Listening assignments

YOUR NAME:    Jelle Dekker

ID CODE:             1589413

CLASS:                 JBC-B101

RADIO ASSIGNMENT 1

TITLE OF PROGRAMME:               World Briefing

BROADCAST BY:                            BBC WORLD SERVICE

DATE:                                                6-12-11

DURATION:                                     25 minutes (16:05 – 16:30)

The first topic was about the Pakistan government turning a blind eye to killings of white people.

People were murdered, the murders were not investigated at all.

Germany could be losing their Triple A rating. This was brought into the news shortly after Merkel and Sarkozy announced their measures to resolve the Euro crisis. Specialist are sceptical about the reasons given by the agencies to downgrade the ratings of Euro zone countries.

Also specialist are sceptical about the plan that Europe came with to turn down this crisis. The fundamental problems with the Euro will remain. North Europe has a strong economy and the Mediterranean countries have much weaker economies.

Next there was an important meeting involving climate changes with all the leaders of the big countries. They are trying to reduce the CO2 equivalent. New rising economies are joining other countries like China to vote against the measures.  Implementing the new global deal will cost a lot of money. The following question raised: Why didn’t they use video conferencing?

There have been pictures posted online of members of the Indian government. The photos were edited with Photoshop and manipulated. The government of India spoke with big internet companies to resolve this problem. Google and Yahoo stated there is nothing they can do. Facebook stated they will as always remove content that is not allowed on their website.

In Russia people got arresting for protesting. They claim the election is flawed. Putin won with a very small difference. People are still standing there shouting they want fair elections.

YOUR NAME:    Jelle Dekker

ID CODE:             1589413

CLASS:                 JBC-B101

RADIO ASSIGNMENT 2

TITLE OF PROGRAMME:               Outlook

BROADCAST BY:                            BBC WORLD SERVICE

DATE:                                                6-12-11

DURATION:                                     28 minutes (16:32 – 17:00) 

Hailey suffers from a very rare disease called Progeria. Her body ages 8 times as fast as it normally would. People suffering from this disease die on an age of 13 on average. 27 years old is the longest someone ever lived suffering from Progeria.

Hailey is very skinny and has no hair. She wears a bandana because she doesn’t want to be seen bald.

The diseases was discovered at Hailey when she was 22 months old. It took doctors a year to figure out what it was that Hailey was suffering from.

Due to her disease her mom has tried to for fill all her dreams. She met a lot of famous people like: Prince Charles, Kylie Minogue and Justing Bieber. She likes to spend her time reading and watching TV. At the moment she can’t go to school because she injured her hip by falling.

The second topic was about the man climbing the mount Everest the fastest. Climbing is his passion. When he was young it was all he wanted to do. He lives in Swiss and his house is next to the mountains.

When he became older he got a new passion in his life, his wife. Swiss women like it when their man comes home on time for dinner. So he had to climb the mountain fast to be on time for dinner. This was a joke obviously.

Climbing has always been a sport to him. When you climb sport wise times is something that mathers a lot. Some people don’t find that to be logical. Climbing the Himalaya was a new challenge for him.

He’s stil climbing a lot but less then he used to. He has done and seen it all. He doesn’t want to be too confident because that’s when you make mistakes.

2 grandmothers in Otowa help the homeless get through the winter. They make them sandwiches and hand them out. They also collect warm clothes for the homeless. Some managed to find a place to sleep, others didn’t and left with just clothes to protect them from the cold. The demand for warm clothes is great but the supply is tight.

“They are people too.”

Reading assignments

ASSIGNMENT TEXT 1

1.      What advantage for companies of the use of social media is described in the first paragraph?

Research showed that there is a relation between the success of a company and the amount of effort put into social media by a company.

2.      What big change for internal communications does the writer predict for the future?

The writer mentions that almost all internal communication will be produced and distributed online.

3.      Explain what the writer means here with ‘ a goat is still a goat, even when it’s wearing a tuxedo’ (4th paragraph).

It refers to the sentence before it. It’s still going to be the same thing when you dress it differently. Companies shouldn’t change their content but their tools for communicating.

4.      Explain the meaning of the word ‘hurdle’ in the 6th paragraph.  Give a synonym or a description of the meaning. Use your own words, don’t use a dictionary. You should be able to derive the meaning of the word from the context.

A problem that they are scared of when introducing social media.

5.      Who or what are meant by ‘Gen Y’ and ‘GenXers” (point 4 of the advantages of social media).

Different generations.

6.      What do employees invest when they engage in social media with their employers?

They lose an amount of privacy to be a part of the dialogue.  

