Comprensió oral: exercicis de la PAU d’Anglès resolts

Interviewer (I): You are Gotcha, the musical force!

Gotcha (G): Haha, from now on I’m going to introduce myself as Gotcha, the musical force. My real name is Margot Chapman, but I guess I’ve got used to being called Gotcha more often now.

I: Right, I got you. That song we’ve just listened to, ‘Turning a Blind Eye’, is the first Australian single from your latest record, Making Miracles. It's a song that you say describes your feelings of being completely defeated, I'm quoting you, “by the realities of living in contemporary Australia.” What's been difficult about life there?

G: Oh, it's not specifically about living in contemporary Australia, although I’m American. It comes from a place of defeat, I guess, in the sense of being someone who is concerned, maybe a bit more aware than some people, in terms of how things I do in my regular life, in terms of use of materials, driving cars, using so much disposable technology to make music, how that is so implicitly involved in so much... use, maybe overuse of resources?

I: Your carbon footprint.

G: Yeah. And I feel very conflicted about the reliability of the information available. When I try to research it and make changes, it’s incredibly hard to find a clear basis for making informed judgments or decisions. It’s hard to feel like anything I do makes a difference, even in my own life. Whether or not it sets an example for my fans or helps spread a more environmental message, sometimes it just feels like I’m making changes simply to avoid feeling completely defeated.

I: But the feeling of being “completely defeated” when you were writing this song suggests that you're quite pessimistic about our future. Are you?

G: I have moments like that, yeah. I sometimes change my mind a lot when I compose. You know, I think I'm an idealist a lot of the time, but often prone to bouts of very depressive cycles of thought and pessimism about the potential for really fundamental change in the way humans live on earth, at least. It's those moments when I feel like that really prompted the lyrics to ‘Turning a Blind Eye’.

I: And what about the fact that now that you’re touring, you’re inevitably traveling more and experiencing not just different countries, but different cultures and different ways people are trying to deal with issues like the environment and ecological change? Does that make you feel more defeated, or do you find things on those travels that inspire you?

G: You know, touring for a music career does involve seeing a lot of airports, hotel rooms, cars, buses, et cetera, though some artists do it more than I do. Even so, I'm probably more in touch with the reality of having an ever-increasing carbon footprint, at least in terms of what I'm doing in my music career. And it is indeed something I think about.

I: So you wrote the song ‘Turning a Blind Eye’ feeling completely defeated. It's getting worse now because the song's popular and your carbon footprint is harming everybody.

G: Haha. I do think about that. It's funny, more and more people tell me, I must be so overjoyed and amazed by the success and how big everything's getting. But I guess part of what makes me worry and that might lead to writing a song like this, is the sense that the bigger things get, the less likely they are to stay sustainable or be personal. I don't know...

I: And not just environmentally, but materially, emotionally.

G: Emotionally, yeah, trying to communicate with increasing numbers of people. I feel a bit freaked out about it. I think I have a different approach. It’s difficult for me to even write anything on my Twitter account; even though it's not like I have a huge number of people following me there, only around 40, 50,000. I still think about it. I know plenty of people have millions of followers on these social media. But even so, realizing that my audience is broader now, and that lots of different kinds of people are discovering my music, changes how aware I am of who I’m speaking to on these platforms.

I: Let me talk a bit about the record, Making Miracles. You're getting a lot of attention for this record, and that's got to be rewarding given the amount of work that you put into it. You play most of the instruments on it, but even more remarkable is the method of taking acoustic instruments, recording them note by note, and then turning them into virtual instruments. What exactly does that mean you're doing in terms of creating these sounds?

G: Yes, it’s the case of a harp that I found at an antique shop. A harp is not particularly a new-sounding instrument. It's one you've probably heard. The way it sounds on a record is usually quite angelic, because that's the way you can play it, but to record it note by note and then have control over those notes just means that you make the instrument sound incredible. It almost turns into a completely new instrument.

I: That's remarkably creative and innovative, but where does that come from? I mean, do you have an allergy to just playing an acoustic guitar and singing a song?

G: Well, I'm really excited by alternative ways of making music. They open up windows to sound worlds I haven't explored before, and those are the kinds of records I want to make. I'm not against using traditional instruments: there's plenty of piano and regular drum kits on the album, but I have a pretty intense interest in things like, what if you could use... a plastic ball and use that as a drum instead of just getting a drum out and putting a mic on it. It's just more interesting. It just means there's more of a story. I guess it creates a far greater range of textures, though it also takes time.

I: This is so interesting, Gotcha, but I’m afraid we have run out of time. It’s been a pleasure to have you here with us today.

G: Nice to chat, too.

Adapted from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0kNQc_UHn0

Interviewer: In the realm of contemporary art, few figures are as iconic and enigmatic as Yayoi Kusama. Renowned for her avant-garde art installations, polka dots, and infinite reflections, Kusama has captivated the world with her unique artistic vision. Today, we have the privilege of delving into the mind of this visionary artist, exploring her thoughts on the transformative power of art. Good morning, thanks for being with us today.

Yayoi Kusama: Good morning, thanks for the invitation.

Interviewer: Your art is often described as a celebration of love and hope. How do you envision the relationship between your work and these powerful emotions?

Yayoi Kusama: Love and hope are the essence of my art. They are the driving forces behind my creations. When people encounter my installations, I want them to feel a sense of boundless love and hope, transcending the boundaries of time and space. Through my work, I aim to cultivate a shared experience that unites people in a profound, positive way.

Interviewer: That was deep indeed! Your "Infinity Rooms" are immersive experiences that transport viewers into realms beyond this world. How do these installations contribute to the exploration of love and hope?

Yayoi Kusama: The "Infinity Rooms" are like cosmic vessels, offering a glimpse into the countless possibilities of love and hope. As visitors step into these spaces, surrounded by endless reflections, they are immersed in a universe of boundless potential. It's a symbolic journey that mirrors the limitless nature of love and hope, inviting individuals to reflect on their own place within the cosmic tapestry. I believe sharing these positive emotions is the power of art. I fight anxiety and fear every day, and the only method I have found that relieves my illness is to keep creating this type of art.

Interviewer: Actually, in your autobiography, you mention struggling with mental health issues. How has art been a source of healing and hope for you?

Yayoi Kusama: Art has been my refuge, a sanctuary where I can channel my innermost feelings. In the darkest moments of my mental health struggles, creating art became a lifeline. It allowed me to transform pain into beauty, despair into hope. Art has been a cathartic journey, helping me to navigate the complexities of my emotions.

Interviewer: In any case, your use of polka dots is a signature element in your art. I perceive these motifs as a representation of hallucinatory visions. Similar to how episodes of depersonalization invoke fear, these dots create a visual manifestation of anxiety. The dots multiply and attach themselves to the surroundings, becoming a form of psychic obsession that you attempt to run away from.

Yayoi Kusama: Yes, I paint them abundantly; it's my way of trying to escape.

Interviewer: But can you also tell us about the significance of polka dots in conveying positive messages?

Yayoi Kusama: Polka dots are a symbol of the world, the cosmos, and our interconnectedness. When I cover surfaces with dots, I'm expressing the idea that we are all dots in this vast universe. The repetition of dots signifies the multiplicity of individuals, yet the pattern also reflects unity. It's a visual metaphor for the collective energy that binds us together, creating a sense of harmony and love.

Interviewer: Oh wow. Now, your installations are experienced by people from diverse backgrounds. How do you believe your art can bridge cultural gaps and speak a universal language of love and hope?

Yayoi Kusama: Art transcends cultural barriers, you know, it's a universal language that speaks directly to the heart. My installations are intentionally designed to be inclusive, offering a space where people from all walks of life can connect on a fundamental level. Love and hope, being universal emotions, provide a common ground for individuals to come together, fostering a sense of unity that surpasses cultural differences.

Interviewer: Can you tell us about your time in Japan before going to the US? You moved to New York at twenty-seven. By then, you must have already developed your unique style as a painter, rooted in Japan. Yet you didn’t emphasize your identity as a Japanese artist.

Yayoi Kusama: I wasn't really aware of it. In Japan, the art community isolated me because of my mental health struggles. That's why I chose to leave Japan and pursue my art in New York. I picked America because of my connections and the belief that the future of art was in New York. However, I faced challenges due to restrictions on foreign exchange imposed by the Japanese government. I even had to sell my kimonos.

Interviewer: How do you see the role of art evolving in society, especially in fostering a sense of hope and unity in the face of global challenges?

Yayoi Kusama: In times of uncertainty, art becomes a ray of light. It has the power to inspire, uplift, and unite communities. As we confront global challenges, art catalyzes change, encouraging collective action and fostering a shared vision of a better future. It's a testament to the enduring capacity of art to instill hope and bring people together in the pursuit of a brighter tomorrow.

Interviewer: This interview has come to a close, leaving us with a profound understanding of how this visionary artist continues to shape the landscape of contemporary art with her timeless messages of love and hope.

