, and be in Nice in time for an evening meal. Or, you can take any Eurostar to Paris in time to catch the twenty-two twenty-five from Paris, which arrives in Nice at eight fifty-four. It's a longer journey, but many people prefer the convenience of travelling overnight.
M: Yes, that appeals to me. About how much does the overnight journey cost?
F: The example I've pulled up on the computer now costs a hundred and thirty-five pounds return, but sometimes it's lower; as low as 97 pounds. I'll write down a couple of website addresses for you, and you can search for various times and fares on your own.
M: Thanks, that's great ... oh ... one more thing. I'll need a single fare, because I won't be returning for a while. Is that going to be more expensive?
F: No, don't worry. Singles are approximately half of the return fare, though this wasn't true several years ago, when it wasn't uncommon for a return to be cheaper than a single.
M: Ok, this sounds good, but what about flying? Is that an option?
F: If you aren't going to opt for taking the train, flying is another good option. While the train's the fastest way to travel from London to Paris, you can actually save time by opting to fly from London to the South of France.
M: I guess there's an airport in Nice, isn't there?
F: Yes; the Nice Cote d'Azur Airport. It's about 7km from the centre of Nice. Since it's the third most important airport in France after Charles de Gaulle and Orly in Paris, there's no shortage of flights.
M: Do you know exactly how long it takes?
F: Two hours.
M: That's quick!
F: Yes, but you need to consider that you'll lose time checking in and waiting to collect luggage and such. And of course, there's a baggage allowance.
M: True. All right, thanks very much for your help. I've got a lot to think about now.
F: No problem at all! Feel free to come back if you have more questions.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen! Thanks for joining me on our monthly excursion to visit new architectural and city planning developments in our city of Birmingham. Today, as you can see, we're here at the development site of "the Cube", and its construction is well underway. Indeed, the year ahead will be an exciting year for Birmingham Development Company and its construction arm, Buildability, as the construction of "the Cube", the most spectacular building in Birmingham, continues at speed. This new building, valued at over £100 million, has been designed by the internationally renowned architects, MAKE. Their design team, led by Ken Shuttleworth, has created a 17-storey cube aimed at providing a spectacular contrast to the increasing number of towers appearing on the Birmingham cityscape.
The complex 142-week building programme that will transform the Birmingham skyline upon its completion, is currently over halfway through its development. The building will continue to rise, over the coming year, with each floor taking 2-3 weeks to complete. As you can see, to your right, the first shipment of the special gold anodised cladding that will adorn the cube has now arrived on-site, and from February, the glistening golden exterior will begin to be installed, bringing the unique building to life. Late summer will see the 'topping out' of the concrete frame of the cube structure, with the intricate metallic fretwork screen beginning to take shape in the early autumn.
What has been accomplished to date in the city's regeneration has been nothing short of amazing, yet we hope to set a new benchmark for developments in Birmingham. The Cube will bring forward a new standard of architecture and a building, which will not only be Birmingham's most striking waterside location, but also one which is identifiable around the world. The Cube breaks all the boundaries of what has been achieved in Birmingham so far.
The finished Cube will be a mixed-use building. It will house the city's first rooftop restaurant with panoramic views whilst a boutique hotel and residential apartments below will feature internal views over the twisting atrium. Further down, high specification Grade A office space is planned with more exclusive retail and waterside restaurants at the base. The Mailbox has already raised the bar in the quality and calibre of our architecture and the retail offerings, worldwide brand names and stylish restaurants have given Birmingham a contemporary profile rivalling the capitals of Europe.
From the outset, the Cube's design team sought to create a new landmark building for Birmingham which fits into its context and which draws people in. Lined with coloured glass and with an exterior clad in shimmering metal fretwork, the Cube has visible links to Birmingham's heritage in engineering and jewellery manufacture. It was essential that the building created a strong visual presence, immediately identifiable as a gateway to the canal and city centre area to the north.
Our city is a city of the future and as a futuristic building with phenomenal foresight in style and design, the Cube is indicative of our plans in how we see Birmingham developing. The Cube will help to elevate us onto a global stage. Now, let's go and have a look at the progress of the entrance gateway.
L: Thomas, let's not go to the lab. Let's just stay here in the student lounge and drink tea and review the chapter.
T: You know we can't do that. We've a responsibility to turn up and make sure our tutor has understood the week's lectures. If we don't go, no one will ever even realize she's got the theories all muddled up!
S: Oh really?
L: Sophie, it's awful! Marlena just opens her mouth and I'm confused. Really, she...
T: Marlena's our tutor.
S: Yeah, I gathered that...
L: You lot have got no manners; I was in the middle of saying something! She'll say things that make no sense whatsoever, and I'm thinking I've misunderstood something, and I'm looking around the room and everyone has these looks on their faces of...
T: Disbelief and merriment!
L: Maybe you do, Thomas, but we're not all geniuses. Really, I'll be so worried that I've got it all wrong, then people start asking questions, and by and by we figure out that she's mixed something up.
S: That's too bad. It's not a good situation at all.
