Speaker 1 Kevin is very quick to think negative things about people. Even when he talks about his best friend, he always tells you about his faults. And if somebody hasn’t got any faults, he invents them

Interviewer

So what’s the catch?

Patrick

Oh, only a cynical, suspicious person would 

ask that! In my opinion, there is no catch. It 

doesn’t cost you anything! As the website 

says, people helping each other saves money

and makes the world a better place. Even as 

an economist, I agree with those principles!

2.24 Lesson 9G, Exercises 1, 2 and 3

Examiner

These two photos show places where you might

go and eat for a treat. I’d like you to compare 

the photos and say which place would be more 

suitable for a birthday treat for a friend.

Student

Well, these are two very different places to eat 

out. Let me see … The first one looks like a 

Chinese buffet – very busy and casual – and 

the second looks like a more formal 

restaurant – more sophisticated and expensive. 

If I had to choose where to take a friend for a 

birthday treat? Well, for one thing, it would 

depend which friend. For instance, if I were to 

take my friend Mark, we’d go to the Chinese 

restaurant. Not because it’s cheaper – although 

it’s probably better value for money – but 

because it would be more casual. Mark is a 

very relaxed kind of guy. Another thing is that 

Mark likes food from different countries. In my 

view, the elegant restaurant wouldn’t be Mark’s 

kind of thing at all. Although he loves good food,

he doesn’t like formal restaurants. And this one 

looks very quiet! On top of that, he would hate 

having to dress up for dinner! For those 

reasons, I think I would prefer to take Mark to 

the busy, noisy Chinese restaurant.

2.25 Lesson 9G, Exercise 5