Adapted from:

Yayoi Kusama on Sixties New York, Surviving Mental Illness and Why She's Never Thought About Feminism, Artspace, Akira Tatehata (May 5, 2020).

https://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/meet_the_artist/interview-yayoi-kusama-on-sixties-new-york-living-with-mental-illness-and-why-shes-never-thought-56560

Yayoi Kusama on love, hope and the power of art, Wallpaper, Megan C. Hills (March 22, 2023).

https://www.wallpaper.com/art/yayoi-kusama-interview

Journalist: Ms. Zicari, thank you for joining us today. You’re known as one of the top experts on cenotes. To begin, could you explain to our listeners what a cenote actually is?

Alison Zicari: Thank you for having me. A cenote is a natural hole in the ground. It forms when the roof of an underground cave collapses and allows us to see the water inside. The word “cenote” usually describes an underground chamber filled with permanent water.

Journalist: Where can people find these cenotes?

AZ: You can find cenotes in several parts of the world, but the best-known and largest concentration is in Mexico, especially on the Yucatán Peninsula. This whole peninsula is made from limestone, which used to be a huge coral reef millions of years ago. When the sea level dropped, the reef was exposed, and over time, it became full of caves, tunnels, and holes. Today, the land’s almost completely flat, but underneath it’s a giant network of underground rivers filled with rainwater that travels through cracks in the limestone filling caves which sometimes collapse creating cenotes. Scientists estimate that there’re more than 7,000 cenotes in the Yucatán.

Journalist: That number is incredible. Can you tell us more about the cave systems connected to cenotes?

AZ: Yes, the Yucatán is home to some of the world’s longest underwater cave systems. One of the most famous is Sistema Sac Actun, located in the Riviera Maya. It stretches about 350 kilometers and reaches a depth of around 119 meters. Explorers and archaeologists have found many important remains inside these caves, including 9,000-year-old human bones and the bones of animals that lived during the ice age. These discoveries tell us that humans have been exploring or using these caves for thousands of years.

Journalist: Speaking of humans, cenotes played a very important role in the Maya civilization, didn’t they?

AZ: They certainly did. For the Maya, cenotes were not just a source of fresh water, though that alone made them extremely valuable. They also believed cenotes were the entrance to the underworld. According to Maya beliefs, spirits and gods visited cenotes, especially Chaac, the god of rain, thunder, and lightning. Because of this, the Maya built many of their temples and villages near cenotes. In fact, new research shows that some important Maya cities—such as Chichén Itzá—were actually built directly on top of cenotes.

Journalist: Were these cenotes used for ceremonies?

AZ: Yes. Some cenotes became sacred places for rituals and offerings. Archaeologists have found items such as jade, gold, silver, and incense at the bottom of these cenotes. They have also discovered human remains. At places like the Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá, many of the bodies show wounds that suggest human sacrifice. However, other cenotes contain human remains without signs of violence, so these may have been peaceful burials, perhaps to prepare people for the next life.

Journalist: And today, people visit cenotes for very different reasons, right?

AZ: That’s right. Today cenotes are still important for water, but they’re also major tourist attractions. Millions of visitors come every year to swim, dive, snorkel, and explore. Some cenotes offer cultural experiences where visitors can watch modern Maya ceremonies. These ceremonies aren’t dangerous—of course, no one’s sacrificed—but they still include symbolic offerings like resin, cacao, seeds, corn, flower petals, and sugar.

Journalist: There’s also a surprising connection between cenotes and the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. Can you explain that?

AZ: Yes, it’s a fascinating story. About 66 million years ago, an asteroid about 10 to 15 kilometers wide crashed on the Yucatán Peninsula. The explosion released as much energy as 100 trillion tons of TNT. This event caused huge fires, tsunamis, and climate changes that led to the extinction of many species, including the dinosaurs. The impact also changed the structure of the limestone underground. It made the rock weaker and easier to erode. Over millions of years, groundwater moved in special patterns around the edge of the impact crater. This process created the “Ring of Cenotes.” The crater itself is buried under layers of ground and ocean, so we cannot see it with our eyes, but the ring of cenotes is still visible from space. The city of Mérida is right in the middle of this ancient crater.

Journalist: Besides history and geology, cenotes also have interesting wildlife. Can you tell us about that?

AZ: Yes, cenotes are important habitats for many animals. Because they’re protected from the open ocean, they offer calm, safe spaces. Manatees, for example, sometimes travel from the Caribbean Sea into cenotes through underwater caves. They rest there and even nurse their young. Crocodiles also live in some cenotes. They’re part of the natural ecosystem, and tourists need to keep a respectful distance. They’re usually calm, but like all wild animals, they should never be disturbed.

Journalist: All of this makes cenotes sound like truly remarkable places. Any final thoughts for our audience?

AZ: Yes. I think cenotes are some of the most unique natural wonders in the world. They combine geology, history, culture, wildlife, and adventure in one place. They’ve been important for thousands of years—from the time of the Maya to the present day—and they’re still full of discoveries waiting to be made. Anyone who visits the Yucatán should explore at least one cenote. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.

Adapted from:

https://cenotefinder.com/what-are-cenotes/#google_vignette

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240628-the-hidden-wonders-of-mexicos-sacred-underwater-world

Journalist: Welcome to our program! Today we’re joined by Dr. Cris Wood, a geologist and expert on Uluru, one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks. Thank you for being here, Dr. Wood.

Dr. Wood: Thank you for having me. It’s great to share the story of such an incredible place.

Journalist: Uluru is famous worldwide for its striking appearance, but why is it considered so special by the Aboriginal people?

Dr. Wood: Uluru is a sacred site for the Anangu people, the traditional custodians of the land. To them, it’s more than a natural formation; it’s deeply tied to their Tjukurpa, which is their system of beliefs and laws. Tjukurpa includes the creation of stories that explain how the land and its features came to be. Many parts of Uluru, including its caves and waterholes, are connected to these stories. The Anangu see themselves as caretakers of Uluru, and they ask visitors to respect their traditions when visiting.

Journalist: One of those traditions includes discouraging people from climbing the rock, which surprises many visitors. Why is climbing considered disrespectful?

Dr. Wood: For the Anangu, Uluru is a place of spiritual significance. They believe that climbing it disrespects its sacred nature. Traditionally, they don’t climb it themselves. Instead, they encourage visitors to explore the base, visit waterholes, and learn about their culture at the cultural center. Climbing used to be popular, but now many people understand the importance of respecting indigenous beliefs and choose not to climb.

Journalist: Uluru is also a geological marvel. Could you tell us more about how it was formed?

Dr. Wood: Certainly! Uluru’s story began about 550 million years ago. Back then, it was part of a massive mountain range called the Petermann Ranges, which were similar in size to the Himalayas. Over time, the mountains eroded, and rivers carried sand and gravel to the base. This material eventually formed two iconic landmarks: Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Uluru is made of arkose sandstone, which is rich in feldspar crystals. It’s incredibly durable because the sand wasn’t transported far, so it didn’t undergo much erosion. Over millions of years, geological forces tilted the rock layers vertically, which is why we see those striking lines on Uluru’s surface today.

Journalist: The red color of Uluru is so distinctive. What causes it?

Dr. Wood: The red colour comes from oxidation, or rusting, of the iron minerals in the rock. When the sandstone is exposed to the air, the iron reacts with oxygen, giving it that beautiful red hue. Interestingly, the rock underneath, which hasn’t been exposed to the atmosphere, is actually grey.

Journalist: The Red Centre is known for its harsh conditions. What’s the best way for visitors to explore Uluru and its surroundings?

Dr. Wood: The best way is by car. You can hire a vehicle at Ayers Rock Airport and drive around the area, including Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and the nearby town of Yulara. Driving gives you the freedom to explore at your own pace. While there is a shuttle bus in Yulara township, it doesn’t operate within the national park. Beyond Uluru, many of the Northern Territory’s attractions are accessible by well-maintained roads, whether you’re in a regular car, campervan, or a four-by-four.

Journalist: Speaking of visiting, when is the best time of year to see Uluru?

Dr. Wood: Winter, from June to August, is the most popular time. The days are crisp and cool, making it perfect for outdoor activities. Summer, from December to February, is far too hot, with daytime temperatures often exceeding 40°C. Spring and autumn are much better with warm days and cooler evenings, so they’re also great for visiting. No matter the season, it’s essential to plan for the desert climate, which can have extreme temperature changes between day and night.

Journalist: Are there any safety tips you’d recommend for visitors?

Dr. Wood: Absolutely. Stay hydrated, as the desert air is very dry, and always carry water when walking or driving. Protect yourself from the sun with a hat, sunscreen, and lightweight clothing. It’s also important to check the weather before heading out, as conditions can change quickly. Stick to marked paths, respect wildlife, and pay attention to park signals. Luckily, the area around Uluru and Yulara is well-equipped with facilities, rangers, and maps to help visitors stay safe.

