Transcripts
black and white stones so her stone was lost. She apologized for being so clumsy and said, ‘But all you have to do is look at the colour of the stone in the bag. If it is white, then I picked a black stone. But if it is black, my stone was white.’
4.6 Vicky
Emily Vicky
Hello, Consuela. Have you been at your exercise class? You look a bit hot!
Consuela No, actually I’ve just been at a workshop about thinking.
Yes, thinking makes me feel hot and tired, too. I try to avoid it.
Don’t be silly, Emily! Really, Consuela? Tell us about it.
Consuela It was about thinking and exercise. We tried different ways of exercising and then did different types of mental problems.
Vicky
Wow, that sounds fun! What course was that part of?
Consuela None of my regular courses. It was a special event at the science festival, taught by a woman called Dr Linda Roberts. She’s a professor, but not at our university, and she also travels a lot giving seminars of this type.
Vicky
Gosh, I wish I’d heard about that. It sounds really good. Tell us more.
Consuela Well, first we learnt an exercise routine – that was fun! Emily What do you mean by routine? Consuela An exercise routine? It’s a set of specific moves and steps. Doing this stimulates the brain to find patterns and follow rules when solving problems.
Emily Vicky
I see, and that’s a typical left-brain function. So, does that help develop logical thinking?
Consuela Well, Dr Roberts didn’t use that actual term, as I recall, but she said that kind of exercising helps with solving problems that have one correct answer, like maths problems.
Emily
Interesting … So what kind of exercise do you do to help you with lateral thinking?
Consuela Again, that actual term wasn’t used, but we learnt that improvised exercise helps you work with problems that have lots of possible answers.
Emily Well, that’s one phase of lateral thinking, isn’t it? You come up with lots of possible ideas and then assess them and reject the totally unlikely ones.
Vicky
You know more about this thinking business than you let on before, Emily!
Emily Well, I am a Psychology student. But I don’t know much about exercise – what is improvised exercise?
Consuela Basically, you don’t follow set steps and routines. You do what you feel like doing.
Vicky
Oh, I like that kind of exercising best. Do you think it would help me get my English literature essay written faster if I do some exercising first? I haven’t got any ideas for it at all at the moment!
Consuela Why not? It’s worth a try! 198 English for the 21st Century • Transcripts Unit 5
5.1 The human brain is the most complex organ in the body and is made up of many different sections, which each control a number of functions. It is perhaps useful to start with the six main sections. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain, but that in itself can be divided into four main sections. First, there is the frontal lobe which deals with high-level thinking – intellectual actions like problem-solving, for example. Then there is the parietal lobe. When the brain receives sensory information like pain or touch, the brain needs to process that information and this is done in the parietal lobe. In other words, it helps us to make sense of the world. Next, we have the occipital lobe and this is the visual part of the brain. It deals with information received through the eyes, so shapes, colours, and so on. The final part of the cerebrum is the temporal lobe. This is where the brain processes language, for example, sounds and understanding speech. The temporal lobe also helps us to form memories. Moving away from the cerebrum, we have the cerebellum, or ‘little brain’. The cerebellum is in charge of movement, which covers things like physical actions, balance and posture, and so on. Finally, one should not forget the brain stem. This is where basic but absolutely vital body functions are controlled, for example, breathing, swallowing and sleep.
5.2 1 A Hmmm. There’s a lot of them for sure. I think a hundred million.
B Right, OK. A No wait, I don’t know now. Maybe it’s more … B Well, make up your mind!
2 A I think it’s ‘c’. I think it keeps on growing throughout your life.
B Yeah, you could be right. A Do you mind if I write that down? B No, of course not!
3 A The answer’s ‘a’. Five minutes. I thought it was much more than that.
B Never mind, it’s only a quiz!
4 A Seventy-five per cent sounds like a lot to me. B Yes, I know. But you’ve got to bear in mind that the whole body is mostly made up of water.
5 A I think mental activity probably helps. It makes sense, doesn’t it?
B OK, I’ll write that down then. A No wait! I’ve changed my mind! I think it’s ‘a’ – physical exercise. I’ve read something about how it’s good for your brain.
6 A I think it depends on what sort of day you’re having. B What do you mean? A Well, when I’m stressed, when I’ve got a lot on my mind, I think about a lot of things, more than when I’m relaxed.
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