Short summary

Social Media als interne communicatie tool

Onderzoek heft aangetond dat er een duidelijk verband is tussen hoeveel tijd, moeite en geld een bedrijf besteed aan interne communicatie en de groei en winsten van een bedrijf. Veel bedrijven blijven sceptisch maar een feit is dat mensen tegenwoordig volstrekt anders opzoek gaan naar informatie dan vijf jaar geleden.

Bedrijven moeten niet zozeer de inhoud van de interne communicatie veranderen maar wel de manier waarop er gecommuniceerd word. Zolang de boodschap goed in elkaar steekt maakt het niet uit op wat voor manier deze wordt verspreid. Beide bedrijven en werknemers hebben verschillende bezwaren. Personeel word geacht een deel van de privacy in te leveren. De bedrijven zelf zijn bang voor kritiek.

ASSIGNMENT TEXT 2

1.      What is meant with ‘challenging’ (line 1) in this context?

It was going to be a financially hard year.

2.      Explain what is meant by ‘brushed under the carpet’ (line 5) here.

To remove the internal communications department because of cost cutting.

3.      Explain what is meant by ‘brand promises will fall flat’ in line14.

A company won’t achieve its goals without hardworking employees.

4.      Give another word or explanation for ‘lure’ (end of 3rd paragraph).

Attracting.

5.      Explain what is meant by ‘skimped on”  (2nd line, 4th paragraph).

The company can’t cut on the costs for this area.

6.      What would be the opposite of a ‘nice to have’ (5th line, 4th paragraph)?

A ‘must have’.

7.      successful and strategic internal communication has proven a correlation between employee attitudes and profits’ (end of 5th paragraph). Explain in your own words what this means.

There is a relation between the attitudes of the employees and the profits of a company. Successful and strategic internal communication has proven that there is a relation between those two.

8.      Explain what the writer means with the final sentence: ‘housekeeping really does begin at home’. Again, use your own words.

When you want to communicate well to the outside as a company, you should start by having good internal communications. Good internal communications is the base for a company to function properly.

Short summary

Interne communicatie van levelsbelang

2010 gaat een moeilijk jaar worden financieel gezien. Toch is het niet verstandig om op een aantal terreinen te bezuinigen. Personeel is ontzettend belangrijk voor bedrijven. Personeel stelt een bedrijf in staat doelen te bereiken.

Als er één ding is waar niet op bezuinigt mag worden dan is het personeel. Bedrijven zien het vaak als leuk voor erbij. Terwijl een goed gemotiveerd personeel wel degelijk het verschil kan maken in het bedrijfsleven. Als een bedrijf een goede uitstraling ambieert dan is het van belang dat de interne communicatie op orde is.

ASSIGNMENT TEXT 3

1.      Comms = communications

2.      to plummet = to crash

3.      nether = the regions that don’t really mather.

4.      to aspire to = dreamed of

5.      turnaround = It completely changed (180 degrees)

6.      staggering = stunning

Short summary

Rockstar? Nah, Internal Communicator!

Nieuw onderzoek heeft uitgewezen dat de meeste kinderen hun toekomst het liefst voor zich zien als interne communicatie specialist. Ooit was dit voetballer of rockster, dit is allang niet meer zo.

Banen die vroeger hoog op de lijst staan zijn nu nergens in de top terug te vinden. De reden hiervoor word gezocht bij nieuwe trends rondom groener leven. Nieuwe generaties werken later liever in de zachte kant van het bedrijfsleven. 

Assignment 14.

Source: http://work911.com/articles/comstrat.htm

Unknown words:

Upheavals = opschudding [D]

Initiating = aangeven

Coherence = samenhang [D]

Ambiguity = dubbelzinnigheid [D]

Summary:

Companies are getting more aware of the fact that internal communication is important for a company to function properly. Internal communication can be used to their advantage if they do it in the right way.

It is very important to create a strategic plan for internal communication. Creating goals for employees gives them motivation to work harder and will result in better working employees.

They have made a list of 8 steps to accomplish better internal communication:

"1.    Identify the common culture needed/wanted 

2.    Identify the available communication tools 

3.    Determine what tools are suited to which goals 

4.    Develop a description of how each tool will be used. 

5.    Plan for remediation 

6.    Plan For Implementation 

7.    Implement 

8.    Continuously Monitor and Revise"

These steps will guide you through the process of achieving better internal communication within your business. 