Journalist: What do you recommend for visitors who want to learn more about the Anangu culture?

Dr. Wood: The cultural centre near Uluru is an excellent place to start. You cannot stay there overnight, but it offers displays, videos, and artworks that explain the Anangu way of life and their connection to the land. Visitors can also join guided tours led by local guides who share stories and traditions. These experiences help people understand why Uluru is so much more than a tourist attraction—it’s a living, spiritual landscape.

Journalist: What’s something people often don’t expect about visiting Uluru?

Dr. Wood: Many are surprised by the variety of things to see and do around the rock. For instance, Uluru has many caves and waterholes, which are beautiful and have cultural significance. The base walk, which is about 10 kilometers long, lets visitors see the rock up close, including its unique patterns, plants, and wildlife. It’s also a great way to experience the changing colors of Uluru at sunrise or sunset. These colors are breathtaking and truly unforgettable.

Journalist: Finally, why do you think Uluru leaves such a lasting impression on people?

Dr. Wood: Uluru is a place where natural beauty meets deep cultural history. Its size and color are striking, but it’s the stories and significance behind it that make it truly special. Many visitors say they feel a strong connection to the land when they visit. Whether it’s the spirituality, the geology, or the quiet majesty of the desert, Uluru has a way of staying with you long after you’ve left.

Journalist: Thank you, Dr. Wood, for sharing your insights. Uluru sounds like a destination that offers both natural wonder and cultural depth.

Dr. Wood: It really is. Thank you for having me!

Adapted from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9t6kYpYnX4

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2017-06-27/how-did-uluru-and-kata-tjuta-form/8572068

Interviewer: Today I am joined by marine ecologist Jordan Scala who is here to tell us about 30 by 30, an ambitious plan to protect our planet. Jordan, what made you want to get started with this plan?

Jordan: When I was a kid growing up in the Mediterranean, I was fascinated by the underwater world that Jacques Cousteau showed us in his documentaries. When he started filming during World War II, the Mediterranean shores were still full of large fish. But when I went to the sea to swim in the '70s, I saw none of that. There were sea urchins at the bottom, but I never saw a large fish. The industrialisation of fishing after World War II put the final nail in the coffin of Mediterranean marine life. I thought nature was lost. Until, in my 20s, I started scuba diving in the Medes Islands marine reserve in Spain. One square kilometre fully protected from fishing and other damaging activities. I still remember that first dive in the reserve. As soon as I put my head underwater, I felt like diving into one of Cousteau's films. What was missing from the sea of my childhood was there: octopus, large fish, seaweed forests. Just a few years of protection had allowed the sea to recover.

Interviewer: Is the Medes Islands marine reserve unique, are there other areas of the sea which have recovered?

Jordan: No, I have seen this miracle happen in other areas across the ocean, like in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico, where local fishermen were so upset about not having enough fish to catch, that in the mid-90s, they asked the Mexican government to create a no-fishing area. A national park in the sea. We surveyed the marine environment then, and the place was an underwater desert. When we returned a decade later, everything had changed. What had been an empty sea was now full of life and colour. We saw it recover in only 10 years, including the return of the large fish and sharks. And those visionary fishermen are better off now. From diving tourism inside the reserve and better fishing around it.

Interviewer: So, there is obviously a strong argument for protecting our seas then.

Jordan: Yes, but today, globally, only seven percent of the ocean and around a fifth of our land has been protected. That means that we have converted most of our planet into a tame environment, where we and our farmed animals represent 96 percent of the mammals. Only four percent is everything else, from pandas to tigers to elephants. And we have removed over 90 percent of the large fish in the ocean in the last century alone.

Interviewer: Last summer saw some of the hottest temperatures in human history, in places that one would expect to be cool, like Canada, Finland and Siberia. I imagine this has played a role in the destruction of the natural environment.

Jordan: This extreme heat kills hundreds of thousands of people. If we are to prevent a global disaster, we need to do two things. As we know, we need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to almost zero. But we also need to decrease the excess carbon pollution in the atmosphere and in the ocean. We need nature's help. Because trees, grasslands, and healthy oceans are the best and most efficient technologies to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and they already exist. As long as we protect them, they do the removal for free.

Interviewer: So that’s the solution. Surely, it can’t be that simple.

Jordan: The problem is that nature cannot keep up with us. The biodiversity that is left today is not enough to absorb our impacts any longer. That's why I put together a team of top scientists and economists to answer the question of which areas in the ocean we must protect first. And how much of the ocean do we need to protect? We decided to focus on three objectives: biodiversity, food and carbon storage to help the fight against climate change. If we think of each objective in isolation, there are compromises. Protecting the top areas for biodiversity could result in a loss of fish to catch, for example. To solve that problem, we developed a new framework to optimize multiple benefits. Picking which areas to protect depends on how much we value the different objectives. We found that if we gave the same weight to biodiversity, food and carbon, we would need to protect the right 45 percent of the ocean to maximize the three benefits. We also found that even if we didn't value biodiversity, the minimum amount of ocean we would need to protect would be 30 percent.

Interviewer: But what about land?

Jordan: Similar analysis has been done for the land, also showing 30 percent as a minimum. Armed with this research, we launched a campaign for 30 by 30, meaning at least 30 percent of the planet, land and sea, protected by 2030. Getting governments to work together is essential. Working with the governments of Costa Rica, France and the United Kingdom, we built the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, which now has 66 countries, all supporting "30 by 30" as a main target for a global deal on nature.

Interviewer: Some will say, however, that we cannot afford to protect our natural world. What do you say to that?

Jordan: I understand that the idea of protecting a third of our land and ocean may feel threatening to those who see only the short-term profits of their destruction. But let's look at the numbers. A study has put the cost of protecting 30 percent of the planet at about 140 billion dollars a year. That's only a fraction of the money that governments use to subsidise industries that pollute our air, damage our land and empty our ocean. We need to reverse the flow of that money from funding the destruction of our life support system to preserving it.

Interviewer: Thank you, Jordan.

Adapted from:

Sala, E. Enric Sala: A bold plan to protect 30 percent of the Earth’s surface and ocean floor. TED Talk.

https://www.ted.com/talks/enric_sala_a_bold_plan_to_protect_30_percent_of_the_earth_s_surface_and_ocean_floor

Interviewer (I): Here we are with Margarita Pavlova, an audiovisual translator who works from English and German into Polish. Margarita managed to use subtitling to inspire interest in audiovisual translation among young students, while fostering motivation for language learning. Margarita, I know you held an audiovisual translation workshop a few years back with a bit of a difference. Tell us a bit more about it.

Margarita (M): Yes. It was part of a bigger educational and cultural project called ‘School in Town’. The idea was to get schools to attend different workshops at universities, museums and all kinds of cultural places. We welcomed students from different schools to show them how it feels to be at university and what we do. The idea was also to get them interested in German as a foreign language.

I: German! How come?

M: In Poland, all students start by learning English as a first foreign language when they are rather young and later, they are required to learn another foreign language – German in most cases. There isn’t the same level of motivation to learn German as to learn English or Polish. Students want to learn English, because they watch English shows, they listen to English music and watch English YouTubers. It’s not that easy with German, so most students struggle with it. So, the idea of the workshop was also to show them that German can be fun as well.

I: I see, so what did you do to engage these students?

M: Well, I picked a German video that I thought would be manageable for them to subtitle. They were beginners, so the idea was for them to translate something without really knowing the language that well. First, we watched the video in German with no subtitles. Then I asked them questions about who they thought the good and the bad characters in this film were, the general atmosphere... This was something that shows how we deal with audiovisual translation. We just don’t focus on the dialogues – we also need to focus on the music, on everything that is happening on the screen and in the background.

I: Given their low German level, wasn’t that too daunting a task?

M: They were surprised to see that they were able to answer all the questions, so they were already feeling a bit more confident. After that, we started working on subtitles. I think the video was about 10 minutes long, and so I divided them into a couple of groups because their level of German was too low for individual work. Everyone was working on one scene. The technical part was done to save time, they were typing the translation into the software so they could see it on the screen.

I: So the students didn’t actually translate the text...

M: I provided them with German subtitles that I prepared. I tried to underline some of the phrases that they should look up as a unit, encouraging them not to go word-for-word, but to see the dialogues as a bigger units. For example, if they came across idiomatic phrases, then I underlined them so that they knew that they had to look them up as entire phrases, and then come up with Polish equivalents. This is what audiovisual translation is all about: not just translating each word, but an idea, so it is a little more complex.

I: What was the atmosphere in class like?

M: Oh, it was cool as there was an immediate result to what they were doing. What I didn’t tell them was that I was going to add translator credits so that all of their names were listed on the final version. At the end of the workshop, I glued the translations done by different groups together, and we watched the clip one more time with their subtitles. They felt they could understand the entire film now because there were subtitles, and at the end, when they saw their names, they started cheering!