D: But surely you're exaggerating a bit, Lynn...
L: No, it's awful! I don't know how she got through her undergraduate studies, much less got accepted as a postgrad here. You'd think our professor would have some idea about her abilities.
D: Marlena's an unusual name. Is she English?
L: She's Spanish, David. She's got a really strong accent...
T: Really that's a lot of the problem, I think. I don't think she's thick; she just doesn't communicate very well. I'm not sure she understands us completely, especially when someone's joking around. And we do tease her a bit, I must admit.
S: What a nightmare! I'd hate to have you in my class if I was a tutor, Tom!
T: As long as you're clever Sophie, you'd have nothing to worry about...
S: But you've just said she's not thick!
D: I think I've met her, actually; I think we had a class together, maybe last year. She was really shy and quiet. Hardly spoke the whole term. But she was always smiley and friendly. She seemed nice, actually, and I think she got one of the highest marks in the class. Maybe you've all picked on her so much that she's so nervous that she can't think clearly. Ever think of that?
L: But we don't need to baby-sit; we need help! It's a difficult subject!
S: Has anyone ever gone up and asked her for help individually?
T: Yes, actually. I have. I couldn't understand one of the formulas in the first chapter - the theory about why it worked just made no sense to me, so I went and asked her about it and she cleared it right up. She was very helpful. She's not thick; I already said that.
S: She's just so much fun to torment, right?
T: Yep, that's it!
S: Lynn, if you are having trouble with something why don't you make an appointment to meet with her individually and see if she can help you that way? Maybe you'd see a different side of her. I reckon she just hates getting up in front of the class and I can hardly blame her.
L: Yes, I could try that I suppose.
D: Guys, the tutors aren't old academics who've been teaching for thirty years; they're just like us, two years down the road, if we're clever enough to continue with our education. I know I'd be mortified to get up in front of you lot, and I don't think I'll feel that differently in a couple of years' time. You know, we're far more experienced as students than they are as teachers.
T: You're right, David. Really, it's more like one of our mates is trying to help us out, but you know, our mates aren't so frightened of us!
S: Yeah, but you aren't so horrible to your mates, are you?
Hello there; can I have your attention please? We've got a lot to cover today and we need to get started. If you recall, last week we discussed the AIDS epidemic, and its effect on health care systems in the countries with the highest incidence. Well, today I'm going to speak about another significant disease that is rather closely associated with the AIDS epidemic - Tuberculosis.
In the UK, active Tuberculosis, otherwise known as TB, was common in the nineteenth century - the old 'consumption' of romantic novels. Since then, better living conditions, better nutrition, immunisation and effective treatments in the twentieth century have all combined to make TB uncommon in the UK today. However, TB is still common in developing countries and parts of Eastern Europe. It causes more deaths worldwide than any other infectious disease - about three million per year. This is a tragic statistic since TB is now generally a curable disease. Overall, one third of the world's population is currently infected with the bacteria that cause TB. However, people infected with TB bacilli will not necessarily become sick with the disease. The immune system "walls off" the TB bacilli which, protected by a thick waxy coat, can lie dormant for years. It's estimated that 5 to 10 percent of people who are infected with TB bacilli, but who are not infected with HIV, become sick or infectious at some time during their life. Left untreated, each person with active TB disease will infect on average between 10 and 15 people every year.
There are certain risk factors that make certain people more likely to become ill with TB. When people's immune systems are weakened, their chances of becoming sick are greater, for example, due to HIV infection, immune-suppressing treatment, or alcohol or drug addiction. Age is also a factor, with babies, young children and the elderly being most susceptible. In addition, poor nutrition and lack of vitamin D are linked to TB. Finally, TB is more common in certain environments such as among homeless people, among prisoners, in large cities and in more impoverished areas.
Until 50 years ago, there were no medicines to cure TB. Finding medicines to cure TB was a tremendous breakthrough. But now, strains that are resistant to a single drug have been documented in every country surveyed; what's more, strains of TB resistant to all major anti-TB drugs have emerged. Drug-resistant TB is caused by inconsistent or partial treatment, when patients do not take all their medicines regularly for the required period because they start to feel better, because doctors and health workers prescribe the wrong treatment regimens, or because the drug supply is unreliable.
A particularly dangerous form of drug-resistant TB is multidrug-resistant TB, abbreviated as MDR-TB, which is defined as the disease caused by TB bacilli resistant to at least the two most powerful anti-TB drugs. Rates of MDR-TB are high in some countries, especially in the former Soviet Union, and threaten TB control efforts. While drug-resistant TB is generally treatable, it requires extensive chemotherapy - up to two years of treatment - with second-line anti-TB drugs. These second-line drugs are more costly than first-line drugs, and produce adverse drug reactions that are more severe, though still manageable.
The recent emergence of extensively drug-resistant TB, called XDR-TB, particularly in settings where many TB patients are also infected with HIV, poses a serious threat to TB control and confirms the urgent need to strengthen basic TB control and to apply the new WHO guidelines for the management of drug-resistant TB.