Assignment 11

1.       Down the small deep-sided

2.       The philsopher Descartes helped

3.       Knowledge about one’s memory

4.       Used to assit students’comprehension of reading materials

5.       A flood of rain

Assignment 12

1.       An angry state of mind.

2.       He does everything to please his bosses so they like him.

3.       Answer the question: He would probably feel disappointed or upset.

Meaning of the word: strijdlustig

Assignment 13

Uknown words:

Dent = deuk

Enquiries = vraagstukken / problemen

Incubation = indammen

Vigilant = oplettend

Decisive = daadkrachtig

Devoted = toewijden

Conventional = gebruikelijk/traditioneel [D]

Audit = accountantsonderzoek [D]

Enhanced = versterkt

Pivotal = sleutelindustrie [D]

A whiter shade of pale = ??

Summary:

A PR view of Toyota’s recall by Jonathan Hemus. Toyota had to recall cars because of a flaw in the production. Despite all the actions taken after the crisis erupted by Toyota, its reputation has been heavily damaged. More measures should have been taken before the crisis escalated.  

Crisis management should be started before the problem escalates. This is called the incubation phase. During this phase the problem is still controllable. When the situations

This crisis strikes Toyota at its essence of their reputation. Research shows that a crisis striking a company at their essence can deal the most damage.

Two main reasons are given for why the crisis escalated. Firstly an obsession with quality which have lead to denial with quality problems. Secondly a hierarchical approach to management and a lack of open communication. New employees are unable to report flaws in the system. This way problems go unnoticed and don’t get solved. In the end this leads to a major crisis.

It’s very important to train people on forehand to speak in public and deal with the media. Body language is important when having a press conference. Struggling with words is the last thing you want to do. 

Assignments week 2

Assignment 7

1.This is an informative text because there are often percentages used and facts stated.

2. Introduction: paragraph 1 & 2

Body: paragraph 3, 4 & 5

Conclusion: paragraph 6

3. “New premium-priced bath........in several regions.”

4.

Paragraph 2:

verrijkt met special oliën en extracten en verkocht onder de naam van het softsoap merk hebben softsoap- and Palmolive-producten een groot succes gemaakt.

Paragraph 3:

-          Voordelen van producten naar voren brengen

-          Professionele merknaam versterken

-          Laten testen in de winkels

Paragraph 4:

Ze richten zich op jonge volwassenen. Ze vroegen klanten on-line hun “max fresh” moment te delen door middel van een video. Er kon gestemd worden op hun favoriete video. De winnaar kreeg een rol in een aankomende televisie reclamespot.

Paragraph 5:

Shampoo special voor meisjes tussen de 8 en 12 jaar oud. Conditioners. Caprice hair care line.

Assignment 9

1 ADJ

2 N

3 N

4 V

5 ADJ

6 V

7 ADV

8 N

9 ADJ

Assignment 10

10a

‘Twas brillig(adj), and the slithy(adj) toves(n)

Did(v) gyre and gimble in the wabe(n):

All mimsy(adj) were(v) the borogoves(n),

And the mome(adj) raths(n) outgrabe(v).

10b

1.       “Dirty old man” vandaar denk ik een vieze blik.

2.       Kennis, zodat hij de goede beslissing kan nemen.

3.       Gadget is een apparaatje zoals een mobiele telefoon of een ipod.

4.       Aanwijzen

5.       “barked loudly” geschrokken.

6.       Zorg nemen over het kind

7.       ?

8.       “opened it to page 94” een boek.

9.       “disappointed” & “amount” weinig.

Assignments week 1

Assignment 3

1.       Monday, June 21 9:30 AM

2.       HOTEL CALIFORNIA on Thursday July 8

3.       July 16 8:00 PM Veteran’s park stage

4.       It’s free

5.       The Golden Dragon Acrobats

Assignment 4

1.       Short summaries of books

2.       In a catalog

3.       #4 The big book of U.S. Presidents

4.       #3 Presidential Trivia Book Every Household Should Have

Assignment 5

1.       About medicine.

2.       Coffee

3.       He is for drugs which boost memory, concentration and planning

4.       Side effects and consequences of off label use.

5.       Yes it was correct. Athletes

6.       No, incorrect. The benefits.

7.       Yes, I expected it to be about medicine which would be revolutionary to the medicine we have today.

Assignment 6

Informative:

“The new drugs are designed to treat debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Attentiondificit disorder and schizophrenia.”

Persuasive:

“However, millions suffer from untreated but mild memory loss. Is it fair to deny them help?”

Entertaining:

“As anyone with an e-mail address knows,The difficulty is not a lackof possibilities to buy these drugs, but trying to ignore the offers for Viagra, real or fake.”