I: Cool! How do you think their attitude towards subtitling and learning German changed?

M: If I had asked them before the workshop if they were able to translate from German, they would have said “No way”, and at the end it turned out that not only did they do it, but they also did a really good job. I don’t think there is any disadvantage to using traditional materials at school, yet we have to understand that students like audiovisual materials – they are on TikTok all the time. They not only watch it, but they also create stuff. We can see the educational profits, and they can use it as a skill for whatever they want. It doesn’t have to be audiovisual translation, but any kind of content that is interactive.

I: One last question. If each one of them went home and started a discussion with their parents after your workshop, what one thing that they learned about subtitling that day would you have liked them to discuss?

M: I would love for them to say two things. First, that they had fun subtitling and translating from German. This is something that parents would never ever have heard of in the context of German learning. And finally, that subtitling is not just translating words, but ideas. If they can explain this to their parents, then that would mean that the workshop was successful.

I: Thank you, Margarita, for talking about your experience, which we hope is inspiring to many others.

M: My pleasure.

Adapted from https://subcomm.co.uk/research/an-interview-with-kwiryna-proczkowska-subtitling-as-a-learning-tool/

Interviewer: Michael Smith became head chef of The Three Chimneys restaurant achieving considerable critical acclaim. His style of gastronomy inspired by Scottish tradition and classical techniques has received many accolades. Among them, The Three Chimneys was named by New York Times food critic, Frank Bruni, as one of his top 5 destinations in the world. Michael earned a Michelin star in 2014 as Chef Director of The Three Chimneys. In early 2016, Michael opened his own restaurant, Loch Bay. Situated in Stein in the Waternish peninsula of Skye, the small restaurant is described as serving “contemporary Scottish food with classic French influences”. Dolores Hill is with us today to let us know a bit more about this renowned Scottish chef. She is a biographer and is currently working on a book about Smith. How did you become interested in Michael Smith’s life?

Dolores: I’d eaten at The Three Chimneys various times when he was head chef and I ate at Loch Bay just after it opened. All the meals were sumptuous and some of the dishes still stand out in my mind. As a writer I felt that I had to learn more about the person behind those dishes.

Interviewer: Can you start by telling us who he is, how he became a chef and about his early career?

Dolores: Sure. Smith defines himself as a ‘simple Highland boy’. He’s from Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, and it was there that he first started working in the kitchen of a local restaurant when he was 15. From then on, he quickly decided to pursue a career as a chef and this decision was reinforced in 1988 when he started working in the kitchens of Arisaig House on the west coast of Scotland, where he stayed for 3 years. After that he moved to London. He spent 4 years as Senior Chef with Jeremy Lee at Blue Print Café. He then decided to move back to Scotland, working in and opening up some of Glasgow’s best restaurants.

Interviewer: How did he end up on Skye?

Dolores: While he was working in Glasgow he had a chance meeting with Shirley Spear, who as you know was Chef at The Three Chimneys restaurant. Shirley asked him about the possibility of taking over from her in the kitchen. So, Smith and his wife Laurence went to Skye to check the island out. They loved it, they felt it was both a fantastic professional opportunity and lifestyle choice for their young family. The adventure went well and he stayed at The Three Chimneys for 11 years. He continued to maintain and enhance the reputation of the Three Chimneys, creating and perfecting dishes that reflected the restaurant’s surroundings, specifically utilising as much of the superb Skye and Scottish natural larder as possible.

Interviewer: What made him move on to set up his own restaurant?

Dolores: Since he first started to work in local restaurants at the age of 15 it had been his dream to have his own place and he accomplished that in early 2016 with Loch Bay. While he wanted to set up his own restaurant he also wanted to stay on Skye as he had been very happy there and his kids had grown up there. Smith, his wife and children love the Highlands of Scotland. They are never afraid to go for a wander to discover new places and meet people there.

Interviewer: For those who are yet to visit, how would you describe Smith’s restaurant?

Dolores: The restaurant is small, welcoming and full of charm. They offer a 5-course seafood degustation and a set 3-course meal. It is contemporary Scottish cuisine, combining local, seasonal ingredients, perfect cooking and a beautiful but simple presentation. It is still a restaurant where locals go and they’re very happy to have a Michelin-starred restaurant on their doorstep that also serves chips.

Interviewer: It’s a fantastic achievement to get a Michelin star after only 18 months of opening. What was Smith’s reaction?

Dolores: In one of my interviews for the book, Smith told me that the Michelin star is just a very happy by-product of creating great food, from fantastic local produce in a beautiful environment. For a small restaurant, it is an important achievement.

Interviewer: Does Smith enjoy his daily routine as a chef?

Dolores: I guess so! He has been at the stoves every day since the restaurant has been open. They have only just hired someone to help in the kitchen lately. Smith says that being a chef is a very rewarding profession. He likes the camaraderie, the excitement of service, and being able to be creative. He thinks that a restaurant is an organic living entity, so there are lots of moving parts and a chef and his team are only as good as their last service. If he has time, he likes to take a moment during service to hear the sound of a lively and happy restaurant.

Interviewer: We will need to go to Smith’s restaurant to get a real slice of traditional Scottish food!

Dolores: Yes! Do let me know when you’re going! I would love to join you!

Adapted from: Away from the Ordinary (May 25, 2018). Interview with a Michelin starred chef: Michael Smith. https://awayfromtheordinary.com/2018/05/25/interview-michelin-starred-chef-michael-smith-skye/ MyCityLifeTV (August 3, 2011). Chef Michael Smith. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPcy04GQSLI

Interviewer: South Korea is known for its festivals, some of which have been celebrated since the 16th century. Due to its rich history, there are also many traditional buildings, such as Buddhist temples and huge palaces. But among young people, South Korea is famous for K-pop. Early in the pandemic, sociologist Chris Resa began watching K-pop videos, largely for fun. Now she’s exploring the societal impact of the popular genre. Good morning, Chris.

Chris: Good morning. A pleasure to be here.

Interviewer: Well Chris, K-pop stands for Korean Pop but now it belongs to the whole world as it has transformed into a global cultural phenomenon. Is it true?

Chris: I couldn’t agree more. During the 1990s, it was a musical subculture popular in South Korea but K-pop now frequently tops the billboard charts, attracts fiercely dedicated online followers, and generates billions of dollars. Its best-known artists, the boy band BTS, were nominated in three different categories at the Grammy Awards last year, and they are the most-listened-to group in Spotify history.

Interviewer: UCLA professor Yao Kim, who has also written about the K-pop phenomenon, said, "It's way more than music. It is a total entertainment that incorporates choreography, fashion and lifestyle.” Do you agree?

Chris: Sure. We used to have very prominent boy bands and girl groups, such as New Kids on the Block, Spice Girls or One Direction. I think K-pop really hits kind of a vacuum that Western pop cultural trends left behind.

Interviewer: Chris, as a Professor of Sociology and Professor of ethnicity, race, and migration in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, you have done research on why the genre’s rise has been important to so many Asian Americans. You have said that watching a TV programme on Saturday Night Live changed your view of K-pop. How did that performance turn your personal interest in K-pop into an academic one?

Chris: I saw that performance, and it stayed in the back of my mind. Then, when we were on lockdown because of COVID, being stuck at home set the stage for having time to watch more K-pop videos. At first, I was just watching them for fun. I knew K-pop was something important, but I didn’t know anything about it. I thought “I should educate myself on this.” I’ve always been interested in race and ethnicity and Asian Americans. I knew that K-pop was important, so I started investigating the phenomenon.

Interviewer: What kind of research are you doing?

Chris: My colleagues and I, we are studying the link between 80s synth-pop and current K-pop. Others have argued that K-pop borrows heavily from American Black music. And it’s true, but we’re arguing that K-pop has links to many different genres (black music, synth pop, hip hop, new wave synth, even reggae). In another project, with two data scientists, we’re looking at Twitter data related to a tweet that BTS posted in 2021, about a week after a gunman in Atlanta murdered eight women, including six of Asian descent. K-pop fans are really well organized, and they may be ready to take political action. K-pop is extremely influential. So, we’re looking at how the conversation about the shootings before and after they tweeted changed.

Interviewer: Why do you think K-pop is so influential? I mean, yeah, they are really popular in Korea but what about the States, for example? Do you think that K-pop may have a role in American society?

Chris: Sure! Think about this. BTS performed on Saturday Night Live, NBC's Emmy-winning late-night comedy showcase. Especially people my age in their mid-thirties, we had never seen a bunch of East Asian people on the stage singing in a non-English, non-Western language. I knew that was an important moment regardless of whether or not you like the music or the performance. Asians were visible! BTS made Asian faces more visible. They were on the cover of Time magazine, every major publication. They were everywhere. But it also brought up questions of xenophobia. People were making fun of them because of how they looked. At the time, there was also the extra baggage that comes with being Asian. But any time BTS were attacked, because their fandom is so big and so passionate, their fans would jump on anyone who did anything to them. Then journalists would cover it, and suddenly there were all these stories about how you shouldn’t be racist against Asians.

