W: I love children. I can sing to them and teach them how to dance. M: Then have you worked in a kindergarden before? W: No, but I used to take care of children during summer and winter holidays. M: I see. By the way, do you want to work part-time or full-time? W: I'd prefer part-time. M: When can you work? W: I'm free every afternoon. So I can work about 20 hours a week. M: OK, Jean, you're hired. You can work here from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., four days a week, except Friday, Saturday and Sunday. What was said before this conversation?
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Answer: M: Would you please tell me why you want to work in our kindergarden? You know kids are sometimes so tiresome.
Q: M: Oh, thank you. It's a photograph that I took on my vacation last year. W: You took it yourself? I didn't know you were a photographer. M: Oh, yes, I've been taking pictures for years. W: It sounds interesting. Do you have any more of your pictures here? And may I see them? M: Yes, certainly. Some of them are faces, just faces of people who I see when I'm walking around. W: Do you let them know that you're taking pictures of them? M: I try not to. I don't like pictures of people who purpose for the camera. I like people who are going about their business without knowing the camera is there. W: I suppose you need a lot of equipment. How many cameras do you have? M: Well, I have a dozen of them, but I use two of them more than the others. What was said before this conversation?
A: W: I like that picture you put up on the wall yesterday.
Question: M: OK. I watch people a lot. I do that when I travel. I've been to many countries such as Britain, Italy and Sweden. So I spend a lot of time at airports. While waiting for my flights, I watch people passing by and start my imagination. For example, the other day, when I was waiting for my flight to Greece, I saw a couple. They were buying magazines at that moment. They were not wearing business clothes, but the man was carrying a suitcase. Every few seconds, the woman looked around. I wondered if someone was following them. Perhaps they were running away, and you know, this reminded me of a story in the newspaper that day: a bank clerk stole one million pounds a week before and disappeared with his wife. There was a picture of them in the paper. The couple really looked like the wiz. Maybe I should stop them. Just then, I saw them say goodbye to each other, and the woman walked away. Well, sometimes I make mistakes like that. But I find things like that are very useful for my writing. What was said before this conversation?
Answer: W: Good morning, everybody. Today, for our writing class, we are glad to have Mr. Henry Stone with us, a well-known writer in this country. He is going to share with us his writing experiences. Now, Henry, please tell us how you find so many interesting things for your stories.
[Q]: W: Well, like so many easy questions, the answer isn't very simple. Basically, human memory is a compartment in people's brains where they store images rather like the hard disc drive in a computer. And like a hard disc drive, our memories can become infected or even wiped out by accidents. But the comparison breaks down when we consider that we can train our memories to expand and work better which computers can't manage yet. M: When you talk about memory being infected, do you mean by a disease? W: Yes. For instance, people suffering from a physiological disease like Alzheimer: forget things that happened in the past. And they also forget how to perform simple tasks like tying their shoelaces. The good news is that brain exercises can help keep the brain young. Research has shown that people who have better educations and more mentally active jobs have a lower risk of developing the disease. M: And how can someone exercise his brain? By thinking a lot? W: In a way, yes. But you can also practice using your memory which not only exercises your brain but also improves you ability to remember things. Unfortunately, a lot of devices in modern life are designed to make sure we don't forget things which can make our brains more idle and weaken our memories. M: Can you give us some examples of how to exercise our memories? W: Sure, there is a very simple technique, although it works better for some people than for others. When you want to remember something, think of a physical thing it reminds you of. If I want to remember a date from history, let's say, 1066, the date of the Battle of Hastings. I might think that battle reminds me of bottle, so I think of a bottle with the number 1066 written on the label. And I just picture that bottle to myself. What was said before this conversation?
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[A]: M: Today on mind matters, I'm talking to Dr Ann Winters, an expert on human memory.. Ann, welcome to the program. Now, I suppose the first question everyone would ask is: what exactly is human memory?
input: Please answer the following: M: It is, isn't it? What was said before this conversation?
++++++++++
output: F: This book is very interesting.
W: Late last night? That's strange. What did he look like? M: He seemed to be about thirty or so. W: Was he tall or short? M: He wasn't very tall, nor very short. About aver age height, I think. W: Was he fat or thin? M: A bit thin, if I remember correctly. Anyway, certainly not fat, but then he wasn't very thin either. W: Was there anything unusual about his looks? What kind of face did he have-round, square or long? M: Let me think...It was rather square, but not very. Or was it? Really, I didn't notice. It was so late and the lighting wasn't good. W: Was he wearing glasses? M: Was he or wasn't he? I'm not sure now. You see, I was so tired and sleepy. I didn't notice. I didn't pay much attention. What was said before this conversation?
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Answer:
M: Someone came late last night looking for you. I told him you were out and suggested that he leave a no te, but he didn't.