000295

200

You’ve arranged to do the following:

– Saturday – watch TV

– Sunday – a café

You’ve arranged to do the following:

– tomorrow – revise for the test

– Sunday – the zoo

II. Tapescript

BBC Learning English

6 Minute English

Speak Any Language Instantly

Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning

English: the programme in which we talk about a story in the news and

learn some vocabulary while we’re doing it. I’m Neil and joining me today

is Jen. Hi there, Jen.

Jen: Hi Neil.

Neil: Now, this sounds like every struggling language student’s dream...

Jen: A piece of technology which could put an end to hours and hours of

study…

Neil: It sounds like something from science fiction…

Jen: A machine which allows you to speak any language in the world…

instantly!

Neil: OK, well not quite, but we are talking about an app – a piece of

software common on smartphones – developed in Japan. This app allows

you to have conversations with another person speaking in a different

language translated in real time – in other words, instantly.

Jen: This could put us out of a job, Neil! Now come on, it must be time

for a language-related quiz.

Neil: Yes, that’s exactly what we’ll do now. I want to know, how many

languages are there in the world? Is it:

a) about 100

b) about 1,000

c) about 6,000

Jen: Well, I think there are a lot but maybe not 6,000, so I’ll go for b)

about 1,000.

Neil: OK, well we will find out, as ever, at the end of the programme.

Back now to our app.