Interviewer: Are you saying that BTS fans could stop xenophobia?

Chris: Well, many of us who study Asian Americans have observed over time that it often seems acceptable for people to make fun of Asian things. Now, BTS fans are protecting them, and that that gets elevated to the news is a big deal. President Biden invited them to the White House. These are all things I would have had trouble imagining even just five years ago.

Interviewer: I have heard that many fans would like to become K-pop idols themselves. But that’s not easy at all.

Chris: Right. Many go for an audition. If you're chosen, you'll spend up to ten years in South Korea's K-pop training centres, operated by the entertainment companies. It's kind of like a boot camp. You go to your acting class, you go to your singing class, you go to your dance class. Your appearance will also be managed: you get camera tested on every angle, hair and makeup. They change up different hairstyles, different colours.

Interviewer: Is there a dark side to it?

Chris: When there's a good side, there's always going to be a bad side. It was a pressure of success. While the training camps may sound intense to Americans, that kind of competitive pressure pervades Korean culture. I'm not sure that it's unique to K-pop. It's a societal thing in Korea. There is a lot of pressure on doing well in school. They're all up until whatever time at night, like, studying, doing the work. There is this idea of wanting to do your best, and not disappointing others.

Interviewer: I see...but if K-pop idols are often put on extremely strict diets, strenuous training schedules, and are heavily scrutinized, ... no one, no adults criticize this situation?

Chris: Well, in fact, last year a bill was passed amidst rising concerns from the public about the health and safety of minors in the highly demanding Korean entertainment industry, as companies continue to debut K-pop idols at younger ages. It is a bill to protect underage K-pop idols from exploitation and it is meant to reinforce financial transparency. Previously, entertainers under the age of 15 could work up to 35 hours a week, while those older than 15 were allowed 40 hours a week. Now, entertainers under the age of 12 can only work a maximum of 25 hours a week, up to 6 hours a day. Those aged 12 to 15 are allowed 30 hours a week, while those above the age of 15 can work 35 hours a week, both of these age groups are limited to 7 hours a day. What is more, the law also prohibits any infringement of underage entertainers' rights to education by forcing them to be absent from or drop out of school. So, K-pop teenagers must attend school.

Interviewer: I see that things are changing for the better. Well, Chris, we do not have time for more. Thanks for your interesting insights into K-pop.

Chris: Thank you.

Adapted from: The rise of K-pop, and what it reveals about society and culture, Yale News, Caroline Huber (August 21, 2023) https://news.yale.edu/2023/08/21/rise-k-pop-and-what-it-reveals-about-society-and-culture

Interviewer: This is Fresh Air. I'm Tom Mosley. This past summer electronic music producer and DJ Jennifer Lee, better known as Tokimonsta, released one of her latest collaborations. Tokimonsta came into her own story through a near-death experience. In 2016, she was diagnosed with a rare brain disease that required two surgeries, leaving her temporarily unable to understand sound or speak. This was devastating for Tokimonsta, who had, before this diagnosis, become a well-known and respected artist in the electronic music world, having released six albums and numerous collaborations. But she made up for lost time. Just two months after her recovery from brain surgery, Tokimonsta pushed herself to make music again, creating one of her most personal albums, "Lune Rouge," which garnered a 2019 Grammy nomination for best dance electronic album, making Tokimonsta the first female Asian American producer to receive a nomination in this category. Tokimonsta creates music with electronic tools as well as a piano, field recordings and vocals. And in live performances, it's like watching a DJ on steroids with Tokimonsta creating sounds and melodies with synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines. Tokimonsta, welcome to Fresh Air.

Tokimonsta: Hi. Thanks for having me.

Interviewer: You have to tell us the origins, Jennifer, of the name Tokimonsta.

Tokimonsta: OK. So the origin - in short, it was a chat screen name. We all had one back in the day. So tokki means rabbit in Korean. And monsta was a way - I guess I thought it was a cool way to write monster when I was 16. But I can't take it back 'cause this has been my name now for many years.

Interviewer: Would you change it if you could?

Tokimonsta: I mean, there are moments where I feel like when people see my name, it doesn't fit the kind of music I make. You know, in the very beginning, maybe when you see Tokimonsta, you assume that I make really aggressive music. And I think I've been around long enough, and people know that, oh, Tokimonsta makes, like, cool, chill, fun stuff that I've redefined what it means to be Tokimonsta. And in many ways, that name represents me because of the juxtaposition of tokki, which is cute, and then monsta, which is this scary being. And that shows very much in the music that I make. There are moments where my music is very quiet, and then I have moments where my music is loud or beautiful and disturbing or light or heavy. And now, more than ever, I do feel like I identify with my name, and I'm proud to have it be a part of my life.

Interviewer: You know, Jennifer, one of the things about electronic music that's fascinating to me is you need to be a musician who understands music in the traditional sense, but you also need to understand technology. What was your first exposure to that part of it, so the actual components of making music with electronic devices?

Tokimonsta: My first dive into being creative with music would probably be the piano. I think when I downloaded software in high school, that was the first attempt at trying to make electronic music. I downloaded a program. I opened it. It looked so intimidating that I just uninstalled it 'cause at that time, computers didn't have a lot of space, so it had to go. And I put that on ice for a bit 'cause I felt that urge and that want in me to create, and that was going to be the easiest way to create something very complete through my computer. But I put it to rest. And then fast-forward to my first year in college, I downloaded some different production software. A friend of mine showed me very, very basic - like, a very basic way to use it, and I became obsessed. You know, I went on, I was watching YouTube tutorials, I was going on the website, reading their tutorials, which made me think, whoever reads the actual manual from any kind of software, you know?

Interviewer: Yeah.

Tokimonsta: But it just became something that became my whole world, my whole focus. It was the hobby of all hobbies. I finally figured out a way to express all these ideas that I had swirling inside me.

Interviewer: Can you describe, for those who aren't familiar with electronic music, the tools that you love the most to create your sound?

Tokimonsta: So for me, as an electronic artist, I mostly work within my computer. I like the efficiency of working on a computer, but it's really important for me to also work with synthesizers. I also use a piano heavily in my music, I think, to touch back on my own roots in classical music.

Interviewer: A big part of your sound is also the integration of other sounds in addition to those melodies. You actually carry a recorder with you, and the sounds that you record when you're out in the world - just about everything - car doors slamming, the sounds of birds chirping, wind blowing - and you integrate that in your music.

Tokimonsta: Yes. I feel like there's something about field recordings, which is what we call this, that gives your music a specific sonic signature that no one else will have. Because if I record the waves crashing or an airplane flying overhead, that particular moment will only happen once in time. You'll never be able to recreate that same wave or that same airplane or that same car door shutting. And in that way, that song that I use it on will also remain completely unique.

Interviewer: And delving a little bit deeper into how your experience with brain surgeries impacted you, how has recovering affected your music afterwards?

Tokimonsta: I would say from a technical or scientific or medical standpoint, nothing really changed. I listen to music to the same degree as before. I feel like a lot of people want to think I became superhuman. Like, I have incredible hearing now...but not really. The bridge between your thinking mind and the music was broken down during my surgery. And now I'm able to access that part of my brain that was held away during that recovery process. So in that way, nothing has changed very much. I'm just glad I can hear and appreciate music to the same degree. But I guess philosophically, everything has changed because now I know how precious music is. It's like being starved and having your first bite to eat. Every song has a level of excitement to me that is precious and more precious because I know that it can be taken away.

Interviewer: Jennifer Lee, thank you so much for this conversation.

Tokimonsta: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

Adapted from: “Brain Surgery left Tokimonsta unable to understand music. Now every song is precious”, NPR, October 2, 2023

Interviewer: Men have dominated stand-up comedy for a long time. But as women have come to the stage more often, one kind of performance has been hard not to notice: pregnant comedians popping up on high-profile comedy specials, late-night shows, and in clubs. Udane Castle, a pregnant comedian based in Boston, is with us today to talk about this phenomenon. Hi, Udane! Let’s start from the beginning: what is it like to be a stand-up comedian?

Udane: Good evening! I am thrilled to be here. Being a comedian is the most fun and depressing lifestyle that I could possibly imagine. I get to perform in front of hundreds of people and work with some of the funniest people in the world. It's the biggest rush that I've ever felt, and at times it is totally crazy to think about what I do and who I do it with. But comedy also isolates you from a lot of people. You spend all day looking at the world to find out what's funny or weird about it rather than just living in the moment and enjoying social experiences. A couple of years ago, for example, I stopped going to clubs or bars with my friends, because all I could think about was how silly it was that everyone considered going out like that to be the highlight of their week.

Interviewer: What about when you’re on stage? What does it feel like?

Udane: Everything has to be perfect. Your tone, your rhythm, your cadence, and especially your timing. You have to be charming and charismatic even though you don’t know any of the people in front of you. You have to connect with that room full of strangers. All while those spotlights are cooking you. You have no idea how much they make you sweat.

