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26. M: Did you hear the weather report says we are going to get at least
a foot of snow tomorrow?
W: That much! That’s incredible. I can’t wait to get outside and play in
it.
27. W: Growing up we never had a TV. Even now I’m not used to watching
it much.
M: Well, it’s kind of like reading. Some things you find are great, But a
lit are real waste of time. You have to pick and choose.
28. W: I live this hat. And look, it’s on sale.
M: Yes, but it doesn’t do much for you. What about the green one? It’s a
little expensive. But it really looks great on you.
29. M: That’s a really interesting shirt. Must be from your vacation.
W: No. But you are close. My sister brought it back from Hawaii for me.
30. W: Your company isn’t moving to the west coast after all.
M: Well, not for the time being. But I’ve been looking into other
employment opportunities here anyway. Just in case.
31-34
W: ok, last night you were supposed to read an article about human bones.
Are there any comments about it?
M: well, to begin with, I was surprised to find out there were so much
going on in bones. I always assumed they were pretty lifeless.
W: Well, that’s an assumption many people make. But the fact is bones are
made of dynamic living tissue that requires continuous maintenance and
repair.
M: Right. That’s one of the things I found so fascinating about the
article the way the bones repair themselves.
W: Ok. So can you tell us how the bones repair themselves.
M: Sure. See, there are two groups of different types of specialized cells
in the bone that work together to do it. The first group goes to an area of
the bone that needs repair. This group of cells produce the chemical that
actually breaks down the bone tissue, and leaves a hole in it. After that
the second group of specialized cells comes and produce the new tissue that
fills in the hole that was made by the first group.
W: Very good. This is a very complex process. In fact, the scientists who
study human bones don’t completely understand it yet. They are still
trying to find out how it all actually works. Specifically, because
sometimes after the first group of cells leaves a hole in the bone tissue,
for some reason, the second group doesn’t completely fill in the hole. And
this can cause real problems. It can actually lead to a disease in which
the bone becomes weak and is easily broken.
M: ok, I get it. So if the scientists can figure out what makes the
specialized cells work, maybe they can find a way to make sure the second
group of cells completely fills the hole in the bone tissue every time.
That’ll prevent the disease from every occurring.
35-38
M: Hi Diana, mind if I sit down?
W: Not at all, Jerry. How have you been?
M: Good. But I’m surprised to see you on the city bus. Your car in the
shop?
W: No. I’ve just been thinking a lot about the environment lately. So I
decided the air will be a lot cleaner if we call use public transportation
when we could.
M: I’m sure you are right. The diesel bus isn’t exactly pollution free.
W: True. They’ll be running a lot cleaner soon. We were just talking about
that in my environmental engineering class.
M: What could the city do? Install pollution filters in all their buses?
W: They could, but those filters make the engines work harder and really
cut down on the fuel efficiency. Instead they found a way to make their
engines more efficient.
M: How?
W: Well, there is a material called XXX. It’s a really good insulator. And
a think coat of it get sprayed on the certain part of the engine.
M: An insulator?
W: Yeah. What it does is reflect back the heat of burning fuel. So the fuel
will burn much hotter and burn up more completely.
M: So a lot less unburning fuel comes out to pollute the air.
W: And the bus will need less fuel. So with the saving on fuel cost, they
say this will all pay for itself in just six months.
M: Sounds like people should all go out and get some this stuff to spray
their car engines.
W: Well, it’s not really that easy. You see, normally, the materials are
fine powder. To melt it so you can spray a coat of it on the engine parts,
you first have to heat it over 10,000 degrees and then, well, you get the
idea. It’s not something you or I be able to do ourselves. | 