Interviewer: You are pregnant now. Do you use your pregnancy as a topic for your stand-ups?

Udane: I do! In comedy, pregnancy is no longer seen as something that gets in the way of the act and the microphone stand. In fact, a baby on the way is now a rich source of stand-up material: stretch marks, placentas and all!

Interviewer: Tell us about your models—the people you look up to. Where have you found inspiration so far?

Udane: I love Ali Wong’s monologues—she has done two Netflix specials while pregnant. She is hilarious when she talks about lactation consultants and diapers. I also really like Kara Klenk, a stand-up comedian in Los Angeles.

Interviewer: Is this something new? What was it like before?

Udane: It is. Let me tell you just a couple of examples. When Joan Rivers, who is considered a pioneer of women in comedy by many critics, appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1967 she was carrying her daughter, Melissa. She was not allowed to say she was pregnant and was asked to wear a really uncomfortable dress to hide it. Also, just four years ago, Ophira Eisenberg, a comedian and the host of the comedy show “Ask Me Another”, said that some bookers had warned her that she might alienate her audience by talking about her pregnancy on stage.

Interviewer: What do you think has changed?

Udane: There is no comprehensive account of women in comedy, but comedians, club owners and bookers say there are more of them working today, even though they remain vastly outnumbered by men. And with women starting families later than they used to, female comics are now more likely to have established careers by the time they start having babies.

Interviewer: For women who have difficult pregnancies, I guess the travel often required for stand-up can be a real challenge. Do you know of any bad experiences so far?

Udane: Sadly, I do. Amy Schumer, a well-known comedian from New York, announced that she had to cancel the remainder of her tour last February. She had a pregnancy complication and was no longer allowed to fly. She wanted to push through and do her shows, but she had to prioritize her health and the baby’s.

Interviewer: Do you think this tendency will last?

Udane: I am not sure. As fun as it can be to play with expectations about maternal behavior and delicate pregnant ladies, many comics, including myself, look forward to the day that an expectant mom on stage is not unusual at all.

Adapted from the following sources:

“Amy Schumer, Ali Wong and the Rise of Pregnant Stand-Up”, The New York Times, April 19, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/arts/pregnant-comedians-amy-schumer-ali-wong.html

“What does it feel like to be a stand-up comedian?”, Quora, https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-feel-like-to-be-a-stand-up-comedian

Interviewer: Welcome to our weekly chat about holiday celebrations around the world. Today’s guest is going to tell us about our sweetest holiday celebration, Valentine’s Day. Today we know that a heart-shaped box of chocolates is a symbol, and an important part, of Valentine’s Day, but how did that tradition arise? We know that chocolate is not native to Britain, or even to the United States. To find out more about Valentine’s Day and chocolate, we’ve invited Dr. Anne Ward, a professor at King’s College London, to give us some background about this sweet connection. Welcome, Anne, to the program.

Anne: Thank you, I’m glad to be here.

Interviewer: Has chocolate always been a part of Valentine’s Day? How did we get to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the first place?

Anne: Chocolate is relatively new to Valentine’s Day. The roots of Valentine’s Day are ancient, but not entirely clear. It probably originated with the Romans and a fertility festival they held. But the Romans did not exchange candy, they sacrificed goats and dogs and whipped people, among other things. Eventually, hundreds of years later, this festival became a Christian feast associated with a martyred saint, Valentine. The Roman Emperor Claudius had had Valentine executed on February 14th in the third century A.D.

Interviewer: And how did this martyred saint become associated with love?

Anne: We don’t know exactly, but we do know that in Canterbury Tales, Chaucer talks about St. Valentine’s Day as a day in which birds gather together to choose their mates. That means that by the 14th century, there was a strong link between love, mating, and St. Valentine’s Day.

Interviewer: So when does chocolate come into the picture?

Anne: Obviously, Chaucer didn’t talk about chocolate. Chocolate was first introduced into Europe by the Spanish, who had seen people drink it in Mexico. Chocolate as a drink became very popular in Spain, and from there it traveled to other parts of Europe. It became very popular in France. And people at the time thought that chocolate was a sexual stimulant. Giacomo Casanova, the famous Italian adventurer and womanizer from Venice, called chocolate the “elixir of love.”

Interviewer: Was chocolate always served as a drink?

Anne: Yes, until the mid-19th century, chocolate was always consumed as a drink. They didn’t eat chocolate cake. Chocolate was very popular with Europe’s kings. For example, documents from the 17th century show us that British King Charles II spent 30 times more money on chocolate than on tea. He certainly spent more money on chocolate than on his servants. For most people of that time, though, chocolate was a very extravagant, exotic product. Most never tasted it.

Interviewer: So when did we start eating chocolate bars? Today, we tend to think of chocolate as something that is eaten as a solid, not drunk as a liquid.

Anne: In the mid 19th century, specifically in 1847, the British chocolate maker J.S. Fry & Sons produced the first modern-day candy bar. The company combined cacao powder and sugar with cacao butter, the fat that is extracted from cacao beans, to form a paste that they could shape into bars. A few years later, they started making individual chocolates filled with flavored creams.

Interviewer: So was it this company, J.S. Fry & Sons, that linked chocolate to St. Valentine’s Day?

Anne: No, chocolate didn’t become an important part of St. Valentine’s Day celebrations until a rival chocolate company, Cadbury, decided to start selling fancy boxes of chocolates. Cadbury knew that extreme ornamentation was very popular in Victorian England, so he came up with the idea of selling chocolate in boxes with heavily decorated lids and lace inside. And soon after that, Cadbury created boxes in the shape of a heart. Once the chocolates had been eaten, people would save the pretty boxes and use them to keep special mementos.

Interviewer: I see, you might say that we eat chocolate on St. Valentine’s Day because it was a successful business strategy.

Anne: Yes, Cadbury’s idea was a huge success. This year in the United States alone, companies will sell more than 40 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, many of them decorated with roses and lace. Surveys show that 70% of Americans prefer receiving chocolate as opposed to flowers as a Valentine’s Day gift.

Interviewer: And is chocolate really an aphrodisiac? You mentioned that Casanova thought it was.

Anne: Despite what Casanova and others have said, modern science has found little evidence to support chocolate as an aphrodisiac.

Interviewer: That’s all we have time for today, Anne. Thank you for joining us today.

Anne: My pleasure.

INTERVIEWER: Popularly known as Mummy Juanita, the finding of a young Inca girl sacrificed more than 600 years ago made headlines. Dr Chris Van Gils, a specialist in the Inca Culture, is with us today to tell us more about this famous mummy. Good morning, Dr Van Gils. First of all, why is this discovery so significant?

CHRIS: Well, analysing her internal organs, hair, skin, and blood provided scientists a glimpse into the cultural and societal practices of the Incas of the time. It is not the mummy itself, but what we can learn from it.

INTERVIEWER: I see. But let’s start by the beginning. Who was Juanita?

CHRIS: Juanita was a young girl. She was probably between 12 to 14 years old. She seemed to be in excellent health. Biopsies of bone, muscle and other tissues confirmed that the girl had enjoyed good nutrition and had healthy, mature bones. The mummy was found wearing clothes resembling those of Cusco’s elite, of the nobility. Specialists in textiles were especially impressed with the fine alpaca wool of the girl's garments. She wore a boldly striped dress, encircled by a belt, and her shawl was fastened with a silver pin. Her attire was similar to that of the female statuettes buried with her.

INTERVIEWER: Are you suggesting that Juanita was no ordinary girl?

CHRIS: Probably not. Her attire, along with the geographical location of the sacrifice, suggests to archaeologists that the young girl was part of Cusco’s nobility. Furthermore, by analysing her hair, scientists were able to determine that she ate maize and animal meat prior to the sacrifice, both of which were part of the diet of the elite.

INTERVIEWER: Interesting. Tell us a bit about the discovery. She was found near Arequipa in Peru, right?

CHRIS: Exactly. In September 1995, American anthropologist Johan Reinhard climbed the volcano Mount Ampato in Arequipa located at about 6,300 meters above sea level. He, along with his Peruvian climbing partner Miguel Zárate, came across a bundle inside a crater, most likely fallen from an Inca burial site at the summit. The two men took the frozen bundle to the Catholic University of Santa Maria in Arequipa. It weighed about 40 kilos and included the mummy and numerous burial items including pottery, shells, and small llama figures. The body of the sacrificed girl was given the name Juanita, and is also known as the Lady of Ampato and the Inca Ice Maiden.

INTERVIEWER: So, after her death, sometime between 1450 and 1480, Juanita would sit alone in the mountains until she was uncovered by these two men.

CHRIS: That’s it. The thin, cold air near the summit of Mt. Ampato left the mummy incredibly intact. Reinhard once said in an interview that the doctors had been shaking their heads and saying Juanita sure doesn’t look 500 years old but could have died a few weeks ago.

INTERVIEWER: Amazing. But the fact that it was discovered is also surprising.

CHRIS: If it weren’t for volcanic activity, it’s possible that the mummified young girl would have continued to sit in on the frozen mountain top for centuries to come. But because of the volcanic activity warming the snow, Mt. Ampato’s snow-cap began to melt, pushing the wrapped mummy and her burial site down the mountain.

INTERVIEWER: And was this the only mummy found in the area?

CHRIS: No. In fact, Reinhard returned to the mountain a month later and found two more mummified children, this time a boy and girl. It is believed these may have been companion sacrifices to the more important sacrifice of Juanita. This is corroborated by a Spanish soldier who witnessed similar sacrifices in 1551 and wrote about them.

INTERVIEWER: OK. So, tell us about these sacrifices.

CHRIS: These sacrifices among the Inca that involved the deaths of children were known as Capacocha. Capacocha can be translated as “royal obligation” and it was the Inca’s attempt at ensuring that the best and healthiest among them were sacrificed to appease the gods, often as a way to stop a natural disaster like an earthquake, or simply to ensure a healthy harvest. This sacrificial rite was also performed to celebrate events such as battle victories, or the death or birth of Inca royalty. Considering that Juanita’s body was discovered atop Ampato, a volcano in the Andes, her sacrifice very likely played into the Inca’s Mountain worship.

INTERVIEWER: What did scientists discover about her death? How did she die?

CHRIS: Well, you can imagine a girl with long black hair and a graceful neck, dressed in fine alpaca wool, knelt on a cold, windswept summit in the Andes. She was in the presence of Inca priests and surrounded by offerings of pottery, coca leaves and golden figurines.

INTERVIEWER: I visualize one of the sacrifices we have watched in an Indiana Jones’ movie.

CHRIS: Sort of. In fact, experts say that Juanita was probably docile.

INTERVIEWER: Did she want to die? Did she not fight?

CHRIS: Juanita’s days leading up to her death were very different than the lifestyle of a typical Inca girl. Scientists know what she ate before she died. Markers in her hair indicate that she was selected for sacrifice about a year before her actual death. She had switched from a standard Inca diet of potatoes and vegetables to the more elite foods of animal protein and maize, along with large quantities of coca and alcohol. The final six to eight weeks of life for Inca child sacrifices was one of a very intoxicated psychological state altered by the chemical reaction of coca and alcohol. Archaeologists believe that when she died, she was likely in a very relaxed state.

INTERVIEWER: In other words, she was drugged before she died.

CHRIS: That’s right. Radiologist Elliot Fishman discovered that Juanita’s death was brought about by a massive haemorrhage from a blow to the head. Her injuries were “typical of someone who has been hit by a baseball bat.” After the death blow, her skull swelled with blood, pushing her brain to the side. Dr Fishman said the girl probably never regained consciousness, but might have lived several hours before dying. Observations of the position of the feet indicate that the girl was probably kneeling when struck, he said, and the posture suggested that her head was bent forward at the time.

INTERVIEWER: One last question, Dr Van Gils. Was this ritual frequent? Juanita wasn’t the only child sacrificed, was she?

CHRIS: All in all, experts estimate that there may be hundreds of Inca children mummified in the mountain peaks of the Andes still waiting to be discovered.

INTERVIEWER: Dr Van Gils, thank you for joining us today.

Adapted from https://allthatsinteresting.com/mummy-juanita-lady-of-ampato , https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/ice-mummies-inca/ ,https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/22/us/mummy-tells-story-of-a-sacrifice-scientists-say.html.

Interviewer: Welcome to our weekly program about famous Americans. Tonight, we go after the story of one of the most extraordinary men of our time. He is Frank Lloyd Wright, perhaps the greatest architect of the twentieth century and certainly the most famous American architect ever. And in the opinion of some, America's foremost social rebel. So, let’s talk to Mr. Roger Wolf, Frank Lloyd Wright’s biographer. Mr Wolf, how would you define him?

Mr Wolf: Well, I’m not the most appropriate person to define him. According to a story in Life Magazine not many years back, fellow architects have called him everything, from a great poet to an insufferable windbag. The clergy has deplored his morals, creditors have deplored his financial habits, politicians, his opinions. Admirers of Frank Lloyd Wright consider him as a man one hundred years ahead of his time. I’m an admirer.

Interviewer: One of his most famous statements was "If I had another fifteen years to work, I could rebuild this entire country, I could change the nation." Now, would you tell me why should he, one man, want to change the way of life of millions and millions of people?

Mr Wolf: Well, he thought the way of life in which the country... to which the country is committed needs change.

Interviewer: But don’t you think these words show his ego, his self-centeredness? You're saying that practically everyone in the United States is out of step except Frank Lloyd Wright.

Mr Wolf: Not at all, I’m not saying anything of the kind. It isn't their job to build, it was his. He thought people should have a right to look to their architects for suggestions for what they should build.

Interviewer: Well, as an architect...

Mr Wolf: ...and how they should build it.

Interviewer: As an architect, how would he have liked to change the way that we live?

Mr Wolf: He wouldn't have liked to change so much the way we live, as what we live in, and how we live in it. Wright always said that we ourselves are changing in the buildings we live in. Most people don't really understand what it is to live in an organic building with organic character.

Interviewer: Well now, organic building, organic character, these are words which are difficult to understand.

Mr Wolf: Well, let's say natural, would that suit you better? For Wright, a truly organic building developed from within outwards and was thus in harmony with its time, place, and inhabitants.

Interviewer: I'm still not... I would like specifically, to know what you mean, how would he like to change the way that we live?

Mr Wolf: He meant he'd have liked to have a free architecture, an architecture that belonged where you see it standing, architecture that graced the landscape instead of being a disgrace in the landscape. His clients told him how those buildings he had built for them had changed the character of their whole lives and their whole existence. And it's different now than it was before. Well, he'd have liked to do that for the whole country.

Interviewer: But, imagine New York. When he came to New York, and he saw the skyline of New York, didn’t it excite him? After all, he did design the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Most of us think that New York is so spectacular and imposing.

Mr Wolf: In fact, it didn’t impress him at all. Because it never was planned, it was all the result of a race for rent, and it is a great monument, he thought, to the power of money and to greed. It wasn’t about ideas. He didn't see an idea in the whole thing anywhere. Do you? Where is the idea in it? What's the idea?

Interviewer: The idea is obviously, it seems to me, that a lot of people want to live together to make their livings, to make money, to... to enjoy what this large city has to offer. And I guess from time immemorial people have flocked more or less to one spot to exchange ideas as well as goods.

Mr Wolf: But there was a justification for that. When there were no other means of communication than by personal contact. That's when the plans for the cities we now live in originated. They originated back in the Middle Ages, when the only way you could have a culture, the only way you could get social distinction or any education, was by joining other people. Today, however, we cannot get modern improvements here in the city anymore.

Interviewer: Let me see if I get your point. Is Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous work, an example of good architecture? What is it that makes Fallingwater so special?

Mr Wolf: Fallingwater is Frank Lloyd Wright’s house built over a waterfall in Pennsylvania for a rich family from Pittsburgh in the 1930s, and it’s arguably the most famous house of the modern era. I think it’s Wright’s supreme example of architecture connected to nature, what he called ‘organic architecture’, because the house is integrated into the landscape. The water flows through the living room.

Interviewer: I get it now. Let’s talk about other aspects of Wright’s personality. Wright had faith in youth. However, he did not have faith in the mob, yet young people grow into adults and often turn into a mob. Or do I misunderstand?

Mr Wolf: I think you’ve got it right. He believed that many people were not properly educated and didn't have an opportunity to go right instead of left. He always said that he put a capital N on Nature, and that is where people had to go, go back to Nature. He said that when you go out into a big forest, with towering pines, and experience a feeling of awe, frequently you do connect with the presence of nature, you not only feel large, you feel enlarged and encouraged, intensified, more powerful.

Interviewer: It is clear in your biography that he was rebellious, a radical in his art and life. Do you agree?

Mr Wolf: Absolutely. But don’t forget that if you ask the average citizen to name a famous American architect, you can bet that their answer will be Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright gained such cultural primacy for good reason: he changed the way we build and live.

Interviewer: Mr. Wolf, I thank you for talking with us today.

Mr Wolf: Well, you're welcome.

Adapted from https://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15878coll90/id/23/rec/1.

Interviewer: We take it for granted now that washing our hands is a tool to fight disease. But somebody had to discover that, and most of the credit goes to a Hungarian doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis. How did he come to realize that handwashing was so important for our health? To answer that, we’ve invited Dr. Diana Tulane, a professor of the history of medicine at Purdue University in Indiana who has studied Ignaz Semmelweis, to our program. Welcome and good morning, Prof. Tulane.

Prof. Tulane: Good morning, and thank you for inviting me.

Interviewer: My pleasure. How did you become interested in Ignaz? Is he famous?

Prof. Tulane: Actually, I was interested in medicine as practiced in the 19th century, and Ignaz Semmelweis became an important name in medicine from that period.

Interviewer: I’m assuming he had something to do with handwashing.

Prof. Tulane: Yes, that’s right. The history of handwashing is actually complicated, and it’s pretty amazing that someone discovered the importance of handwashing at a time when most people thought disease was caused by something like bad air.

Interviewer: How can the history of handwashing be complicated? It seems like a pretty basic thing to do.

Prof. Tulane: Now it seems basic, but that wasn’t always so. The story begins in 1844 in Vienna, Austria, where Ignaz worked in Vienna General hospital, which was the largest maternity hospital in the world. As you can imagine, hospitals at that time were very different from what we know today. They didn’t know about germs, and hospitals were so crowded that it wasn’t really that rare for there to be more than one patient in a single bed. Conditions for healing were very poor. Not surprisingly, the mortality rate in hospitals of the time was extremely high.

Interviewer: I can imagine.

Prof. Tulane: One disease that was particularly deadly at this time was child bed fever, which was responsible for the death of many, many women. Women would notice symptoms just a few days after giving birth. Child bed fever was a particularly dramatic disease because it occurred at a time when people were supposed to be very happy, as their child had just been born, but things could go very bad for the mother in a very short period of time. She would start screaming because of the pain and go delirious, and die a horrible death.

Interviewer: How terrible. What caused this disease?

Prof. Tulane: We know now that this disease is caused by a bacterial infection, but that wasn’t known at the time. Remember, they didn’t know about germs.

Interviewer: So what happened at the hospital in Vienna?

Prof. Tulane: The conditions at Vienna General hospital were so crowded that they had to divide the maternity ward into two clinics, one that was served by doctors, and the other that was served by midwives. Soon it became apparent that many more women were getting child bed fever and dying in the doctors’ clinic than in the midwives’ clinic. This was very puzzling to everyone, because doctors had more training than midwives, so everyone expected that doctors would be able to provide better care. No one understood why more women in the doctors’ clinic were dying.

Interviewer: I bet it was Ignaz who solved the puzzle. And how did he do it?

Prof. Tulane: Well, first he analyzed some of the explanations that people had already suggested. Many people thought that child bed fever was caused by overcrowded conditions, but he knew that that could not be the only factor because both the clinic served by doctors and the one served by midwives were equally crowded, so there was no difference there that would explain the difference in mortality. But he did observe some other differences between the two clinics.

Interviewer: Really? How did he do this?

Prof. Tulane: He did what any good scientist would do: he set up controlled experiments. He had the women in one clinic give birth while lying on their sides, while those in the other clinic gave birth while lying on their backs. He then switched the positions for each group, but this had no effect. More of the doctors’ patients were still dying. Then, he noticed that in the doctors’ clinic, a priest was walking down the aisles ringing a bell. He thought that maybe psychological terror played a role because the women in the doctors’ clinic knew that they were dying once they saw the priest and heard the bell, but that he couldn’t proof that, either.

Interviewer: It sounds like this process took a long time.

Prof. Tulane: Oh yes, it took him several years. Then, in 1847, his best friend Robert, a doctor, was accidentally cut while doing an autopsy and died soon afterwards. Ignaz noticed that his dying friend shared a lot of characteristics with the women dying from child bed fever, so he hypothesized that they all had the same disease, and it obviously wasn’t only related to giving birth. He then observed that the doctors would do autopsies and afterward go directly to the maternity ward to deliver babies. He realized that the disease might be caused by the contact with dead bodies.

Interviewer: So, in effect, the doctors were spreading the disease from cadavers to mothers who had just given birth.

Prof. Tulane: Exactly. To test his hypothesis, Ignaz had the doctors wash their hands with a disinfectant after they performed an autopsy and before they entered the maternity ward. Once the doctors started doing this, the mortality rate of women in their clinic decreased to the same level as that in the midwives’ clinic.

Interviewer: So, did Ignaz become a hero? It sounds like he saved a lot of women’s lives.

Prof. Tulane: Well, yes and no. At first, the medical community was skeptical. Most of the doctors agreed to his idea of handwashing, but Ignaz was not an easy person to work with. For example, he insisted that all cases of child bed fever were caused by contamination from autopsies, even when that really wasn’t possible. In the end, he was taken to a psychiatric hospital and died alone.

Interviewer: How sad! But his realization that handwashing could prevent the spread of disease turned out to be very important.

Prof. Tulane: Yes. At about the same time as his death, scientists discovered that germs cause disease, and that would not have happened without the work of people like Ignaz Semmelweis.

Interviewer: That’s all we have time for today. Thank you, Dr. Tulane, for this very interesting history of handwashing.

Prof. Tulane. Thank you.

Text adapted from the program “The Surprise History of Handwashing” on National Public Radio, January 26, 2021.

Interviewer: Welcome to our weekly programme on literature. Today we’re going to discuss a relatively recent development in literature, a poetry slam. A poetry slam is a competition arts event in which poets perform before a live audience and a panel of judges. Slams have become increasingly popular all around the world, with events welcoming a large number of attendees. My guest Anne is here with us today to tell us about her experience as a slammer. Hi, Anne! Could you tell us about yourself? Would you define yourself as a poet?

Anne: What a nice question! I had never been asked that! The truth is that I have always loved writing. I’ve got my notebook with me all the time —whether it’s by the side of my bed or on trains, I always scribble things down, although I don’t type that often. In fact, there’s a suitcase full of poems beneath my bed. I don’t remember how most of them got there. Sometimes I’ll thumb through them and see my messy little-kid handwriting. There may be over a hundred pages stained with dirty hands and the remains of more than a few grilled cheese sandwiches.

Interviewer: When did performance jump in? Why did you start taking part in poetry slam competitions?

Anne: I first saw a live slam competition in 2018. I’d never heard of this kind of event, but I saw it was advertised in a magazine. After attending a few sessions, I got completely hooked on it and decided to give it a try from stage. I think what I liked about it was that emphasis on connection. Whether it’s a performer making you laugh or making you cry, there’s a certain live element to that. You know, I’ve got videos online and you can see me perform from any device, but it’s different when it’s live. In a live context you can immediately get what the performer’s trying to say and there’s an added level of accessibility, because the person who’s written the poem is in front of you, saying it, and it gives it so much more context.

Interviewer: You have a degree in Maths, if I’m not wrong. Has that helped you with your poetry?

Anne: Yeah! For ages I told myself that the two were just separate worlds, but then I realised that when I’m writing my poems or searching for a particular way of phrasing something or a rhyme, there is definitely a technicality to it. It’s not as rigid as a formula that I have to follow, but I think I’ve really embraced the idea of patterns and playfulness that I learnt through maths. I try to bring that to my poetry.

Interviewer: Tell us about slam poems. What are they like and how do you prepare for them?

Anne: There is a time limit in poem performances –we typically have a maximum of three minutes. I used to just write my poems as a hobby in my free time, so from start to finish it would be a couple of months, maybe, waiting for inspiration to come. Now I think that I do it full time, I’m a bit more disciplined with that, so it’s anything from a couple of weeks to much longer. It’ll often start with a playful bit of language, whether that’s a rhyme or a one-liner, and then it just comes out.

Interviewer: And you need to memorise the whole poem for live performances?

Anne: Yes, but that’s something I’ve always done. I was always good at remembering the lyrics to songs or specific jokes that I heard. As part of my writing process, I’ll speak poems out loud to feel their rhythm. The first time I perform, I’ll still have it in my book in front of me just in case, but I think once I’ve learnt a poem, I enjoy the performance aspect of it and I find that easier if I can do it without worrying about what the next line’s going to be.

Interviewer: And then in the event a panel of three to five judges gives each slammer a score, is that right? What is your secret to score high?

Anne: Yes, that’s right. Usually, the panel is selected randomly from the audience in the room. A good idea to score higher is to read the room to choose the poem you’re going to perform, because it’s a live thing, you know, so it’s dependent on who’s in the room. It’s also helpful to have enough poems so that you can pick and choose among them.

Interviewer: Are there any tips you’d like to give people who perhaps want to get into spoken word poetry?

Anne: Don’t get too nervous if you decide to try. The audience at these events is usually very supportive. Sometimes it can be difficult to feel confident, but it’s really worth it. Try open mic nights first if you think that could be helpful before getting into a competition. Watch videos online of some of the best slammers worldwide to prepare yourself, like Harry Baker’s, Dani Orviz’s, or Emi Mahmoud’s –they are a true source of inspiration!

Interviewer: Wow! I’m looking forward to watching those videos myself! Thank you, Anne, for your time and for letting us know about poetry slam. We hope to see you on stage very soon!

Anne: My pleasure.

Adapted from ‘An interview with our favourite World Poetry Slam Champion: Harry Baker’, The Temple Times, 13th March 2020.